Dog ate chocolate frosting?. Don’t take it lightly. You may need to consult a vet. What?????
This first sounds like a betrayal to me. Life is so unfair. One can’t enjoy the world’s most desirable dessert with the world’s most loyal companion. How ditching…
Chocolate is one of the yummiest things in the world but do you know that what is yummiest for us can be toxic to our pup?. Dogs get chocolate toxicity even if they ingest a normal amount of chocolate.
What is chocolate toxicity?
Anything that has caffeine is toxic for dogs. Chocolates have both caffeine and theobromine which affects the neurological and cardiac systems of dogs. You must be aware of how caffeine works? It elevates our senses and gives us that “super awake” feeling that’s why they are listed as one of the socially accepted “drugs” too. Dogs are different. We can’t compare humans with dogs. Dogs have their own anatomy and what is suitable for us may not be suitable for them.
We humans eat chocolate addictively but for dogs, if eaten in excessive amounts, it can be fatal too. Yes, it’s this dangerous. The caffeine in chocolate can boost their heart rate and increase the activity in the nervous system making them sick.
What type of chocolate is harmful to dogs?
According to AKC, cocoa powder ranks first in terms of being toxic and poisonous to your dogs. Other chocolates that can cause toxicity are dark chocolate, unsweetened chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and milk chocolate.
How much chocolate is not good for dogs?
Even a minimal amount is not recommended. I mean why give your pup something that is this risky. Chocolate comes in many forms and different types. Whether it be frosting or cocoa powder or simple chocolate milk they are dangerous for dogs.
Although it may be ok to feed your dog a bite of light chocolate why take a risk?. Even that “single” bite can cause chocolate toxicity if the chocolate is dark. So staying away is the best option.
However, when your dog has eaten chocolate in any form, knowing what kind and how much it has swallowed will help you to determine the seriousness of the situation. According to AKC, if your dog has consumed more than 20mg of chocolate per kg of body weight, light toxicity will occur. If your dog has swallowed more than 40-50 mg per kg of body weight, cardiac symptoms will appear and if the dog has ingested more than 60mg of per kg body weight, there is a high risk of seizures.
You can also use a chocolate toxicity calculator to calculate how much amount is “safe”.
So the answer to a question, how much chocolate can kill your dog depends on how much your dog has ingested. Sometimes even eating one chocolate bar can kill the dog. So one needs to be very much concerned about how much chocolate the dog has fed. Knowing the ingested amount will help you act accordingly.
What are the symptoms of chocolate toxicity?
Chocolate is a very common dessert and is found in almost all homes. So it can be pretty common that dogs have eaten chocolate frosting or chocolate bar.
The symptoms of chocolate toxicity can be mild or severe, depending upon how much amount the dog has ingested. There is no such thing as symptoms of Milk chocolate poisoning in dogs or symptoms of dark chocolate poisoning in dogs. Its caffeine and theobromine toxicity and your dog will show the same indication against all.
Now, If you want to know how to tell if a dog has chocolate poisoning?. Keep in mind that symptoms will appear within the first 12 hours of ingesting chocolate. These could range from simple restlessness to seizures and even death. The early symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs can be agitated behavior and restlessness.
If after knowing that dog has eaten chocolate you see any of these symptoms in your dog, take your pup to a medical emergency for further treatment.
- vomiting
- diarrhea
- Increased heart rate
- Frequent urination
- Seizures
- Restlessness
- Tremors
The manifestation may be more severe in older dogs especially if they already had heart disease. If young pups have ingested a high amount of chocolate, it can be fatal for them. However, the healthy adult dog may show mild symptoms.
What to do if a dog ate chocolate?
You need to handle the situation carefully as timely handling can save your dog’s life and prevent severe health concerns. When you observe the symptoms, talk to your vet. Till then try to monitor the conditions and as soon as you notice the dog’s condition worsening, take your dog to the vet.
