Puppy (&everyone really!)owners-a reminder!!

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Venevidivici

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Last week we had the first (&hopefully last?!?)emergency vet visit with our 15wk puppy. Whilst I was out,he had stolen a whole box of chocolate truffles off the kitchen table and scoffed the lot:-/

I came home at 7.20pm to kids & sister (who'd been babysitting) telling me what a monkey he'd been 10mins earlier-I went into emergency mode,weighed him (15kg), looked at weight of chocs (7oz) & realised way over toxic amount. Pup gone in his bed,looking sorry for himself and generally quieter than normal. Phoned vet-went straight there,IV chemical inducement of vomiting,whole 7oz of choc came back up in the following 20mins,pup back home,feeling fine and pinging about like nothing had happened. (No other procedures necessary,cos I got to vet quickly.)

So...a gentle reminder-if you have a greedy dog,or one with a good 'nose' (ours is both!) please remember that what you think is out of reach may not be,for the determined food thief!

Vet said choc poisoning(&fatalities from it) is v common and that choc truffles are even more toxic than dark choc,as they contain more cocoa powder&it's the cocoa powder that contains the theobromine(the chemical that dogs can't metabolize&which poisons them) and a fatal dose can be as little as 2 to 6oz for a 20kg dog...(2oz can be 2 squares of choc)...scary. :(
Puppy is,of course,completely without remorse or regret and I am £130 poorer:-/ but very glad that he's still with us! Theobromine poisoning can take place over a few days & be fatal at the end...vomiting does not necessarily mean they'll be ok as the theobromine may already be well absorbed into them and the vomiting is a symptom of the poisoning-please be watchful, over Christmas especially!
One relieved poopy owner...
 
A very timely warning with Christmas coming up, I am so glad your pup is okay, well done for acting so promptly. It really bugs me when you warn people about the dangers of chocolate and they say that their dog has eaten chocolate with no ill effects and people are just fussing!:mad:
 
aww, you were so lucky. My lab was fed chocolate chip cookies as treats by his last owner, i didn't know what to say as i was in shock when they were feeding him them as i went to pick him up, accidental is one thing but feeding them on purpose is just stupid.
 
Thank you everyone-we are lucky we knew that he'd done it and could act quickly and thanks for the link, Dobiegirl-will have a look at that:) (Glad Viszlak didn't lose Milo too.)
 
Be careful of wrapped christmas presents too......ask what is in them if in doubt! I have always been careful and most people know me well enough to indicate if a prezzie is not dog friendly, but a few years ago a GWP nearly died after consuming an awful lot of Hotel Chocolat chocolate tasting experience goodies when he decided he ought to prematurely help me with the unwrapping of said goodies. :mad:
 
Glad your GWP came through, GGD. I've read the link Dobiegirl posted and I agree-people are too blasé in their attitude to choc poisoning in dogs:-/ My family were all 'Well,he'll feel ill tonight and probably be sick'. Er,no-it's not just that he'll feel rough-he could die! They all seemed to think I was overreacting somewhat but the vet confirmed that many dogs die because people have this, 'Oh,serves him right,no wonder he looks sorry for himself' attitude... :-/
 
Glad your dog is fine Venevidivici. Yes you are right, people are far too blase about chocolate consumption, even some knowledgable dog folk. The signs of poisoning are very subtle to begin with, and chocolate DOES kill, I look at my little dog every day and am immensely greatful he is still here, I so nearly lost him. It was, funnily enough, about this time 2 years ago, maybe even to the day.
 
Thank you Vizslak and you are right-we've had dogs in our family forever and i seemed to be the only concerned one! Your website is a brill idea:) I hope that at least my circle of family,friends and acquaintances are all more aware now.:)
 
please feel free to spread it, its that time of year, if it educates one person whose dog finds the chocolate stash then its done some good :)
 
I just read back my posts of when they went in and the four days it took him to wake up, they made me cry! :o It really was terrifying!
 
Glad your puppy is ok! That's a lot of chocolate.
Are all dogs intolerant to chocolate or is it dependant on the dog?
I know its wrong and don't feed mine it. However when growing up we had a collie cross and every Friday my parents would have coffee after eating with after eight chocolates she would arrive at table and used to have probably 2 a night from a young age. She lived to be 17 so it obviously did no harm to her. But then again she would only eat bakers too so maybe she was just odd! Never had a vets bill (injections excluded) for her except to be pts.
 
its poisonous dd, dogs arent intolerant to it, its poisonous. Its actually poisonous to humans too but our bodies can handle large quantities without ill effect, ever felt ill and wobbly from drinking too much coffee? Thats like pre poisoning stage...same chemical. Feeding chocolate is like feeding lead. There isnt much choc on an after eight, particularly for a larger dog so although she shouldnt have been fed it I'm not suprised she suffered no noticeable effect.
 
As I understand it,in decreasing order of theobromine content (ie first has the most & is most dangerous,last the least & is least dangerous) ;
Cocoa beans
Cocoa powder
Dark/plain choc
Milk choc
Drinking choc
White choc
10 years ago,I used to roll maltesers at speed across the kitchen floor,as a game for my ESS who used to love chasing & pouncing on (&eating!) them...now I know better:-/ (We've probably all fed them a bit of choc at some point,let's face it but I never will again!)
 
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