EverythingDogBlog: It's Almost Chocolate Time - But not for Dogs

It’s Almost Chocolate Time – But Not for Dog

Yum, yum, but not for Fido

How much is too much?

Halloween is just around the corner and candy is rapidly populating the store aisles.

Beware

Beware of spooks and beware of your dog getting into chocolate – it is so not good for your best friend.

How Not Good?

Check out (and save) this handy link from PetMD.com and follow these steps before you need them in a hurry.

1.Enter your dog’s weight in pounds (if you don’t know how much Fido weighs, contact your veterinarian or use your family scales [weigh yourself, pick up Fido and weigh the two of you together, then subtract the first weight from the second])

2. Select the type of chocolate Spot got into: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, baker’s chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, or white chocolate.

3. Select the amount of chocolate King ate, in ounces.

4. Look above on the page for the Chocolate Toxicity Meter which varies from None, Very Mild, Mild, Moderate, to Severe.

5. To the right is a paragraph that tells you what action to take for that amount and type of chocolate eaten by your dog, along with the Pet Poison Hotline number (855-213-6680).

And More. . . . Why and How Much

I love this webpage. It not only explains why chocolate is toxic to dogs, and shows the symptoms to be concerned about, but also tells us that your 50-pound dog (maybe an Australian Shepherd size) may get sick from 8 ounces (half a pound) of milk chocolate but can be poisoned by only 1 ounce of Baker’s chocolate!

Check out the number of ounces of chocolate in that candy bar in your purse, just to be on the safe side, then put your purse up high.

Possible Treatment

Perhaps the best part of this URL is the short video in which a veterinarian explains almost more than is on the webpage – including possible treatment. She also recommends to seek medical assistance as soon as you know your canine has eaten chocolate – don’t wait until the symptoms develop: time is of the essence.

But, . . .

However, look carefully at the two charts on the bottom of the page. In a hurry, you may misunderstand them – they are not nearly as helpful as I would want charts to be.

Act Now

So, in preparation, take a look now at the Chocolate Toxicity Meter link and become familiar with it. Memorize the URL. But most crucially, practice good chocolate management if you have a dog – put the stuff up high.

(Caveat: rewritten from PetMD.com, 5 October 2016)