# 4 month old puppy ate chocolate :(



## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

Hello everyone, i was wondering if you could give me some advice.

I came downstairs this morning to a room full of chocolatey dog sick 

Our 4 month old cross breed (but mostly jack russell) puppy had managed to get his little paws on a whole Terry's chocolate orange (with popping candy!) and obviously thrown it all back up again.

He's been sick about 8 times during the day. The last time was about 2pm. I took his puppy food away for a few hours until he brought all the chocolate back up. He is eating and drinking fine now. He's not been as active as he usually is, and can't seem to get comfortable when he sleeps. He's up and down lots. Also very clingy, wanting lots of cuddles and wants to be picked up/held.

He's eventually curled up on the sofa but is breathing quite heavily and noisily. I'm quite worried now :/ Is this normal? Is there anything i can do for him? I'm sooo tired but i don't want to leave him on his own.

Help or advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

Take him to the vets tomorrow asap, chocolate is poisonous to dogs and can kill them especially a 4 month old puppy :scared:


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## Allana (Jul 7, 2010)

A whole chocolate orange is quite a lot and even if he has been sick I would still get some veterinary advice, especially if he doesn't seem right to you. I wouldn't leave it to chance if it was me. 

Hope he is ok. X x


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## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

He seems fine in himself now, apart from the heavy breathing.

Should i still be worried?

I thought if anything bad was going to happen he would've deteriorated by now (that sounds bloody awful, and i hope he doesn't)

Could he still be in danger?


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## Petitepuppet (May 30, 2009)

The Chocolate Chart Interactive - National Geographic Magazine

this might help


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

Ye, he could. 

My Springer ate some plastic without me knowing, he was sick for 3 days! before I knew anything was really wrong.


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## shibby (Oct 3, 2010)

yumscrumfatbum said:


> He's eventually curled up on the sofa but is breathing quite heavily and noisily. I'm quite worried now :/ Is this normal? Is there anything i can do for him? I'm sooo tired but i don't want to leave him on his own.
> 
> Help or advice greatly appreciated.
> 
> Thanks


If he doesn't breathe like that normally then I'd be concerned. He's probably exhausted from all the vomiting too. Does your vets have an out of hours number? I personally would be watching him through the night. Was it a segment or a Terry's bar?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

I personally would phone the vet now. Theobromine in chocolate is extremely poisonous to dogs. hes displaying all the symptoms. Even though he chucked a lot up you dont know how much theobromine he has abosorbed. Ring the vet fot immediate advice. If he needs treatment he will need it ASAP


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## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

Oh god, I'm really worried now  I wasn't before because his behaviour was fine :/

He ate the round segmented one.

So the advice is... Ring the vet.


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## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

Should i ring the out of hours vet or wait until morning?

I don't want to wake the Vet up at this time for something that's not totally important, but i'm worried for my little pooch


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

Give 'em a ring, most vets have emergency lines and it'll put your mind at ease.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Ring now urgent just checked symptoms again hes gone through all the initial ones next is the breathing ring the vet now urgent out of hours,


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2010)

Please ring them now....no vet will be upset to be woken up if a dogs life is at risk.

I dont want to scare you but its best delt with sooner than later.


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## shibby (Oct 3, 2010)

I would ring. Don't worry, you're not bothering them! They'll be expecting these kinds of calls over the festive holidays too. It was only a segment and it's milk chocolate, so hopefully he's just had an adverse reaction to it. On the dogs trust website it says:

"Do contact your vets immediately if you suspect your dog has eaten chocolate intended for human consumption - especially if you see any of the following symptoms; *vomiting, a sore abdomen, excessive thirst, excitability, drooling, slow heart rate or convulsions*."


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

shibby said:


> I would ring. Don't worry, you're not bothering them! They'll be expecting these kinds of calls over the festive holidays too. It was only a segment but it's milk chocolate, so hopefully he's just had an adverse reaction to it. On the dogs trust website it says:
> 
> "Do contact your vets immediately if you suspect your dog has eaten chocolate intended for human consumption  especially if you see any of the following symptoms; *vomiting, a sore abdomen, excessive thirst, excitability, drooling, slow heart rate or convulsions*."


It wasnt just a segment he ate the whole orange some of them are dark chocolate too. Hes already had the vomiting restlessness, clingy ness thats what alerted me. The next stage is arrythmia thats what the breathing is.


