Tiramisu, Plastic Disc, And No Help From The E-vet!

[Guest Heep]

Hi All,

 

Our 3 greys just demolished a slice of Tiramisu cake, complete with the little plastic label (a disc about the size of a quarter). We don't know which one had the most of it, as all three have whipped cream on their lips. Our E-Vet was no help, they just dumped us on 'posion control' who charged us $55 and gave us no answers and told us to go to our E-Vet. Our problems are:

 

We don't know who ate the majority of the slice.

We don't know who ate the plastic disc.

We don't know if the slice had any caffeine, as we purchased the slice from a Japanese supermarket (how authentic do they make their Italian desserts?).

We don't know how much chocolate was in the cake, as the slice was covered in whipped cream, although there was some sprinkled on top.

 

Before we bring all 3 dogs into the E-Vet, can anyone give us some advice?????

 

 

[Guest StriderDog]

Induce vomiting in all three. Use a turkey baster and hydrogen peroxide - it doesn't really matter how much you pump into the dog, it's all coming back out in a matter of seconds. (DO IT OUTSIDE!!)

 

Better safe than sorry.

[Guest Heep]

Should we dilute the hydrogen peroxide?

[Guest nerak254]

I'm sure you are just fine, especially since you had evidence that it was a team effort. There couldn't be enough chocolate to hurt anyone and I expect you'll be seeing the little disk maybe tomorrow. Jessica ate almost an entire package of dark chocolate dove hearts once and I was worried too. I did the same thing and called poison control. They asked me if I had an idea how much was in the bag and they told me that she would have had to eat a whole lot more to be in trouble.

Edited September 9, 2007 by nerak254

[DaisyDoodle]

I don't think there's enough chocolate to make a difference, unless it had a real lot of chocolate in it. Caffeine from coffee is another story. If it wasn't for the plastic disc, I'd suggest giving all three hydrogen peroxide and seeing who puked up cake. If they shared the cake, I don't think they'll have a problem.

 

Folks w more experience, please post whatever you know....I don't know what to tell you about the disc...

 

Good luck, keep us posted,

 

DD

[Guest StriderDog]

To answer the question, no, don't bother diluting - it's all coming back up like a junior high science fair volcano!

 

If you're worried about the disc being sharp and decide not to induce vomiting, give them a few slices of bread each to ease the passing.

[gryhndsr4us]

If it was only one slice I don't think you will have a problem. Shouldn't be enough caffene or chocolate to warrent a visit to the EVet. The plastic disc sounds small enough to pass through. You could give each a slice of bread to help with any sharp edges.

 

[Batmom]

What Sue said. One slice, I wouldn't bother making them hork it up, they'll be fine. Even if one dog ate all of it.

 

The plastic disc will probably pass. Did it have a pick on it? If so, watch for signs of distress in anybody. I probably wouldn't want *that* trying to come back up.

 

Hugs and hope *you* get to enjoy the tiramisu next time!

[greytluck]

I wouldn't worry yourself. There is only a small amount of caffeine and chocolate in a tiramisu. Watch them closely if any seem off bring them to the e-vet. I had a collie/shephard growing up that once ate an entire box of chocolate that wasn't put away on christmas morning. The vet told us to watch him, he was fine. He also loved coffee (would steal it) He lived to almost 15

[Guest Heep]

Thanks all! We're going to induce. I think it would be more dangerous having the plastic disc lodged in their intestine than scratching up their throats. We really have no clue about the slice of cake, it was an impluse buy, I got a slice of strawberry shortcake, Aisha got a slice of tiramisu. Both pieces were wrapped in foil, so you couldn't see the contents, except mine had a strawberry on top & Aisha's had the plasic label resting on a rosette of whipped cream that said "Tiramisu". Suffice to say, in the process of putting groceries away, someone stole the cake box & all three had a field day in the livingroom.

 

Aisha just ran out to buy a turkey baster. It's prolly gonna take her 10-15 minutes or so. Will that matter? Is the vomiting window very short?

[Batmom]

Again, I wouldn't bother as many far worse things have gone in and properly (as in, via the other end) out my dogs .... but .... if you are going to do it, do you have fenced yard so you can do it outdoors? If not, make sure you do it in an area where you've got linoleum or other easy-clean floors, block off the exits to carpeted areas.

[Neighsayer]

I just pour it into the cap and pour it down thethroat.

[Hubcitypam]

I wouldn't peroxide three dogs over one slice of tiramisu. There's a bit of coffee and a dusting of chocolate. Even if one ate the whole thing it wouldn't hurt them. If it was real tiramisu it was mostly marscapone, sugar and cake, and if it was cake, well, it was mostly....cake -- even better.

 

If the disc was round no worries there either.

 

If your'e gonna peroxide just pour it down them now...turkey baster is optional. Of course, it is now an hour later, which would make me even less likely to peroxide them.

