Came home today to find out that our Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier, Quantum Leap, had nosed his way into a closet that contained three packs of Milano cookies containing chocolate; he had eaten his way through all three packs. Milano cookies contain about 1.44 ounces or about 40,823 mgs of chocolate. This was certainly not good!
Panic? Yes! Thank goodness he did not ingest it! We made certain.
This is what we did. Calmly we administered 15 ml of hydrogen peroxide mixed with honey in a liquid-style syringe; charcoal can also be administered. We took Q outside and waited for him to vomit. And he did vomit! According to mypeted.com, the quicker that you can remove the theobroine, the better! It is not recommended to do this at home though!
It is not good for dogs to ingest chocolate. Chocolate contains a caffeine-like substance called alkaloid theobroine which is toxic to dogs since it is used in medications as a diuretic, heart stimulant, blood vessel dilator and a smooth muscle relaxant. It is estimated that a dog should not eat more than 50 mg/lb of chocolate. It certainly could have proven fatal since he ingested over the 100 mg/lb.
Ordinarily it would be the wisest to call your veterinarian immediately! If not, dog can have present with the following symptoms:
· Vomiting
· Diarrhea
· Increased thirst
· Panting
· Restlessness
· Excessive urination
· Muscle spasms
· Occasional seizures
· Elevated heart rate and abnormal behavior
· Older pets can present with cardiac arrest, especially if a preexisting heart disease
It has only been recently that our dog has been allowed to enter upper echelons of our household. He has never been tried to investigate anything outside of his three rooms that he was allowed. Is the decision to let him be able to expand his horizons a good one? Only time will tell. Everyone in the family will have to be able to judge the decision.
For every four hours for the first 24-26 hours of treatment, to block further absorption of the theobromine in the stomach and small intestine, the charcoal can be administered. If not intravenous fluid therapy can be utilized in order to dilute the poison that the theobroine is assimilated into the dog’s system. No matter what, the dog must be monitored for at least the first 24 hours for the dog’s heart rhythm. If it becomes irregular, you must contact the dog’s vet right away!
Make sure that your dog is safe. If your dog ingests chocolate in any form, check with your vet and make certain that you do everything that you possibly can to make sure for the current time that your dog will not suffer future consequences.
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