Happy Valentines Day But Keep Your Chocolates to Yourself!

There are many great things that you can enjoy together with your dog for Valentines Day, but sharing chocolate is just not one of them!

Chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that is toxic to dogs in large enough quantities. Chocolate also contains caffeine. Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine and caffeine. For example, dark chocolate and baking chocolate contain much more theobromine and caffeine than does milk chocolate. 

So one of the first questions we will ask a pet owner when there is concern about their pet ingesting chocolate is what type of chocolate and how much did the pet ingest. We then must calculate the amount and type of chocolate ingested by the weight of the dog to determine if the toxic dose has been reached. 

Even a few ounces of chocolate can be enough to cause serious illness in a small dog.  So the take home message is there is no amount or type of chocolate considered "safe" for a dog to eat. 

The clinical signs that we see in our chocolate toxicity patients include vomiting, diarrhea, a very rapid and/or irregular heart rate, restlessness, muscle tremors, and seizures. Death can occur within 24 hours of ingestion. 

It takes nearly four days for the effects of chocolate to work its way out of a dog's system. If the patient is seen by a veterinarian quickly enough after ingesting chocolate (i.e. within an hour) we can induce vomiting to help clear it out of the system. Otherwise, hospitalization and intravenous supportive care are needed until the chocolate has worked its way out of the system. 

Interestingly, one Valentine evening during my emergency shift, I did not see any chocolate toxities. I did, however, see two alcohol toxicities. 

So have a fabulous Valentine's Day but keep the champagne and chocolates safely away from your furry loved ones.