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## DogLover1981 (Mar 28, 2009)

If he is breathing heavy, I would bring him to a vet ASAP.


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## shibby (Oct 3, 2010)

Sled dog hotel said:


> It wasnt just a segment he ate the whole orange some of them are dark chocolate too. Hes already had the vomiting restlessness, clingy ness thats what alerted me. The next stage is arrythmia thats what the breathing is.


Right, got confused from the reply I had. Nevertheless, the best thing to do is call the vet tonight. I am aware of the signs  and if it was the entire ball, that's a lot of chocolate, especially for a 4 month old small breed dog.


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

I really hope this pup is ok


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

I hope alls ok too... id def give the vet a bell best to be safe x


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

mitch4 said:


> I really hope this pup is ok


Yes so do I he needs medical attention immediately


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

someone i know didnt have a good outcome when thier dog ate chocolate,dont want to scare but it is important that if dogs eat chocolate they get seen by a vet or at least advice on amount and type of chocolate theyv eaten and the dog we know of didnt show signs of distress till much later after eating the chocolate 

Fingers crossed for this puppy xxx


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## sarybeagle (Nov 4, 2009)

Hope little pup is ok xxx


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## Argent (Oct 18, 2009)

Any news this morning?


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## bbear690 (Nov 23, 2010)

hope the puppy is ok x


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## swarthy (Apr 24, 2010)

Any news on the pup? I hope you got him to the vets and they were able to help.


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

mitch4 said:


> someone i know didnt have a good outcome when thier dog ate chocolate,dont want to scare but it is important that if dogs eat chocolate they get seen by a vet or at least advice on amount and type of chocolate theyv eaten and the dog we know of didnt show signs of distress till much later after eating the chocolate
> 
> Fingers crossed for this puppy xxx


Out of curiosity, how much longer after was it ?

My Tipsy stole my hazelnut chocolate on Saturday night while we were in bed, I woke up to find the empty box and wrapper all chewed up on the floor and no choc in sight. She's not been ill at all or acting strangely but I have been concerned about her and watching her / checking her poos etc.


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## swarthy (Apr 24, 2010)

shazalhasa said:


> Out of curiosity, how much longer after was it ?
> 
> My Tipsy stole my hazelnut chocolate on Saturday night while we were in bed, I woke up to find the empty box and wrapper all chewed up on the floor and no choc in sight. She's not been ill at all or acting strangely but I have been concerned about her and watching her / checking her poos etc.


The response can be measured by calculating the volume ingested per pound of body weight - I know when my 'naughty' girl emptied the bin and found the box of chocolates my daughter had dumped because she dropped them on the floor - the vet rang some poison specialists who calculated that for her it shouldn't cause a problem - this was further alleviated by the fact the centres weren't chocolate - we did have some paste to help that (and all the other undesirable stuff) pass out of her system - frightened the hell out of me - thankfully for us, there wasn't even an upset tum.

Despite that, ANY dog eating chocolate should see the vet (or at least the owner speak to the vet) ASAP - there is a threshold - but as with anything - some dogs have a higher tolerance and others have a much lower tolerance - a friend of mine nearly lost her Lab after it ate a christmas treat off the Christmas tree - by rights - it was such a small quantity it shouldn't have affected her at all.

A Whole Terry's chocolate orange is a hell of a lot of chocolate - particularly so for such a small and young pup


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## shazalhasa (Jul 21, 2009)

Totally agree, a chocolate orange eaten whole would most likely even make me sick  for a little puppy it's very worrying.

I've checked the figures on that site but it's hard to work out how much she'd actually eaten as I'd eaten some of it and can't remember how much exactly, maybe somewhere between a third and half the bar (200g bar) plus there's a fair few whole nuts in these bars so not all chocolate. She's eating, drinking and pooing all normal, is fine in herself, still very playful and nagging the others to play so perhaps she's ok but will still keep an eye on her the next couple of days to be sure.

I can't even use her age as an excuse for her naughty behaviour in stealing from the table... she's just a rotten little thief that I wouldn't change for anything


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

I hope the puppy is ok xx


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## swarthy (Apr 24, 2010)

shazalhasa said:


> I can't even use her age as an excuse for her naughty behaviour in stealing from the table... she's just a rotten little thief that I wouldn't change for anything


Hehe - how I can relate to that :lol:


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## Guest (Dec 13, 2010)

Just a reminder - it is actually the cocoa that is poisioness to dogs.

