Each holiday brings sweet candy cautions for pets. Doggy Halloween candy thieves mean you ask, How much chocolate is poisonous to dogs? Easter candy fills the aisles at grocery stores in the spring, and Valentine’s day brings its own hazards.
There are plenty of toys, too, including stuffed bunnies–a far better gift than real live rabbits that need special care. Here’s my yearly caution about Easter candy and other goodies around pets. Refer to this post about other Easter dangers for pets.
I’m a sucker for Easter candy, especially those chocolate bunnies. Many folks love to fill the kid’s Easter baskets with sweets. But chocolate indulgence can turn your Easter candy celebration into a pet-astic calamity. Pet poisoning happens with Halloween chocolate, and chocolate on Valentine’s day, too.
Cats aren’t poisoned as often with Easter candy because they are a bit more discriminating about what they munch. But dogs often smell the candy right through the packaging, and eat it wrapper and all. Swallowed objects like foil or paper wrappers or the sticks off of suckers can cause intestinal blockage or damage, too.
EASTER CANDY CHOCOLATE TOXICITY
Any Easter candy indulgence can pose digestive upset with messy diarrhea results and a need for you to invest in a carpet cleaning service for the stains. But chocolate toxicity can actually kill your pet. Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulant related to caffeine. Eating too much chocolate shifts your pet’s heart into overdrive.
Milk chocolate rarely causes life-threatening problems because it takes nearly two pounds of milk chocolate to poison a seven-pound pet. Baker’s chocolate can be deadly, though. It contains ten times as much theobromine as milk chocolate, which means a seven-pound pet only needs to eat two ounces to be poisoned. Licking chocolate frosting, lapping up cocoa mix, or gulping truffles—a very rich dark chocolate treat—causes vomiting, diarrhea, hyperactivity, seizures, coma, and even death.
Puppy pens keep baby out of trouble! Image Copr. D.Garding/Flicker
MAKE HIM VOMIT!
If you catch your pet snacking on such things, induce vomiting as soon as you can to get rid of the poison. You can make her vomit up to an hour after she’s eaten the chocolate, but sooner is better. After an hour, the toxin has probably moved out of her stomach into the intestines, and vomiting won’t get rid of it.
It’s dangerous to induce vomiting if the dog or cat acts woozy. They can inhale the material on its way up and suffocate. As long as she’s alert, there are several methods you can use to get rid of the chocolate. Call the veterinarian for further instructions after the pet has emptied her stomach. If you can’t induce vomiting after a couple of tries, prompt veterinary care is even more important.
Better yet, don’t bring dangerous treats into your house. Here’s a thought—you could give the extra chocolate to me. I’m willing to make the sacrifice and dispose of the deadly sweet treats to protect your pets.
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Amy Shojai, CABC is a certified cat & dog behavior consultant, a consultant to the pet industry, and the award-winning author of 35+ pet-centric books and Thrillers with Bite! Oh, and she loves bling!
I think many pet owners are familiar with chocolate poisoning. Well, there are certain easter candies and sugar-free gums which contain xylitol. When these kinds of candies are ingested by your four-legged companion, the xylitol(5-carbon sugar alcohol) can cause vomiting, seizures, and in extreme cases liver failure etc. The symptoms of chocolate toxicity include- vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, increased heart rate, loss of appetite, loss of coordination, muscle rigidity etc. Better you should try to keep your pet far away from the jawbreakers that can make your pooch or tabby sick. Still, if you find any kind of deformity in your pet’s deportment, then you should contact an accomplished veterinarian for further treatment proceedings.
This is such a good reminder with Easter just around the corner. My family always used to do Easter egg hunts (of course, with chocolate eggs and baskets of candy/chocolate hidden around the house) and it’s definitely a real danger!
Making your pet vomit sounds really scary because like you said they can inhale as they are throwing up and suffocate on the thing coming back up (especially if it’s a candy wrapper). But I have a feeling in a situation like this you’ll just act instinctively to save your pet!
Great post – happy (almost) Easter!
I had to grab Rosie today. She had her snout in a bag of Werthers Hard Candies. Not chocolate, but not particularly healthy for humans, let alone dogs.
She also loves butter. Can’t leave it on the counter, she’ll eat a pound in seconds. I’m surprised she isn’t a real butter ball.
And yes, she’s a chocoholic. You can’t leave any type of chocolate in reach. Kleopatra is nearly as bad.
It all comes down to developing good habits. If you don’t, puppies will find and eat just about anything.
I appreciate these reminders even though we already try to be very, very careful and (yes) we eat even less chocolate than we did before we had an indoor cat. It seems that though he was born feral he can be trusted not to eat anything that isn’t cat food but caution is always the way to go.
In suspected emergencies we always get our vet on the phone too.
And I also appreciate your willingness to help dispose of extra chocolates, Amy!
It’s National Pet Health Month! Each November, we celebrate old dogs during their “official” month. But when is your dog considered old? We love our senior citizen dogs for the special joy they bring every day. But once a year, we celebrate old dogs during November Adopt A Senior Pet Month.
