Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Peter Ding — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:43:42 GMT

For Master G. beringei beringei ( who looks really sick!)

Rx:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wy52yueBX_s

sig:

ingest slowly in moderate quantities to effect, then brush teeth (twice ) before bed.

Mitte;

enough for pre-treatment parental toxicity check.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Edward Jones — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:30:14 GMT

[quote user="Peter Ding"]Chocolate is said to be the single most effective cough suppressant in children....I've occasionally used it on paroxysmally coughing dogs with some success.[/quote]

I presume it's the theobromine that's the active ingredient with regards to the cough suppression? How does the prescription read... 'One lump of Green and Black's Dark Chocolate before bedtime"?

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Peter Ding — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 16:21:42 GMT

...some of us dream of dying of chocolate poisoning! To die with a smile on ones face is all one can ask.

I only tend to worry if its the bitter high cocoa solids type...that's the only sort I have seen significant problems with.

Chocolate is said to be the single most effective cough suppressant in children....I've occasionally used it on paroxysmally coughing dogs with some success.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Simon Neuhoff — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 22:01:50 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Chocolate + Dog= Bad News

I would never dare tell an owner who rang that "That much should be OK"-in case it wasn't

Wynne

[/quote]

Wynne, that's an interesting thing for a vet to say. Every day we are making decisions based on 'safe' dose versus toxicity. It's not really much different to someone ringing up saying their 25kg lab has eaten an aspirin.

Chocolate is not magically poisonous in dogs, theobromine is toxic to people too. Especially the elderly eating dark chocolate. My little dog frequently gets little bits every now and again, so long as she doesn't get a whole bar she will be fine. Yes if a dog has eaten a lot or an unknown amount but someone rang me near Christmas with a Lab that had eaten a 50g bar of Dairy Milk. I did nothing, didn't even see the dog. It was fine.

[/quote]

I'd go so far as to say I have yet to see clinical symptoms of chocolate poisoning. I check the doseage and induce emesis if it seems appropriate but often feel it is probably overkill.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Michael Woodhouse — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 20:55:34 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Chocolate + Dog= Bad News

I would never dare tell an owner who rang that "That much should be OK"-in case it wasn't

Wynne

[/quote]

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

bob lehner — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 15:12:18 GMT

[quote user="Bob Russell"]I am so fed up with my staffie that if anyone wants to do toxicity trials on her let me know![/quote]

Ditto the dear little JRT x I found sitting by the road near my house a few months ago and gave a home to ..... the most untrainable dog I have ever met.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Simon Neuhoff — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 14:35:45 GMT

When I was a kid,ignorant of the dangers of chocolate, we used to do a traditional Easter Egg hunt which our Yorkie-cross used to join in with great gusto - she would eat them, roll in them and, once she'd had her full, would bury them for later consumption! It is impossible to say how much she actually ingested of course but she certainly chewed them up happily and never showed any ill effetcs. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Bob Russell — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:40:14 GMT

The only time a practice I have worked in lost a dog to choc toxicity was a Labrador. Thank goodness I was not on duty as it belonged to one of our receptionists!

I am so fed up with my staffie that if anyone wants to do toxicity trials on her let me know!

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:35:25 GMT

Chocolate + Dog= Bad News

I would never dare tell an owner who rang that "That much should be OK"-in case it wasn't

Wynne

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Martin Jones — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 13:02:36 GMT

A nice thing, and definitely something to link to in the Easter client newsletters.

But, just to canvas opinion, I've always found that certain breeds - Staffies, Boxers etc - are MUCH more sensitive to chocolate posioning than Labs and pound hounds - although for Labs, it may just be an induced tolerance over a lifetime. Is it just me? Are all dogs the same.

I love the 'fact' that Mastiffs can eat over 200kg of white chocolate before dying. I'd like to think even a mastiff would stop eating by somewhere around the 10kg mark, or pass out. That must be getting on for 1,000 white chocolate Easter eggs........

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Peter Ding — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:23:04 GMT

[quote user="Catherine Williams"]

[quote user="Andrew Mellor"]

I would say this very much underestimates the dangers, i have seen clinical signs at much lower doses than this chart suggests and so has VPIS when I have contacted them in the past

[/quote]

I have to agree, the dose rates I work on from VPIS + ASPCA poison control are much lower, something like 9g milk choc per kg bodywt

I find http://www.aspcapro.org/animal-poison-control.php really useful to quickly check toxicities, particularly now we're paying VPIS on a case by case basis, sometimes saves me a call.

[/quote]

If you set the chart to a 1kg dog, it indicates 10gm of milk chocolate may give you symptoms of V+D, so does it really "very much underestimate" the dangers?

A pretty useful tool .

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Catherine Williams — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 11:09:27 GMT

[quote user="Andrew Mellor"]

I would say this very much underestimates the dangers, i have seen clinical signs at much lower doses than this chart suggests and so has VPIS when I have contacted them in the past

[/quote]

I have to agree, the dose rates I work on from VPIS + ASPCA poison control are much lower, something like 9g milk choc per kg bodywt

I find http://www.aspcapro.org/animal-poison-control.php really useful to quickly check toxicities, particularly now we're paying VPIS on a case by case basis, sometimes saves me a call.

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Andrew Mellor — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 09:48:04 GMT

I would say this very much underestimates the dangers, i have seen clinical signs at much lower doses than this chart suggests and so has VPIS when I have contacted them in the past

Re: Useful online tool for chocolate ingestion by dogs?

Michael Woodhouse — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 22:05:41 GMT

I like that.

Just as I thought - I can give the little beastie the odd bit.