My dog ate chocolate

What should I do if my dog ate chocolate?

Since chocolate is potentially deadly to canines, you should IMMEDIATELY get your pet pooch over to Hillchester Animal Hospital (708-449-6300). The sooner theobromine (the deadly stuff in chocolate) is removed from your canine’s digestive tract, the less your dog suffers and the less expensive the Veterinary treatments are.

For the cost of any service from Hillchester Animal Hospital, please submit the form to the right (including species and weight).

Can’t I just wait and see if my dog gets sick?

Unless you have a degree in Veterinary Medicine, you are gambling with your dog’s health and your checkbook. If is much less expensive to treat your dog before chocolate poisoning symptoms appear.

Veterinary signs of chocolate poisoning can take up to twelve hours to develop. Once theobromine is absorbed into your dog’s body, it may remain there for up to twenty-fours causing significant damage to your dog’s health. Fatal cardiac arrest may occur in older dogs with preexisting canine heart disease. For many dogs, the most common veterinary clinical signs of chocolate poisoning are “my dog is vomiting with diarrhea”, “my dog is panting”, and “my dog is acting sick”.

Can’t I just make my dog throw up?

Again the answer is that you are gambling with your dog’s health and your checkbook by playing Animal Doctor. Veterinary treatment is based on the time, the amount, and the type of chocolate eaten by your dog. If treated early by a Veterinarian, forcing your dog to vomit may be all that is necessary. In cases where your dog ate chocolate several hours earlier, activated charcoal (designed for Veterinary Use Only) may be administered to block the absorption of theobromine in your dog’s stomach and small intestine.

Also, it is very common to provide supportive Veterinary treatments (such as intravenous fluid therapy) to help dilute and promote excretion of the toxin. All dogs ingesting chocolate should be closely monitored for the first twenty-four hours for any signs of irregular canine heart rhythm.