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Emergency first aid for dog who's eaten chocolate?

I just found a piece of choc my 4.5 kg dog aged 10 yrs scavenged from the rubbish bin - it was 3 squares of nestles' dark choc - only found one square so suspect he might have eaten the other 2 - have weighed whats left - just 5 gms - is this amount liekly to be dangerous? its quite late and no vet available in my area.Dog is maltese/silky cross. he has prior history of mast cell tumour diagnosed 2 yrs ago but currently not causing problems. Any idea what I should do for first aid -??? I honestly didn't think he could reach inside the waste paper bin - the choc is dark choc is that worse than milk choc?

Public Comments

1. I don't know if that chocolate being poisonous to dogs thing has ever been scientifically proven. Think of it this way, have you personally ever heard of a dog dying from chocolate? I dont mean "i have a friend who has a friend, whos friends dog died" Do u know anyone this has happened to?

If the dog seems ok I wouldn't panic, just keep an eye on him for a while, I'm sure he will be fine.

2. How Much Chocolate Is Deadly?
If a 50-pound dog eats a teaspoonful of milk chocolate, it's not going to cause serious problems. However, if that same dog gorges himself on a two-layer chocolate cake, his stomach will feel more than upset and soon it's likely he'll be vomiting or experiencing diarrhea.


other info there too
http://www.dogownersdigest.com/news/library/chocolate-poisoning-dog-care.shtml

3. Relax. It doesn't sound like he has eaten enough to kill him. Most likely he will just feel sick. Call a vet or an experienced dog owner and ask advice.
If you don't have your vet's home phone number you should really get it for emergencies like this.

4. you can give him hydrogen perxiode to induce vomiting. You will have to force it down him. How long ago did he eat the candy? And how much does he weigh?

5. the dog will be fine stop over reacting - if you must seek an answer a charlcoal bar to make him vomit and make sure he has plenty of water

6. It's probably okay, just watch him carefully and if he starts shaking or something like that call an emergency line. He'll probably throw it up or just digest it as normal, my dog is tiny and he gets into stuff all the time. Try and get him to drink some water and stay away from other stuff that's bad for him. Chocolate isn't good for dogs but it's also not the worst thing he could have eaten, grapes and onions are both worse I think.

7. make him squeeze it out his rear end lol :D problem solved

no really..go see the vet

8. Your dog will almost certainly be ok.
Chocolate contains an alkaloid which dogs cant metabolise quickley, so if your dog eats a large amount of chocolate it can reach toxic levels, resulting in cardiac arrest.
However 3 squares of chocolate is no where near enough for this to happen, your dog would have to eat maybe a whole box of chocolates before you would need to worry.
He will be fine :)

9. Chocolate is highly toxic to dogs
The toxic compound in chocolate causes nervous system excitment
which may lead to seizuers, cardiac arrhythmias and death, 115g of milk chocolate is enough to cause symptoms in 15kg dog.
Dark chocolate is EVEN MORE POTENT.

i'll give the animal poison control a call-although 3 pieces don't sound much, it maybe alot for him because he very small. I think he be fine though.

DON'T ever put anything down your dog throat unless your OWN vet recommends it.

White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.
Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.
Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.
Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers' chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog

10. The darker the chocolate the more toxic to dogs. It has a chemical called theobromine (or something like that). It causes renal failure. I am usure how much your dog ate, but doesn't sound like much. Keep an eye on him. I probably wouldn't make him throw up unless he just did it.

11. lol it has been scientifically proven. Chocolate kills dogs. Before I knew that I had given my dog part of a cookie, and half an oreo one time. Chances are your dog will be fine from a small amount.

If you have Ipac then you can give some to your dog or let him go out and eat some grass so maybe he'll vomit on his own.

For now just watch him, if he seems lethargic or ill take him to the vet.

12. HELLO? what about eastenders? the dog died from eating chocolate on that, didn't it? I know its a soap, but it doesn't mean it couldn't happen Cian O.

shylock, how about you ring a vet and get advice...not sure about if your dog has 2 be examined :\

13. i dont know what mass cell tumor is but it shouldnt hurt a small bit but might give him the runs be careful ive heard chocolate is poisonous to a dog he sound s a smashing dog i have a choc lab called jake

14. At worst it will give your dog diarrhoea - my uncle's dog used to eat chocolate all the time.

Though dogs should not really be given chocolate.

15. My dog ate almost a whole heart shape box of Valentines candy, he is a bichion frise, he just threw up for a bit. He got on the table an stole them gobbled then down, when I wasnt in the house, he was miserable, and I didnt get my candy, lose lose situation.

16. http://www.vspn.org/Library/misc/VSPN_M01325.htm

The above is a link to a toxicity table for chocolate in dogs. Dark chocolate is very similar to baker's chocolate. As you can see, 5.6g of bakers chocolate is enough to cause mild toxicity in a 4.5kg dog. 11.34g can cause a moderate to severe reaction.

You may see anything from hyperexcitability to an increased heart rate, muscle tremors or even seizures. In very large doses the dog can die.

If you thin your dog has eaten the two squares, try and get him to vomit up the pieces. This is only useful if you do it within 1-2 hours of him eating the chocolate. Make up a strong salty solution/add some water to a little salt to make a ball and squirt a little bit onto his tongue. He should vomit pretty much straight away. Make sure there is plenty of water there for him to drink.

I'd also advise you to contact your vet first - they can give him an injection of apomorphine which is a lot better than the salt.

17. I think you're panicking unecessarily. It's not a lot of chocolate to have eaten. You just need to keep an eye on the dog. I'm sure he'll be fine.
Chocolate is more dangerous when fed over time. Theobromine ( the dangerous substance in chocolate) stays in the dog's body for a long time, so if you feed it chocolate repetitively, it will build up and become harmful.
Generally, the accepted danger level of DARK chocolate for a dog is 50grams per 5kgs of dog. So, for your dog, being just under 5kgs, he'd need to have eaten about 8 squares before being at risk.
Just keep an eye on him -if he starts acting sick, take him to a vet.
You aren't even completely sure he ate it anyway. No point in over-reacting unecessarily.

18. Hi. Relax its fine. Chocolate is NOT poision for a dog !

Few dog owners know that most dogs tend to be lactose intolerant. This means that they lack the enzyme beta lactamase, which allows the digestive system to break down the kind of sugar contained in milk & chocolate.

Dogs that lack this enzyme end up with a lot of undigested sugar in their intestinal tract, which creates a wonderful breeding environment for bacteria. When a lot of bacteria grows in the intestinal tract it can irritate the stomach and intestine and cause vomiting and diarrhea. These are the same problems that occur in lactose-intolerant people.

That being said, while many dogs are lactose intolerant, some are not. Some dogs love the taste of milk and other dairy products and won't have any stomach or intestinal problems when they get some as a treat.

The bottom line is, it may be okay to give your dog a small amount of milk or chocolate if it doesn't cause her /him any vomiting, diarrhea, or other discomfort.

Did you also know that most black people are also lactose intolerant.

19. My dog scoffed a load of Quality Street at christmas (she is a seven year old cocker spaniel) and was fine. the dirty little theif the worst thing that will prob happen is the sqitts with shiny paper in.

20. Don't worry, he will be fine.

21. i was told to give the dog lots of bread, as it swells in the stomach pushing the chochlate through before it can be fully absorbed. never need to try it though