Dogs, Chocolate and Valentine’s Day

Dogs, Chocolate and Valentine’s Day, the day in which we show our significant others how much we care. It is celebrated with diamonds, roses, special dinners and often time chocolates.

If you are one of the lucky recipients of chocolate be sure to keep it away from your pets.

As you know certain types of chocolate can be toxic to dogs. Baker’s chocolate and cocoa powder are the most dangerous types of chocolate for dogs.

Theobromine is similar to caffeine and it is the main ingredient in chocolate and can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. More seriously it can cause seizures and sometimes death.

Theobromine is not found in white chocolate but white chocolate does have a high fat content which can lead to other problems such as pancreatitis in dogs.

What to watch out for :

The first signs of toxicity will appear within six to twelve hours. The first signs may be tremors or hyper activity. If you see your dog has ingested chocolate induce vomiting immediately.

How to induce vomiting in dogs: 

The best way to induce vomiting is by the use of hydrogen peroxide.

Use 3% peroxide only. The kind you use at home for cuts and scrapes.

The dose is 1 teaspoon for every 10 pounds of your dog’s body weight. You must administer the peroxide orally. You can mix it in with a little vanilla ice cream or honey to make it more enticing for your dog.  A syringe will also work.

After your dog takes the hydrogen peroxide walk them around a bit to help the hydrogen peroxide do its work. The hydrogen peroxide will irritate the gastrointestinal tract, so it typically induces vomiting fifteen minutes. If your dog does not vomit within fifteen minutes, you can give him a second dose.

If another fifteen minutes pass and he still hasn’t vomited, don’t give him a third dose of the hydrogen peroxide. It’s time to call your veterinarian. For more information on how to induce vomiting visit healthypets.mercola.com

When not to induce vomiting: 

• If the dog has lost consciousness
• If the dog is weak or has trouble standing
• If it has been over two hours since the dog ingested the chocolate

Daily Dog Walkers & Pet Sitters wishes everyone a happy Valentine’s Day. And remember to keep the chocolates away from your dog!