Dogs emergancy

ExDancer

For the record - just exactly HOW poisonous is chocolate to dogs?
Is it really a poison, or just 'bad' for them?
Are any of our members vets and able to tell us?

ps - please be kind to OP, we all make mistakes.

DD's dog ate a lot of chocolate once, she was fine and the vet said it was because she was a large dog. The amount she ate could have been lethal for a small dog, apparently.
She's still very greedy.

Yes, golden retrievers can get away with eating far more than say a dachshund.
I think it has something to do with their liver processing?

escaped

Yes, golden retrievers can get away with eating far more than say a dachshund.
I think it has something to do with their liver processing?

She's not any specific breed - she's a Bitzer! So probably tough 😁

Our naughty springer spaniel (crossed with a loony) snaffled freshly baked mince pies when we went out for a couple of hours.for drinkies and carols - he had never pinched foods before, and they were well back on the units.
I think oldest cat put him up to it by shoving them along on the cooling wrack.
There were thirteen pies but he apparently couldn't manage that final one - found it with a bite out of it in another room.
Lots of puking (obviously) lots of bowls of fresh water provided. He survived and went on to commit other none food related, none violent antics and lived well into his 17th year.
Naughtiest but gentlest dog ever.

ExDancer

For the record - just exactly HOW poisonous is chocolate to dogs?
Is it really a poison, or just 'bad' for them?
Are any of our members vets and able to tell us?

ps - please be kind to OP, we all make mistakes.

I don’t think that anyone can say for certain because every dog is different. Regardless of size what could kill one dog might have no effect on another dog. You only find out when it happens. From what I’ve read ( I have a dog that will steal anything) raisins are far more dangerous than chocolate although I spoke to someone on the beach one day whose dog died after eating chocolate. I’m currently really worried because I threw a treat onto the floor and my dog accidentally picked up some string that was lying on the floor and before I could get it out of her mouth she had swallowed it. I’m terrified that it might cause a blockage eventually. I do keep activated charcoal in the house because she’s a terrible thief and there are ways of making a dog sick but I wouldn’t risk doing anything like that without veterinary supervision.

I'm glad the dogs are ok

I was in hospital for six weeks and when I got home my greyhound was clearly displeased with me for abandoning her for so long. Eventually she came up to my bedroom and very delicately lifted the large bunch of grapes from my bedside table and trotted out of the room. Having endured a two hour journey in an ancient taxi I was in no fit state to chase after her. When my son got back from shopping there was no sign of the grapes but she was ver keen to go out. Thereafter she had obviously forgiven me and took up her usual position on my bed. No ill effects but I probably should have contacted the vet.
So pleased your dogs were OK

Notagran55; I will be sure to pass your message on to my daughter.

It's not your fault - most dogs are brilliant at finding forbidden foods .
I've also found visitors guilty of giving them treats .
I've had a few scares in the past with turkey and chicken bones and chocolate .
The bones were extracted fròm their gullets by the vet and they were given an emetic to expel the chocolate.
On one occasion they bit the vet and his assistant for their pains .
How the vet laughed it off
as blood poured from his hand - I don't know .
He said ,the bigger they are the more stupid and the smaller the cleverer .

it is unfair to take the op to task for the dogs stealing the chocolate. good dogs can suddenly do something ridiculous.
i have rescue dogs now and you have to have eyes in the back of your head yet my old late dog a terrier you could leave an open box of chocs and she would not touch them (not that i did) but if she could get to your tea she would soon drink that!
years ago we had a spaniel who decided the cakes mum had put on the tea trolley and while mum was making the tea to drink she carefully took the wings off the butterfly cakes but left the rest!
my current dogs are not too bad but can be quite food orientated esp as they were both badly starved pre us so its not surprising really .

While we’re on the subject, ibuprofen is very poisonous to dogs. And anything sweetened with xylitol, especially peanut butter. Always important to buy special dog safe peanut butter.

