Our 3,5 month old lab puppy managed to steal a whole chocolate bar (180g milk chocolate) while we moved christmas packages around and ate it whole.

We force-fed a handful of salt to him immediately after noticing what had happened and he vomited almost all of it out. I called a vet and got instructions to give medicinal coal and monitor closely if any symptoms appear.

It’s been several hours now and he’s pretty much back to normal, a bit beaten up due to vomiting and upset stomach, but at least so far seems like nothing permanent happened. He’s got a vet scheduled anyways in few days for other stuff so he’ll get checked up at the same time.

  • Onomatopoeia@lemmy.cafeEnglish
    4·
    1 day ago

    Interesting, I’ll have to delve into this some more, but being cocoa is the real concern then yea, most “chocolate” (that is treats people buy) is fairly low in cocoa, being milk chocolate.

    When it has a lot of cacao, it’ll be right on the label: 40%, 60%, etc.

    It’s good general advice, but I’ve seen many dogs eat chocolate and be fine (worked with a vet for a while, and trained dogs). So there’s a lot more at play than just dog+chocolate.

    Time to go read about cacao. Thanks!

    • IsoKiero@sopuli.xyzOPEnglish
      31·
      1 day ago

      I’ve seen many dogs eat chocolate and be fine

      At least in here you can get ‘chocolate’ treats spesifically for dogs and they obviously don’t have any cocoa in them. Apparently they taste quite a bit like chocolate, but I haven’t tried myself and I think it’s a bit questionable to teach a dog that it’s fine to eat “chocolate”. Obviously our lab doesn’t really care as he eats everything (couch, drywall, mouldings, chair legs both wooden and steel, socks, shoes…) but as a principle in my human thinking it feels weird.

      • crank0271@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        1 day ago

        I believe “chocolate”-y treats for dogs are made with carob, not cacao. Carob is safe for dogs. If you want to make chocolatey treats that will be safe if dogs consume them, and are tasty in their own right, you can use carob instead.

        Edit to add: here’s a random link explaining that it’s the theobromine and caffeine in cacao that is toxic to dogs. Bonus, carob is a healthy alternative and packs quite a few nutrients for both humans and dogs: https://www.petscare.com/news/post/ultimate-guide-carob-dog-treats