What to Do if Your Dog Eats Chocolate

The seemingly harmless and irresistible chocolates, that we love so much, happens to be poisonous for dogs. So that brings us to the question as to, would you know what to do if your dog ate chocolate? The reason being that chocolate contain a component known as theobromine, which is derived from the produce of all coco trees. Theobromine is also similar to Xanthine, which is found in caffeine. These components are toxic for dogs, and often affect their heart, kidneys and most importantly their nervous systems. Chocolates with a higher coco content are relatively far more toxic for dogs as compared to milk chocolates. Find out why is chocolate bad for dogs and how dangerous can it be?

Many people are not aware about this important fact, which results in hundreds of dogs falling ill because of chocolate dog poisoning in America. What makes this situation even more worse, is that small children often have a tendency of sharing their treats with their pets (dogs and cats), which increases the incidents of this type of poisoning among dogs. Let us assume that you just found out that your dog had eaten chocolate, here are some of the symptoms you should be looking for in your dog's health.

Symptoms of Chocolate Poisoning

Would you be prepared to handle chocolate poisoning in dogs and rush to your pet's rescue? Most people would have no idea, and would not even realize what was wrong with their dog! That is why it is necessary to know some of the common symptoms that accompany chocolate poisoning. Here are some of the symptoms of dog poisoning displayed by dogs during this poisoning ranging from normal symptoms to fatal ones, which would depend upon the quantity of chocolate consumed as well as the size of the dog:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Restlessness
• Arrhythmia or an increased heart rate
• Frequent Urinating in dogs
• Muscle Spasms
• Shivering
• Seizure or Coma

Treatment for Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs

Method 1
When faced with such a situation, you may not be able to control the consequent adverse reactions in your dog, unless you prepare for such an eventuality beforehand. In case you can't help, immediately rush the dog to the nearest veterinarian, who will then pump out the toxins from the dog's stomach. Until then, in order to be on the safer side, it would be better to force your dog to drink a lot of saline water, so that it makes it vomit. This would bring out a bit of whatever is causing the trouble.

Method 2
Another solution, would be to get hold of the emergency pet-kit. This kit would contain hydrogen peroxide, activated charcoal and some syrup of Ipecac. Follow the given steps in sequence in case of such poisoning of your dog:

• Hydrogen Peroxide - You will need to make your dog vomit. Which requires that you make it drink hydrogen peroxide mixed with water and some syrup of Ipecac.
• For small dogs, 1-2 spoons of hydrogen peroxide mixed in water would do the trick.
• While for bigger dogs, 3-4 spoons would be required, so as to successfully make the dog vomit.
• Wait for 10-15 minutes, within which time, the dog would be able to vomit.
• Activated Charcoal - Activated charcoal absorbs the left over poison that may have been left behind in the dog's tummy.
• Now feed the dog one teaspoon of activated charcoal if it's weight is below 25 k, if the dog weighs more, then you will need to feed 2 teaspoons to it.

Hopefully, now you would know what to do if your dog eats chocolate. After the home treatment, you will still need to take your dog to the doctor, so as to confirm that your pet will be alright. All dog owners must keep chocolates meant for human consumption, away from dogs. They must explain to all members of the family, as to why chocolate is bad for dogs. Though, if your dog really likes chocolates, there are theobromine and coco free chocolates that are available. The chocolates are called the Chudgy Chocs and are produced by The Canine Confectionery Company.