What is considered “old?” There are individual differences between pets, just as there are for people. While one person may act, look and feel “old” at fifty-five, another fifty-five-year-old remains active with a youthful attitude and appearance. Aging is influenced by a combination of genetics, environment, and health care over a lifetime. The oldest dog on record was an Australian Cattle Dog who lived for twenty-nine years and five months…
I’ve written about how to care for an elderly dog before, but this post addresses how to know when your canine friends become old dogs.
Voting is now open for the HERO PETS in the next thriller CUT AND BLEED! Vote for your choice for hero CAT, and hero DOG! Share and vote often–voting closes SEPT 6.
Vote NOW for your favorite for HERO PETS in the next thriller CUT AND BLEED! Share and vote often–voting closes SEPT 6. Who will be the hero CAT, and hero DOG? It’s up to you!
Have you ever considered holistic medicine for your pets? There are many questions about what is holistic pet care. Is it the same thing as what your regular vet offers? There are many names for offering traditional medicine for pets. Some call it alternative medicine or natural healing. But are there specific definitions, and is holistic pet care a good choice for your cats and dogs? August 30 is National Holistic Pet Day, so it’s a good time to revisit asking these questions.
Do you know how to stop dog barking? “Will you please, for the love of doG, stop barking!” When Shadow-Pup joined our family, he and Bravo-Dawg egged each other on. Now that he’s the only dog, he and the cat tease each other and prompt bark-fest and meow-athons.
Here’s what you need to know about barking to help stem the noise.
This disease has been reported worldwide wherever these ticks are found. Most cases in the United States occur in dogs living in the Texas Gulf coast regions and other southern states. All dogs are susceptible, but those with greater exposure to ticks. Outdoor dogs, working dogs and hunting dogs are at highest risk. Here’s what you need to know.
Summer arrived even earlier than expected this year, with temperatures hitting triple digits by mid-June. There’s still plenty of pet camping season left. Even though camping with pets isn’t for me, I know lots of folks who LOVE it, including my brother and his dog. He takes the dog with them camping, boating, skiing, and pretty much everywhere.
Bringing your furry one along camping (or glamping) is a great bonding experience. But before you pack up and hit the road, look over my DOs and DONTs of camping with your dog or cat.
What to do when camping with a pet
First, decide if your pet will enjoy camping. Not all will enjoy it. My Karma-Kat would HATE camping. He’s a homebody, and enjoys watching birds, bunnies, and squirrels through the window, but freezes when his paws hit the grass. Shadow-Pup’s more adventurous and probably would do better…
When I worked as a veterinary technician many years ago, pet parents ask questions all the time, but rarely to the vet. Folks often acted embarrassed, or waited to telephone from home hours or days after the appointment. Perhaps they felt intimidated by the doctor when they take pets to the back, or feared their questions were foolish. Maybe the busy schedule of the clinic offered little opportunity to ask…
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I think many pet owners are familiar with chocolate poisoning. Well, there are certain easter candies and sugar-free gums which contain xylitol. When these kinds of candies are ingested by your four-legged companion, the xylitol(5-carbon sugar alcohol) can cause vomiting, seizures, and in extreme cases liver failure etc. The symptoms of chocolate toxicity include- vomiting, diarrhea, low blood pressure, increased heart rate, loss of appetite, loss of coordination, muscle rigidity etc. Better you should try to keep your pet far away from the jawbreakers that can make your pooch or tabby sick. Still, if you find any kind of deformity in your pet’s deportment, then you should contact an accomplished veterinarian for further treatment proceedings.
This is such a good reminder with Easter just around the corner. My family always used to do Easter egg hunts (of course, with chocolate eggs and baskets of candy/chocolate hidden around the house) and it’s definitely a real danger!
Making your pet vomit sounds really scary because like you said they can inhale as they are throwing up and suffocate on the thing coming back up (especially if it’s a candy wrapper). But I have a feeling in a situation like this you’ll just act instinctively to save your pet!
Great post – happy (almost) Easter!
Thanks Jaimee! Yes, always good to be prepared. I need to do another post on Heimlich for pets. *s*
I had to grab Rosie today. She had her snout in a bag of Werthers Hard Candies. Not chocolate, but not particularly healthy for humans, let alone dogs.
She also loves butter. Can’t leave it on the counter, she’ll eat a pound in seconds. I’m surprised she isn’t a real butter ball.
And yes, she’s a chocoholic. You can’t leave any type of chocolate in reach. Kleopatra is nearly as bad.
It all comes down to developing good habits. If you don’t, puppies will find and eat just about anything.
Wayne
Ooooh, I love the Werthers candies! Seren-kitty loves butter, we really have to watch her.
I appreciate these reminders even though we already try to be very, very careful and (yes) we eat even less chocolate than we did before we had an indoor cat. It seems that though he was born feral he can be trusted not to eat anything that isn’t cat food but caution is always the way to go.
In suspected emergencies we always get our vet on the phone too.
And I also appreciate your willingness to help dispose of extra chocolates, Amy!
Brenda, it’s a tough job but somebody has to do it. *vbg*
Willing to sacrifice yourself for the pets and accept the chocolate? I like that in a person.
I’m generous that way. Ahem. *s*