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641243 tn?1235752084

Hershey's dark choclates.

I swear, Wentworth took notes from Marley and Me....he tricked me into thinking he was the perfect dog up until 90 (ish) days ago.  After the scarf eating (potential obstruction) incident 2 weeks ago (which he ended up passing all 14 inches of - truly an amazing site to see - especially after $900 of precautionary vet/scope specialist visits), the poop eating extravaganza that began last week, I came home today with his face in a Hershey's dark chocolate bag that had been sitting on my counter for a week with NO interest from him whatsoever.  He probably ate half the chocolates from the bag (purple foil and all).  I assume he will have some diarrhea and pass this just as he did with the scarf (unless he vomits most of it up because of the foil), but are there any suggestions on what to watch for in case it turns serious?  I'm doubting much will happen to him (he's almost 80lbs), but have never had a chocolate scare and the vet has already closed for the holiday.

The irony here is that he's had a trainer since he was 5 months old.  Once a scavenger, always a scavenger.
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441382 tn?1452810569
Glad to hear it!  Not such a great way for your carpet to ring out the old and ring in the new, but at least Wentworth's OK, and that's all that matters!  Happy New Year!

Ghilly
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641243 tn?1235752084
To be safe, I called the er vet and they told me to give him a few teaspoons of hydrogen peroxide to vomit...and sure enough, 20minutes later, a river of dark chocolate covered the floor.  So he's fine!  The carpet is not...but at least it doesn't smell like it looks :)  It's a little Willy Wonka in here, but I'm happy he's okay.  

Thanks so much for the response :)
Helpful - 0
441382 tn?1452810569
Naturally he couldn't have eaten milk chocolate, which, while not good for dogs, is not as dangerous because it is lightened with the milk.  He had to choose dark chocolates to eat.  Dark chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate because there is a greater concentration of theobromine in it, but at least he didn't eat baking chocolate, which is very dangerous for them to eat.

The toxic dose of theobromine is 100mg/kg.  For milk chocolate, 1 ounce per 1 pound of body weigh would be toxic.  For semi-sweet chocolate (dark chocolate), 1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight would be toxic.  For baker's chocolate, 1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight is the toxic dose.  At 80 pounds, Wentworth would have to eat about 26 ounces to get a toxic dose.  

In the event that he did eat this much, you need to watch for vomiting and diarrhea (which can happen with ANY type of stomach upset, so if he has either one of these, don't panic immediately), excitability (or more than normal), irritability, muscle tremors, increased urination, increased heart rate and general restlessness.

Just keep a close eye on him, chances are he will be just fine.  He might have some minor stomach upset and some diarrhea, but an 80 pound dog should be OK.

Ghilly
Helpful - 0
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