Chocolate Poisoning Dogs and Prevention
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They will love the smell of chocolate and at any given “opportunity” will eat it if given the chance.
Intoxication of your dog will immediately result if your dog eats chocolate. Vitamins and Mineral supplementation can do a lot of very good things in building your dog’s health and immune systems and extending their life span, but they can do very little if your dog eats toxic forms of chocolate. There are present in several foods, beverages, and plants naturally occurring molecules that can be toxic to pets (and humans), but especially in dogs. Theobromine, caffeine, and theophylline all contain these molecules, but far and away the most dangerous to your dog is Theobromine. Theobromine comes from a plant known as Theobroma cocoa, and is found in cola, tea, cocoa beans, and more importantly to you as a dog owner, chocolate. Chocolate poisoning dogs that have the biggest chance of being lethal to your pet, usually occur in smaller dogs that have eaten large amount of baking chocolate, but any size of dog, if they have eaten chocolate, especially baking chocolate, are at immediate risk of real and present dangers to their health. The majority of chocolate poisoning dogs will happen during the holiday seasons when you are baking and perhaps a child acting in good faith feeds your dog chocolate. Or because the smell is just so tempting, your dog decides to help himself when you walk away. As dog owners, we have all had it happen to us. Usually just an annoyance or inconvenience, it this case it could be devastating to your best friend. Chocolate poisoning dogs can happen with any kind of chocolate, but the most potent form is baking chocolate as it contains the highest dosage of theobroma cacao, or coco. Milk chocolate contains between 44-60 mgs of theobroma cacao per ounce, while unsweetened contains a whopping 450 mgs per ounce. Hot chocolate, for example, only contains 13 mgs per ounce, so you can clearly see that baking cocoa is by far and away the most dangerous. The rule of thumb for danger to you dog is 250-to-500 mgs (or about 2/3 to 1 ounce of baking chocolate) for every 2.5 pounds of your dog’s body weight. Chocolate poisoning in dogs that are very serious but non-fatal can also happen with smaller dosages of intake. The first signs of chocolate poisoning dogs will be vomiting or diarrhea, or both, as well as nausea, and increased and sudden urination. These conditions, depending on how much chocolate was digested, can also lead to cardiac arrhythmias, seizures, and in the most severe cases, sudden death. This is not something to be taken likely by dog owners. If you’re pet has been feed or has accidentally eaten dangerous amounts of chocolate, try to get your pet to your veterinarian with-in the first 2 hours of the incident. If this is not possible, induce vomiting. The recommended steps for inducing vomiting on your own are to give your dog 2 tsp of hydrogen peroxide, preferably with a syringe, as it will react a lot quicker that way.
Lift your dog’s lips and place the syringe on the side of their mouth. Use 1 tsp of salt if you do not have hydrogen peroxide. Gently pull your dog’s mouth open as far as possible and place the salt as far on the back of the tongue as you can. By inducing vomiting as quickly as possible, you can really help your dog’s chances of poisoning and preventing the deadly toxins from reaching the bloodstream. If more than two hours has elapsed, you need to get your dog to the veterinarian as quickly as possible for treatment. Another thing recommended is to call the National Animal Poison Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana, toll free number which is 888-252-7387. Dogs really like to eat and they all have a sweet tooth, just like you and me. But chocolate poisening dogs is something you can not take lightly. Treats for your dogs are great, and there are several very good brands to choose from that are safe, but by all means avoid Chocolate Poisoning dogs and keep them away from your baking and from candy bars. CHOCOLATE POISONING DOGS AND PET CARE RX
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