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Emergency - Dog at chocolate

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Photo of Don P.
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1/31/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

Help... my friend just called and her very small dog ate a bunch of chocolate brownies.  What do we do?

I told her to call a vet, that it could kill her dog.  Anyone know

1.  Is this true
2.  A 24hour vet
3.  What to do if we can't find one?

  1. Photo of Don P.
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    1/31/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

    Ok... found this place

    http://www.yelp.com/bi...

    and she called someone else (not sure who it was).  They said to make the dog ingest hydrogen peroxide so that it would throw up.

  2. Photo of Jill M.
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    1/31/2008 Jill M. says:

    http://petcaretips.net...

    Oscar did something similar and lived to tell about it.  He did get very nervous then cry a little, but he was fine the next day.  Jon's childhood pet ate a box of valentine candy and didn't have a problem either.  But there apparently is a stimulant substance in chocolate that is toxic to dogs.  Brownies have more eggs, flour, etc, than chocolate, so that might help...  

    But it wouldn't hurt to get his little stomach pumped and get some activated charcoal in there to absorb the toxins.  

    Can you give dogs syrup of ipecac to induce vomiting?  That is NOT a recommendation, just a question.

  3. Photo of LO L.
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    1/31/2008 LO L. says:

    If it's a small dog she should get it to a vet.  It will probably be fine, like Jill said, but better safe than sorry right?  I can't imagine trying to feed a dog hydrogen peroxide.

  4. Photo of Cotton F.
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    1/31/2008 Cotton "__" F. says:

    Am Pm is a great 24 hour vet... I used to leave dark chocolate for staff consumption on occasion... Kim H. was one of the vets I recall being good...

  5. Photo of Michelle C.
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    1/31/2008 Michelle "de-Elited but Not Deleted" C. says:

    This happend to a friend of mine recently, and she took it to some 24-hour vet who told her to give it something to make it vomit.  But I can't for the life of me remember what it was she gave it.

    Whatever it was, it worked, and the dog vomited and was completely fine.

    Keeping my fingers crossed for your friend and her pup.  :(

  6. Photo of LO L.
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    1/31/2008 LO L. says:

    I went to the Animal Emergency Hospital across from Central Market when Boris got pneumonia a long time ago and they took good care of him.  http://maps.google.com...

  7. Photo of LO L.
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    1/31/2008 LO L. says:

    But they were also a bit expensive and also had me transfer him to my long term vet the next day.  But they kept him alive and monitored overnight and that was a salvation when he was struggling to breathe.

  8. Photo of Don P.
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    1/31/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

    She's trying to feed it (her name is also Lucy) more peroxide.  She called the guy I suggested and he said that in an hour she would be shaky and hyper if she was poisoned.

    My friend (Kim) said, "but that's who she is."

    It's true, she's a Jack Russell and so she is always hyper and shaking.  

    I'll keep you updated.

  9. Photo of Michelann Q.
    1/31/2008 Michelann "Does it have a playground?" Q. says:

    I would suggest taking the dog to one of the 24 hour  vets for a checkup just in case. My dog ate half a bag of M&ms, but he threw most of it up (on my carpet, yay!) so he wasn't overly affected. Better safe than sorry.

  10. Photo of Jaime M.
    1/31/2008 Jaime "Accidental Evildoer" M. says:

    Feeding her peroxide doesn't seem very smart. Does it really induce vomiting? Seems risky.

  11. Photo of Cheyne M.
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    2/1/2008 Cheyne "I'm on a boat biaytch....." M. says:

    Yeah I cant imagine somone saying feed her peroxide without seeing her to get an idea of how she's doing (checking vitals and such)

    I hope she gets the treatment she needs.... and gets to feeling better.

  12. Photo of Shaun J.
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    2/1/2008 Shaun J. says:

    As far as eating chocolate goes it effects some dogs more than others, but there is no way to tell what dog it will effect.  There is a certain amount that needs to be consumed in most cases.  For exam a lab eating one M&M should be fine.  But I would ALWAYS recommend going to the vet for treatment as certain changes can occur if left untreated that can lead to death.  I have seen it happen first hand.  And as far as giving Hydrogen Peroxide at home this is recommended to attempt to induce vomiting (at home First Aid if you will).  It is not what the vet will give, however, as they have stronger more reliable drugs to induce vomiting.  As far as how I know these things it is because I am a vet at one of the hospitals listed in this discussion.

  13. Photo of Jill M.
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    2/1/2008 Jill M. says:

    So, how's the pup?