Dogs are life affirming. Sadly they do not read or take serious account of all the Seriously Dangerous to Dogs information we are bombarded with. So I know my box of expensive dark chocs bought as a gift, could be lethal to my dogs, my spaniel is scheming ways to abseil the book shelf 7ft high to reach and scoff them
My Labrador doesn’t know the risk his life. He’d eat them given the take it command but, he has the conscience the spaniel lacks. He’s a Good Boy and doesn’t take human food off human surfaces. The god of dogs moves mysteriously

My daughter’s friend saw a small white protrusion from her labarador’s bottom. She gently pulled it then pulled it some more. It was an entire Tesco carrier bag!

DH (retired vet) says that a small piece of washing soda will cause the dog to vomit, and get rid of naughty food. A friends enormous Great Dane was famous for getting into the larder and eating whatever he could find, including chocolate cakes. He lived to a ripe old age.

grannysyb

DH (retired vet) says that a small piece of washing soda will cause the dog to vomit, and get rid of naughty food. A friends enormous Great Dane was famous for getting into the larder and eating whatever he could find, including chocolate cakes. He lived to a ripe old age.

grannysyb,

That’s really great info ,thank you. A store cupboard staple that I may have under the sink but will be sure to get now .👌

Grannynannywanny

My daughter’s friend saw a small white protrusion from her labarador’s bottom. She gently pulled it then pulled it some more. It was an entire Tesco carrier bag!

Omg 😦

That’s well ,it’s just …..Can’t even imagine poor dog eating a whole carrier bag .
Another reason to stop 🛑

I remember a neighbour's dog being very ill indeed, they thought she was on her last legs as she barely ate and nothing was going through.
When they took her to the vet, he decided to perform surgery and found her intestines blocked with a conker.
She recovered and lived many more years.

NanaTuesday

Grannynannywanny

My daughter’s friend saw a small white protrusion from her labarador’s bottom. She gently pulled it then pulled it some more. It was an entire Tesco carrier bag!

Omg 😦

That’s well ,it’s just …..Can’t even imagine poor dog eating a whole carrier bag .
Another reason to stop 🛑

My dog ate an entire roll (24) of large compostable bin bags. I complained to the council who had shoved them through the letter boxes of all the houses. The bags were made of corn feed and my dog thought they were rather tasty.
Vet visit, and yards of plastic retrieved.

Georgesgran

Springer spaniels?

Born half wild,
Die half trained.

I would like to add to that a quote I saw recently - 'Spaniel ears are for decoration, not for listening'. How true. Ours will eat anything at all that she can get hold of - she managed to swipe one grape as a puppy, and had to be rushed to the vet for the appropriate injection. All that said, years go before we knew about grapes, onions, chocolate and all the 'harmful to dogs' foods, our old mongrel would sit enjoying grapes with anyone who was willing to share with her - and obviously never a side effect. She lived to seventeen.

Mine is obviously a very typical spaniel, with particularly decorative ears.

I’m another whose spaniel’s ears are purely for decorative purposes. My butcher has working spaniels and labs. He says spaniels die half trained, labradors arrive half trained.
My mistake was show type spaniel, show type lab …….

I’ve always had rescue dogs and unfortunately I’ve had a whole host of shot owner stuff go n I bet the decades re good. We live and learn

I had a dog that could open locked windows and door inc the fridge. I literally had no hope

Gotta love my autocorrect tonight 😅
Please pray for me

My spaniel is very clever, he opens cupboards with a nose/paw combination, and he can work out how to reach food left on tables and worktops, he pushes a chair, jumps on that then onto the workshop. He’s too much of a wuss to jump down though, he cries for me to lift him down. I’ve learned the hard way, my house is an anti dog getting food zone, but he takes every opportunity, I have to warn visitors not to let bags with food in out of their sight.

as a previous poster mentioned it is the quality of the chocolate that is relevant. Many 'chocolates' contain virtually no actual chocolate. When our terrier ate an entire box of after 8s I was surprised that although the chocolate was dark, the cocoa content was less than 50%. (and of course most of the chocolate was actually sugary minty goo) Milk chocolates have a lower cocoa content. The lethal dose of theobromine is reported to be 100-500 mg/kg of body weight so if your chocolates are just coated in chocolate you are unlikely to kill your pet but if they are solid very dark chocolate then its way more serious. Apparently grapes and raisins only affect some dogs not all but they can react very quickly indeed - we had a terrier that adored grapes but I would never offer them now.