Dog Just Got Into Trash And Ate A Bunch Of Brownies...

[adudle00]

About 4-5 regular sized brownies. I called the vet and the tech said to bring him in to induce vomiting bc it can be toxic....but I don't know if they just say that to everyone? I got my recipe and figured it out. I think he ate around 3oz of semisweet chocolate...at MOST 6oz, but I really don't think it was that much...I'm hella worried now. Has this happened to anyone else? He weighs about 80lbs.

Also, they were 'high fiber' brownies....she said she doesn't know what effect the fiber will have.

I'm pretty far from the clinic and I don't want to take him in if it's unnecessary. Thoughts? Thanks.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The fiber may not be a huge issue. I'd be worried about the chocolate, though. They tell you to come in because they can't risk guessing wrong on whether it's safe or not. I won't risk guessing wrong either, so I'm not going to say he's safe.

 

And how were they sweetened? If it was sugar, that's fine.

[adudle00]

The fiber may not be a huge issue. I'd be worried about the chocolate, though. They tell you to come in because they can't risk guessing wrong on whether it's safe or not. I won't risk guessing wrong either, so I'm not going to say he's safe.

 

And how were they sweetened? If it was sugar, that's fine.

 

It was sweetened with sugar. I understand why they would tell everyone to come in. By my calculations, he ate approximately 3ox of semi-sweet chocolate NOT baker's chocolate. According to what I researched, he would have to eat about 20oz for it to be toxic, which he did not come close to.

[Hubcitypam]

I believe this is pretty much the standard-

 

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:
1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

[adudle00]

I believe this is pretty much the standard-

 

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:

1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate

1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate

1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

Thank you!

[philospher77]

I believe this is pretty much the standard-

 

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:

1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate

1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate

1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.

 

That can't be right. It's the theobromine that is the bad guy, and that concentration goes up as the chocolate gets darker. From petmd.com:

 

 

1. Milk Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when two ounces per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as one pound of milk chocolate for a 20-pound dog).
2. Semi-Sweet Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when one ounce per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate for a 20-pound dog).
3. Baking Chocolate – This type of chocolate has the highest concentration of caffeine and theobromine. Therefore, as little as two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog (or 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight).

[adudle00]

 

 

That can't be right. It's the theobromine that is the bad guy, and that concentration goes up as the chocolate gets darker. From petmd.com:

 

 

1. Milk Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when two ounces per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as one pound of milk chocolate for a 20-pound dog).
2. Semi-Sweet Chocolate – Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.3 ounce per pound of body weight is ingested; severe toxicity occurs when one ounce per pound of body weight is ingested (or as little as six ounces of semi-sweet chocolate for a 20-pound dog).
3. Baking Chocolate – This type of chocolate has the highest concentration of caffeine and theobromine. Therefore, as little as two small one-ounce squares of baking chocolate can be toxic to a 20-pound dog (or 0.1 ounce per pound of body weight).

 

Hmm okay...I think he's still safe. Will stay posted, Thanks!

[Sambuca]

I wouldn't worry about a couple brownies. Sailor ate peanut butter cups today and I'm just keeping an eye on him since they were milk chocolate. Unless its great quality chocolate, it really isn't a big deal. I have no problems inducing vomiting if I need to and it's a good skill to have when it's needed.

[silverfish]

You would be surprised at how many dogs eat chocolate and live. Some are fed chocolate regularly, and deliberately, in small quantities and some steal it. It's good to know the toxic dose and be able to calculate whether the amount your dog ate is harmful or not, because a vet will nearly always tell you to bring your dog in. They can't afford not to.

 

I'm not going to tell you your dog is safe, either, but I'll tell you that if mine had eaten that amount of chocolate, I'd have done the calculations, and then watched and waited. I'd be more concerned about Jeffie because he's skinny, but even he weighs just over 29kg so according to my calculations he'd have to eat at least 16 oz of semi-sweet to come close to 'mild symptoms'.

 

The problem is that chocolate comes in so many varieties these days that it can be hard to calculate how much they've eaten: 60% cocoa, 70% cocoa, 80% and above and many graduations in between! I guess that cooking chocolate is probably fairly standard though.

 

The big question is this - why were the brownies in the trash in the first place?

Edited April 27, 2013 by silverfish

[Neighsayer]

You don't need to go to the vet to induce vomiting. One or two capfuls of peroxide will do it in a minute or so. One of my dogs starts to vomit as soon as it goes in, so I have to make sure that he is outside when I dose him. Hope your dog is fine.

