So Your Dog Just Ate Chocolate, Now What?

My neighbors used to always have packages of OREOs in the house, which was awesome when I went over, but not great for their four-legged friend. There was a time that their pup accidentally ate some of those OREOs, and unfortunately didn’t make it.

We’ve all heard horror stories about doggies and chocolate, and while we hope it never happens to us, it’s good to know what to do if you do catch them getting into that Halloween chocolate, or any chocolate.

Dr. Angie Krause of Boulder Holistic Vet said that the first thing you should do is get your dog away from the damn chocolate.

“Seems obvious, but sometimes hard to do if you’re freaking out,” Krause said.

After that, you should estimate how much you think your dog ingested. That might be a little hard, though you can always call a local veterinarian to help you estimate how much was eaten.

However, for a quicker answer, there’s also a “chocolate calculator,” provided by the Veterinary Clinic, that lets you input your dog’s weight, the kind of chocolate that was eaten, and how much of it ingested. According to those three factors, it will let you know how much danger your pup is in.

Darker chocolate tends to be more dangerous because of its toxicity levels.

If your dog has negative effects from chocolate, common signs are vomiting, dehydration, abdominal pain, agitation, muscle tremors, irregular heart rhythm, elevated body temperature, seizures, and unfortunately, death.

Of course, if you see that your doggie just doesn’t seem right, don’t risk it, and just go straight to the vet for immediate medical attention.