How to Respond If Your Dog Eats Chocolate?

by Ronel Forbes

March 16, 2023

There is a worldwide love for chocolate. Except if you’re a dog, that is. Learn what to do to avoid taking your dog to the vet in an emergency if their sweet tooth has gotten the better of them.

How Should You Respond If Your Dog Eats Chocolate?

It is common knowledge that giving dogs chocolate can be harmful. Being a pet parent can be challenging, and accidents can still occur despite the best supervision and safety precautions. A dog may consume a piece of candy or a chocolate chip cookie in only a few seconds. Keep your cool if your dog manages to get some chocolate.

Although we are aware that chocolate is hazardous for dogs, how harmful is it? The answer is dependent on the size, breed, and type of chocolate that the dog drank, among other things.

Danger of chocolate to Dogs

Puppies in particular are prone to constantly trying to chew on whatever they lay their sights on in dogs of any age. Your dog will likely continue their relentless behavior until they have the object in its grip, whether it’s a dog toy, your hand, or some food that you’re eating.

When the target of their cravings is something toxic to their systems, like chocolate, it can be very challenging to dissuade them from engaging in this activity.

Caffeine and theobromine, which are found in chocolate, can stimulate dogs’ neurological systems and increase their heart rates. These two substances are ineffectively metabolized by dogs, so ingesting them could result in a variety of negative effects.

The total risk of your dog getting sick after eating chocolate depends on the kind and quantity eaten as well as your dog’s weight.

Chocolate Poisoning Symptoms

The most prevalent symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs often show 6 to 12 hours after ingestion and can continue up to 72 hours. Watch out for the following warning signs:

Demise and Collapse
Diarrhea
Unusually high or elevated heart rate
More frequent urination
Restlessness
Seizures
Tremors

It’s crucial to keep in mind that older dogs and dogs with cardiac issues are more susceptible to abrupt death from chocolate poisoning.

How much Chocolate is toxic to Dogs?

The amount, type, and size of the dog all influence how harmful chocolate is to dogs. Also, a pet with additional problems may occasionally require closer observation than a pet who is generally healthy.

Darker chocolate is typically more harmful than milk chocolate because it includes more cocoa, theobromine, and caffeine. Despite the small amount of cocoa in white chocolate, it can nevertheless irritate your stomach and make you throw up and have diarrhea.

Calculating the precise levels of theobromine and caffeine in a certain piece of chocolate to determine whether the quantity your dog consumed is dangerous can be challenging. For mild symptoms, theobromine poisoning has been observed at amounts ranging from 9 mg per pound of body weight to 18 mg per pound of body weight for more severe symptoms. For milk chocolate, theobromine levels are typically calculated at 44 mg/ounce, for semisweet chocolate at 150 mg/ounce, and for baking chocolate at 390 mg/ounce.

Taking action if your Dog Consumes Chocolate

Calling your veterinarian should be your first action if you suspect your dog has consumed chocolate. There are alternative agencies that can put you in touch with an emergency veterinarian if your regular veterinary clinic is closed.

Your veterinarian might advise that you keep a close eye out for any of the warning symptoms mentioned above depending on the size of your dog and the amount of chocolate that has been consumed. They might also tell you to give them a call again if your dog’s condition gets worse.

In several other circumstances, the veterinarian might prefer that you bring your dog to the office. Your veterinarian may induce vomiting and administer activated charcoal to your dog if they consumed the chocolate less than two hours before you brought them in. This eliminates the poisons from their bodies without allowing them to enter the bloodstream.

Veterinarian assistance might be necessary in more extreme situations. This will enable the veterinarian to administer additional care to reverse the consequences of chocolate poisoning, such as IV fluids or drugs.

If your dog has seizures, the clinic may need to keep an eye on it overnight.

The course of treatment will depend on when your dog last consumed chocolate and whether or not there are any outward signs of an issue. Making the dog vomit, a technique known as gastric lavage, giving activated charcoal, or giving supportive and symptomatic care for more severe symptoms are all possible therapy methods.

What to do to Prevent your Dog from eating chocolate?

It’s possible that larger dogs can consume little amounts of chocolate without experiencing many problems, but it’s still not advisable for dog owners to feed their dogs chocolate as a gift.

You can do the following if you want to stop your dog from snatching some chocolate:

The best approach to ensure that your dog doesn’t consume anything harmful while you aren’t watching is to crate-train them. Your dog needs a strong crate that is big enough for them to retire to when they need some alone time, as well as blankets, stuffed animals, and treats.
To keep your dog from getting to any chocolate things, make sure they are not left on tables, in bags, or on counters.
Teach the “Leave It” command to them. This simple but incredibly effective command keeps dogs from consuming any chocolate that has fallen to the ground or is within their grasp.

Please read: WHEN YOUR DOG MEETS YOUR NEW BABY!

Conclusion

For both you and your dog, learning that they’ve consumed chocolate can be a frightening experience. Your dog should be able to recover fully, though, as long as you make sure to get them the medical attention they so desperately need as soon as you can.

Also, get your dog covered by pet insurance to help you avoid unexpected costs and to give your dog more value as they are a member of the family.