The big problem I see...brownies were in the trash!

[Guest june]

I hope you pup is OK. But, why were there brownies in the trash? Brownies are by design to be eaten. I'm sure your pup was just trying to help you out

[teri_d]

win once ate a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips -- i was at work and got a frantic phone call from the housekeeper in tears saying to come home fast, win had grabbed a bag of chocolate chips and was growling at her....i phoned the vet (now in tears as well) on the way home for advice and he started laughing -- "sorry" he said "just can't get the image of win holding your cleaning lady at bay over a bag of chocolate chips out of my mind". vet advise if he were a chihuahua that ate a bag of chocolate chips he'd have them come in asap - but a greyhound would be fine - yep - he had eaten the whole bag by the time i arrived home and he was just fine - not even any big d.

[Guest IrskasMom]

He will be just fine

[Guest peacehound]

Peace use to eat whole candy bars, I got her as a bounce and her previous owner told me she loved Snickers bars the most, owner let her have chocolate all the time...we never have, once she managed to swipe a chocolate cupcake off the counter..we get the stink eye anytime we eat chocolate around here I suppose she doesn't understand why she can't have her favorite food..amazing to me that she is fine and the other owner didn't know not to feed her chocolate

[Hubcitypam]

You would be surprised at how many dogs eat chocolate and live. Some are fed chocolate regularly, and deliberately, in small quantities and some steal it. It

I personally know a Tsu (not mine) that ate about 1/4 of a box of Godiva with no ill effects. Why WERE the brownies in the trash?

[Remolacha]

My question as well, "brownies in the trash" is like "leftover wine" something that does not compute in my house! I hope your grey is OK, I would think there was not enought chocolate to worry about.

[Guest tasha]

.but I don't know if they just say that to everyone?

Just curious as to why you think they'd say that to everyone?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Just curious as to why you think they'd say that to everyone?

 

Tasha, because it would be dangerous for the emergency people to say, "Oh, that's fine. It won't be a problem." What if there was a problem? What if the owner had guessed wrong about how much chocolate? What if the dog turned out to be especially sensitive to chocolate or had some other health issue that created complications?

 

If you call your regular vet for advice, your vet knows your dog and might say, "Don't worry. He'll be fine." But if you call an ER vet that's never treated your dog before, they're going to say to bring in the dog.

[Guest tasha]

I may have misunderstood, I thought the OP had been speaking with her regular dvm, not an emerg clinic. You're right, an emergency clinic does need to recommend every animal come to have vomiting induced if the owner isn't absolutely sure about the about/quality of chocolate ingested.

 

Most veterinary clinics have a theobromide calculator that plus in the quality of chocolate, size of chocolate and the weight and breed of animal. No ethical vet would recommend that someone come in and put their pup through that if they didn't need to - I never would.

[EllenEveBaz]

I hope all is well with your hound.

 

....i phoned the vet (now in tears as well) on the way home for advice and he started laughing -- "sorry" he said "just can't get the image of win holding your cleaning lady at bay over a bag of chocolate chips out of my mind".

 

[KF_in_Georgia]

I may have misunderstood, I thought the OP had been speaking with her regular dvm, not an emerg clinic. You're right, an emergency clinic does need to recommend every animal come to have vomiting induced if the owner isn't absolutely sure about the about/quality of chocolate ingested.

 

I was awake (at 12:30 in the morning) when the first post went up, so I automatically assumed ER. If you didn't see the thread until later, it would be easy to think it was the regular vet.

[Guest tasha]

 

I was awake (at 12:30 in the morning) when the first post went up

 

Hahaha, I'm always in bed by about 10pm or so - I admire you for being able to stay awake so late! Sometimes I feel every single one of my 38 years, and it feels more like 60; my husband's 12 years older than me and even HE stays up a good hour or two later than I do, lol

[KF_in_Georgia]

 

Hahaha, I'm always in bed by about 10pm or so - I admire you for being able to stay awake so late! Sometimes I feel every single one of my 38 years, and it feels more like 60; my husband's 12 years older than me and even HE stays up a good hour or two later than I do, lol

 

You're just a kid. I actually am 60.

[Patsy]

But we absolutely MUST know . . . . why were brownies in the trash?

[Remolacha]

But we absolutely MUST know . . . . why were brownies in the trash?