ate a plate of rum balls off the counter
Editor’s note: chocolate is HIGHLY toxic to dogs. If you suspect your dog has ingested chocolate, please contact your emergency vet immediately.
eater of desserts | Dog Shaming
ate a plate of rum balls off the counter
Editor’s note: chocolate is HIGHLY toxic to dogs. If you suspect your dog has ingested chocolate, please contact your emergency vet immediately.
Amy
Dark chocolate is highly toxic to dogs. They can eat a lot of milk chocolate and be fine. But dark chocolate and more specifically bakers chocolate can kill them.
Elizabeth Hiner
Can’t imagine the rum would be any too good for them either! My daughter had a dog that would, if the table was not immediately cleared, climb OVER the remnants of lunch to reach the chocolate chip cookies in the middle of the table. And look completely innocent when we’d reenter the room. Fortunately for Gracie, this was before the advent of “Dog Shaming”!!
Rebecca Joan Newell Jarvis
About 25g of 70% dark chocolate can kill a 20lb terrier….that’s just a bit bigger than a playing card. Don’t take a chance. When people tell stories of all the stuff their dog has eaten & survived it’s generally big dogs & milk chocolate, or chocolate covered things.
Nadja
I had a friend whose rather large dog managed to eat an entire chocolate cake, with chocolate frosting, and followed it with a bag of chocolate chips. He got to visit the vet and eat the black candy there.
Lucky!
Indeed it must be dark chocolate—because as a child our Sheltie ate through my pillowcase to kill off Halloween candy (all except the non-chocolate bits she pushed aside) and then later ate a box of my brother’s really good special Easter candy. My beloved Beagle boy adopted when I was in college sniffed out and murdered TONS of chocolate over the years (opening drawers to get it, even!) and lived to be almost 15. Never once did either of them vomit after (even when we asked the Vet each time if they should!). I dislike dark chocolate so that is never to be found—I guess that may have saved their lives 🙂
Janine Gordon
Been through this night mare twice! my English Bull dog polished off the whole family’s Easter egg hoard one year which resulted in an over night stay at the vet, sedated and on a drip till they got her temperature under control and re-hydrated. The second time she managed to eat a whole chocolate fruit cake made by friends, the daft mutt ended up with both chocolate and raisin poisoning. That was a week at the vets, they even told us to bring the kids in to say good bye as her bloods showed the onset of organ failure 🙁 Thankfully she rallied and we had her her for another couple of years….sadly we lost her just over a year ago to Lymphomia, had a known about this site then she would have made regular appearances on it 😀 Life is a lot less stressful without her but definitely a lot poorer for it.
Anita
I am Brando’s mum, and he eats anything…concrete, light bulb…and the rum balls. Has survived it all, but had a hard time digesting an insulated lunch bag about a month ago….had to have surgery. He is doing well now and has to be watched like a hawk! But we love him!
Carla
Brando is going to keep you busy, for sure! He’s a handsome guy, keep him safe so we don’t see his shame again! 🙂
Nina
I’m so glad you’ve started adding these editor’s notes re. the safety issues–I’m a nervous nellie when it comes to poochie safety, and it always worried me when I read some of the stories…
That said, I *highly* recommend the ASPCA’s poison control hotline at 888-426-4435 (info at http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/what-to-do-if-your-pet-is-poisoned). I’ve used them a few times–including the time our dog at an entire package of dark chocolate chips–and they are amazing. Esp. useful to people who might not have an emergency vet nearby. Each time we’ve called us they’ve talked us through inducing vomiting in our dog (fun!), and counseled on what symptoms to watch out for and if/when we’d need to go to a vet. There’s a fee, but it’s reasonable and SO worthwhile.
Chrissie
My old German Shepherd ingested a whole bag of York Peppermint Patties (foil and all). We made her vomit it up since we were more concerned about the foil than the chocolate. She was fine. (But she also weighed 100lbs.)
Better safe than sorry when it comes to chocolate, folks. Keep it up high and out of reach. 🙂