Edited September 10, 2007 by Hubcitypam

[Guest Heyzq]

I'm in the "don't worry but keep your eyes on them" camp, myself. The amount of chocolate or caffeine they're likely to get in one slice is minimal. It's good to remember that the "chocolate is poison" information really means CHOCOLATE -- as in Baker's chocolate or cocoa that is totally undiluted by other ingredients. While I wouldn't actually purposely give my dogs chocolate, the kind they're likely to get hold of in the home is not likely to be so undiluted or in such big amounts as to make me worry. (my family dog, a shepherd/husky mix, once ate a pack of Andes Candies wrappers and all -- she pooped chocolate and foil for a few days, but was none the worse for wear).

If it's not too late to save yourself the grossness, I would skip the peroxide.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[kamsmom]

I agree, watch them closely for a few hours and a few days.... I have found WHOLE socks from my lab in the yard... I'm not saying its good, I am just saying larger and stranger things have passed in many a dog...

[Rickiesmom]

Adding my vote to the wait and watch camp. One entire slice of tiramisu per dog would probably be OK. The disc would worry me more, but as others have said, give bread, wait and watch - both for distress, and UFOs in the poop.

[VinnieAndRexsMom]

I wouldn't make them puke either.

 

Plastic disk? Are we talking about a round paper sticky label with adhesive that sticks to plastic? I'm at a loss here.

[Guest longdogs]

It's probably all over by now so my opinion isn't worth much. Anyway, the likelihood of the tiramisu causing problems is very slim even if one hound wolfed most of it. I certainly wouldn't make them vomit over that. That leaves the plastic disk which doesn't sound too dangerous, nor likely to be ejected if they vomit. I'd just keep an eye open for any potential problems over the next few days and wouldn't be particularly worried.

[Guest Heep]

Ok here's the update, after my last post, I decided I couldn't wait for Aisha, so I used a needleless syringe & shoved 10 ml of peroxide down Phoenix's throat. She drank the hydrogen peroxide, gagged a little, & spat it up. I gave her some more peroxide & after a cough or two, nothing. So much for volcanos of vomit. Now I'm worried about her poor tummy!

 

 

Aisha just got back from her 2nd run to the grocery store with 2 bags of bread & we're giving them 4 slices each. Thanks for all the advice everyone! We're gonna take the pups into their regular vet tomorrow, just to be on the safe side.

[Guest susiemac2112]

Ok here's the update, after my last post, I decided I couldn't wait for Aisha, so I used a needleless syringe & shoved 10 ml of peroxide down Phoenix's throat. She drank the hydrogen peroxide, gagged a little, & spat it up. I gave her some more peroxide & after a cough or two, nothing. So much for volcanos of vomit. Now I'm worried about her poor tummy!

 

 

I do hope your pups are ok, but I must say I think you have over re-acted and "shoving Peroxide down Phoenix's throat" sounds a bit drastic.

 

Like the majority of people said, eating a slice of tiramasu would have probably caused no harm whatsoever to your dogs. If they had eaten a whole cake each then I may have been a bit more concerned. Just my two cents worth

[Guest StriderDog]

Any update on how the pups are doing?

[Jiffer]

Wow, I hope everyone is doing fine.

 

As a mom of a dog who once ate an entire package (plastic, foil and all) of valentines chocolates, we didn't peroxide him, we just watched him closely. Everything passed without incident.. other than the wonderfully coloured poops for about a week from the fancy foils.

[Guest PetersMom]

Our dog once ate an entire bowl of chocolate kisses, foil and all. We did the peroxide thing and it was crazy! Foam and melted chocolate everywhere. We did it in the garage and boy it was a mess. We wanted to be cautious though, since chocolate can so dangerous for dogs. I think the closer the chocolate is to its original form (the less sugar and milk/cream it has) the worse it is. So a small dog eating pure cocoa powder would be more dangerous than a larger dog eating a hershey bar.

 

Still, just watch them closely. Better to be safe. Let us know how they are!

 

 

[Guest KennelMom]

One slice of cake between three dogs...I wouldn't worry about it. Hydrogen peroxide is great to keep on hand to induce vomiting. However, I wouldn't induce vomiting if the dog ate something that could be a choking or cutting hazard coming back up (i.e. sharp plastic, glass, etc). If it was just a small piece of plastic, it'll probably pass ok. If it had a sharp stick on the end it's a bit more worrisome. Watch for abdominal distress and for evidence in their poop, but other than that everyone should be OK.

[Guest linnaete]

"It is important to know how much chocolate will produce toxic signs. The toxic dose is generally 100-150 milligrams per kilogram. Most chocolate contains from 40 to 140 milligrams per ounce of theobromine. So a 20 lb dog can eat approximately 1,000 milligrams or 10 ounces of chocolate before he will exhibit toxic signs.

 

Another factor to consider is the kind of chocolate, since some chocolates are more toxic than others. Unsweetened or baker's chocolate contains 390 milligrams of theobromine per ounce - that is eight to 10 times the amount that milk chocolate has. So, just three ounces of baker's chocolate could be fatal to a 20-pound dog. Six to 9 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate or 20 to 30 ounces of milk chocolate could also prove fatal."

 

From http://www.jlhweb.net/Boxermap/chocolate.html