  14. Photo of Don P.
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    2/1/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

    Not much info for the update.  Kim (dog owner) talked to two different vets and they both said to give 4 teaspoons of peroxide.  The last time we spoke (about 1:15), Lucy (dog) hadn't thrown up but also didn't seem to be acting strangely.  Kim set an alarm  for 2:00 so that she could get up and check on Lucy but I didn't hear anything (that's a good sign).

    Fortunately, she lives very close to one of the vets listed above.  I'll give y'all an update when I hear more.

    Thanks for asking Jill :)

  15. Photo of Tara M.
    2/1/2008 Tara "Retired Party Girl" M. says:

    My parents cocker spaniel also a Lucy was notorious for getting into chocolate once she ate a whole bag of Halloween candy including the wrappers and she lived.

    I hope Lucy is OK.

  16. Photo of Chad S.
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    2/1/2008 Chad "the good times are killing me" S. says:

    I say it's always best to keep the pot brownies in a cupboard.  Is Kim sure the dog even ate them?  Because one time mine disappeared, and I could have sworn I didn't eat them all...

  17. Photo of Don P.
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    2/1/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

    That's funny because Kim is SUPER conservative and would never do any sort of drugs.  She's a real sweetie...

    And the vet guy on the phone with her was like, "What's in the brownies"  And Kim said, "I don't know, chocolate, flour, eggs, sugar..."  (she was reading the box to him).  And he was like, "but what else is in the brownies?"  So she kept reading the ingredients.  Then he said, "Ok, this isn't working.  Is there any marijuana in the brownies?"

    She laughed and said, "ooohhhhh.... no, not at all"

  18. Photo of Debbie D.
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    2/1/2008 Debbie "make me an offer" D. says:

    The dog will be fine!  Granted my dog is bigger but she eats all kinds of things - including entire chocolate cakes and bottles of pills - and she has been fine.  A dog's digestion system is a lot faster than a human's so if the dog is fine right now then the dog will continue to be fine.  

    But if Kim is still nervous then maybe she should have some special brownies to relax!

  19. Photo of Stephanie S.
    2/1/2008 Stephanie "toad whisperer" S. says:

    It depends on how much actual cocoa bean is in the brownies, how big the dog is, and how sensitive the dog is to chocoate.  Since no one knows any variable except #2, sounds like talking to the vet is a good call.

    Eating an ounce of hersheys is totally different than eating an ounce of Toscano Black 70% cocoa. I would guess a box of brownie mix has very little actual cocoa bean in it.  If you made brownies from scratch from melted Scharffenberger, a dog could die with that high octane stuff.

    That said, our beagle once ate a pound of godiva chocolates we got as a christmas present when I was a kid and the beagle was fine, but I think hounddogs have iron stomachs.  

    Other dogs get really sick from even a little bit of food that isn't  normal.  So -- best to be safe than sorry. I sure hope that pup is ok.    Did the vet prescribe coming in for some charcoal?  Thats another thing they could do.

  20. 2/1/2008 kate s. says:

    I just wanted to put in a plug for AM/PM (I wrote a review).  My cats both ate Easter lilies last year, and came in for detox.  They truly treated my situation like an emergency, helping us the instant we came in.  

    The treatment probably depends on the type of toxin ingested and how it's absorbed in the body, but the vet can do a variety of things to help prevent lasting damage beyond just inducing vomiting.  My kitties got charcoal and 24 hours worth of IV fluids, and thankfully have no permanent kidney damage.  

    Even if your friend's pup seems OK, she should probably get her checked out to make sure everything is in order.  I hope she'll be all right!

  21. Photo of J D.
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    2/1/2008 J D. says:

    I'm way late to this, but the critical questions are usually:

    What kind of chocolate?

    How much chocolate?

    What size dog?

    There is quite a bit of information on the web regarding theobromine poisoning and dogs, just google "dogs and chocolate" or something similar.

  22. Photo of Don P.
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    2/1/2008 Don "never go with a hippie to a second location" P. says:

    Thanks everyone... I was kinda freaked out when it happened so thanks so much for the info and support.

    I talked to Kim today and everything seems fine.  Lucy is more hyper than usual (frankly that is difficult to believe) but is doing well.

    I really appreciate you guys.  Thanks so much.

  23. Photo of Jen L.
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    2/1/2008 Jen "Rascally Varmint" L. says:

    So glad to hear that she's healthy!

  24. Photo of Kelly L.
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    2/16/2008 Kelly L. says:

    My 75 lbs. Labrador ate 7 lbs of chocolate chips once, and the doctor said he didn't even need to come in. He was super hyper and occasionally shot pudding out his butt, but he certainly lived. As long as they were not pot brownies, most dogs could easily handle a plate of brownies.

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