Chocolate dog poisoning is a fatal accident if this happens to your dog. If you think that your dog can eat anything that is good for humans, you’re wrong. One very important thing you should avoid doing if you want your dog to live a long life is giving them chocolates. It’s very heartwarming to see the glow in little children’s eyes when you give them chocolates. But if you give the chocolates to your dog, you will never see the same glow in its eyes because you’re actually poisoning it.
Very few people know the bad effect that chocolates bring to dogs; in fact, many people would even be surprised if you tell them that chocolates and dogs cannot go together.
It is also surprising that despite the chocolates’ ill effects, dogs love to eat chocolates; and chocolates are also addictive to them. According to veterinary researches a dog that has tasted a little amount of chocolate will grab will grab every chance to take a bite at it again. Not all chocolates however have the same harmful effects on dogs because there are certain types that are less toxic to them than others. But giving the dog larger amounts of chocolates can lead several dogs to epileptic seizures and in certain dog breeds, it can be fatal.
Why are chocolates lethal?
Chocolates contain theobramine. This element is mostly present in cocoa beans. Theobramine stimulates urination in dogs as well as it affects the dog’s central nervous and heart muscle system. Theobromine is actually the culprit behind chocolate dog poisoning.
The Symptoms
As with any poisoning incident, the dog usually vomits within a few hours after it eats chocolate. Hyperactivity and diarrhea are other symptoms that you will likely see in a dog that has eaten chocolate. If the dog continues to consume chocolates it will star to palpitate, will become restless and is always panting, its urination becomes more frequent and it becomes hyperactive as its heartbeat also becomes irregular. If left untreated, these manifestations could lead to seizures, spasms, coma or death.
Be prepared, accidents never tell
Now that you know that chocolates are bad for your dog, you should also know how to handle chocolate dog poisoning just to be ready for any eventuality. Since it is not uncommon for dogs to eat chocolates, you should know the basic things to do to save your dog in case this happens.
The first rule for administering emergency treatment to a dog that’s been a victim of chocolate dog poisoning is not to panic. You should take the chocolate out of the dog’s system before theobromine can circulate in the dog’s body. Induce vomiting to flush the candy out of the out of the dog’s system in order to reduce the effect of the poison on the dog.
To induce vomiting, drop three percent of hydrogen peroxide in your dog’s mouth every 15 minutes until it vomits. In the alternative, you can also use Ipecac syrup for this purpose. These two are over-the-counter drugs and can be bought with prescription.
If you determine that the degree of chocolate dog poisoning is quite alarming, you should immediately take your dog to a veterinarian for immediate treatment.
As a reminder, you should be very careful what you feed your dog with. Educate the members of your family and everyone you know about chocolate dog poisoning so that accidents can be avoided.