You may find this useful - believe there are some caculations somewhere amongst the bumf telling you the amounts.

Chocolate and Dog Poisoning

and for those who dont want to read the full link here are the calculations! wouldn't want to rely on em meself though so would still bend the vets ear!

White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog. 
Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level. 
Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One-third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog. 
Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers' chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog.


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## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

Aw thanks for your advice and concern everyone 

Patrick is fine today. Thank god.

I stayed up with him all night and kept a close eye on him. Everytime he fell asleep and started twitching i poked him awake because i thought he was convulsing. He was a very unimpressed pup!

I drifted off on the sofa and he woke me up at 6am with slobbery kisses and a waggly tail wanting to go for walkies. His breathing was fine and he was acting his normal giddy self. 

I gave the vets a ring as soon as they opened and they said as his breathing was normal and he did a solid poo first thing (gross!) and he hadnt been sick in 24 hours, he should be just fine. But to avoid giving him any 'naughty' treats for 48 hours and just stick to his regular puppy food. Also make sure he drinks plenty of water, and if any symptoms re-appear to give them a ring straight away.

So i think we managed to get away with that one. Little monkey gave me such a fright. Im so exhausted from lack of sleep and too much worry, but im just glad my 'baby' is ok.

I figured he got the chocolate off our bookshelf (top shelf!) by standing on the back of the sofa and leaning over for it, so i have put ALL chocolate in a kitchen cupboard, way up high!!

I do not want to have to experience that EVER again!

Thanks again everyone for support and advice. I really appreciate it


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## Ellieelsw (Oct 18, 2010)

Thank goodness Patrick is OK 
Yes I bet it gave you a Fright 
I have banned chocolate in my house and as I can't eat it ,it won't be missed
so pleased this was a happy outcome for you


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

Im glad hes ok and survived his ordeal, Hes a very lucky boy. Hopefully everyone might be able to get some sleep tonight, you and him must be exhausted.


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## XxZoexX (Sep 8, 2010)

Fantastic news xx


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## SpringerHusky (Nov 6, 2008)

:thumbup: Wonderful news, was worried all night  so please to here the naughty monkey is ok


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## shibby (Oct 3, 2010)

Great news


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## catz4m8z (Aug 27, 2008)

Glad he is ok. Little dogs only need to eat such small amounts of bad foods to cause them problems they can be quite a worry.
I counteract this problem with my Chihahuas by eating any chocolate the second it arrives in the house.:thumbup:


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## Allana (Jul 7, 2010)

So glad Patrick is ok!! :thumbup:

It is such a worry! But don't ever feel scared to call your vet if you think something is wrong, you won't be bothering them that's what they are there for. 

I had to call our vet out on a Sunday night and never thought twice about it, our doggies come first


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## swarthy (Apr 24, 2010)

Sounds like he is one very lucky boy 

Very glad to hear he is OK


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## mitch4 (Oct 31, 2009)

shazalhasa said:


> Out of curiosity, how much longer after was it ?
> 
> My Tipsy stole my hazelnut chocolate on Saturday night while we were in bed, I woke up to find the empty box and wrapper all chewed up on the floor and no choc in sight. She's not been ill at all or acting strangely but I have been concerned about her and watching her / checking her poos etc.


Showed agitation and thirst straight away, but soon got over that bit, so owners thought he was ok, about 72hrs later he was rushed to vets 2 days after this he was very poorly fitting and liver enlarged, he was an old dog so this it was felt added to it and he wasnt sick so had bought none of the chocolate up, he was pts as was suffering and liver was dangerously enlarged, he was also then vomiting and passing blood

Thank goodness this pup bought most of the chocolate up so glad hes fine xxx


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## Mandy D (Nov 28, 2010)

My sister lost a medium sized crossbred several years ago when she opened a Christmas present containing good quality drinking chocolate. Don't leave dogs with access to presents if you don't know what is in them.


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## yumscrumfatbum (Sep 14, 2010)

Oh how sad Mandy :'(

Looks like i had a lucky escape with Patrick. Even though he's only 4 months old and we've not had him for long, I don't know what i'd do without him. He's my little baby :001_wub:


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