If your dog has eaten chocolate home remedies
When you notice the symptoms of chocolate toxicity, you can treat your dog at home too. In fact, it is advised that before taking the dog to the vet, try some home remedies. These will make your dog better and it will act as “first aid” too. With several home remedies, the dog’s condition may improve faster than expected and it will give you enough time till you take your dog to the vet.
Increase fluids intake
Sometimes when at home, the vet will suggest giving more water to your dog. Increased liquid intake will induce urination and flush out toxic ingredients from the body. It will also induce vomiting in the dog and the stomach will clear out.
Try to induce vomiting
If your dog has ingested the chocolate in less than two hours and is not having seizures, the stomach can be cleared away by inducing vomiting. We don’t recommend the salt or bleach method to induce vomits as these are not safe ways to do so.
Activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is also given to dogs. So that the poisonous ingredients get absorbed and flush out from the body without dissolving in the bloodstream. Give one gram of charcoal for each one kg body weight.
Charcoal has its side effects.
- Don’t ever give charcoal to your dog if the condition is serious and needs medical attention.
- In serious conditions, the charcoal in the lungs can be fatal.
- Also, you will need to feed charcoal to your dog for 2-3 days. This may cause constipation.
- Another serious side effect of giving charcoal is elevated sodium levels in the bloodstream. That is why we objected to inducing vomiting through the salt method too. Elevated sodium levels can cause seizures.
If your dog resists taking charcoal, mix it in their food or directly feed them with a syringe. Also, don’t give charcoal with other medications as this can cause diarrhea.
After trying home remedies, If your dog is still serious, a vet may give him IV fluids or medications to make his condition better. The symptoms can last for up to 72 hours. If your dog has experienced seizures, overnight clinical monitoring will be followed.
If the dog ate chocolate two days ago?
Well, the symptoms of chocolate toxicity appear within 24 hours and after treatment, the dog will be fine within a day or two. If your dog ate chocolate two days ago and you just had a moment of truth, we believe the tough time has already passed. However, if the condition is worsening, only a vet can help you further. We don’t advise going for home remedies at this stage.
My dog ate chocolate cake
The amount of chocolate varies in different products. For example, dark chocolate of the same weight will have more caffeine than light one. It always matters if your dog has eaten a donut with chocolate frosting or the dog ate a whole tub of chocolate frosting?.
Chocolate cakes usually have less chocolate as compared to cocoa powder or dark chocolate. So if your young healthy dog has eaten a piece of cake only, it may not show any symptoms at all. Still, if you know the dog ate chocolate cake, induce vomiting.
If your dog ate chocolate but is acting fine, monitor for some time. Further symptoms may show. In case your dog doesn’t show symptoms that concern, let it go.
How to prevent your dog from eating chocolate?
Dogs are naughty. They have a habit to smell, sniff and explore everything that might comes in their way. If you are a choco lover, you need to be very responsible and protective of your dog. To make your dog stay away from chocolate
Don’t make them habitual
Some owners do the mistake of feeding chocolate bites to their dogs as a dog treat. A single bite may not cause any harm but it will make your dog familiar with the product. He will eat it whenever he will find a chance to have more without knowing what kind of poison he is ingesting. So this is highly recommended that Don’t make your dog habitual in the first place.
Hide them all
Dogs are hunters. They belong to a family of carnivores who hunt because it’s encoded in their genes. Hide chocolate to a place where they can’t find or reach it. For example, always put a chocolate bar on the upper shelves of the kitchen. Keeping them in bed drawers or on tables makes them easy to catch for dogs. It must be out of their range.
Say “No”
As I have always recommended that one must train dogs to respond to their “NO”. Dogs are intelligent in this. When they are taught certain things should not be done, they don’t do it. So train your dog to leave the chocolate and it will.
Make personal space
This is called “crate training “. In crate training, you make a personal space for dogs and reward them treats in that place only. This way dogs learn that whatever is allowed, is permitted in this space only. They will not eat from here and there.
Next time to avoid the questions like “my dog licked cocoa powder what to do”? Or “my dog ate chocolate frosting now how to handle it?”. Try using precautionary measures to keep your pup safe because chocolate toxicity is very real and dangerous.