By Shannon Miller, GPG Volunteer/Blogger
If you’re reading this hoping we’ll say new scientific evidence shows that you and your dog can share a bag of Hershey’s Kisses this Friday night, sorry — you’re out of luck. But according to an urban legend in the Miller household, my childhood dog once got into a bag of chocolate Halloween candy and lived to digest it the next morning. The only thing that gave him trouble was the wrappers. So can your dog eat chocolate?
The answer is still no, but a qualified no. If you’re baking and happen to drop a chocolate chip that your dog gets to before you do, don’t panic. The toxicity of chocolate to dogs is based upon their weight, the type of chocolate as well as the amount they ingested. According to a WebMD article, a 27 lb dog will become ill after 27 ounces of milk chocolate but just 3 ounces of baking chocolate. In short, a small amount of chocolate won’t kill the average-sized dog (but don’t make it a habit of feeding it to them!).
In the event that your dog has ingested more than a few chocolate chips, it’s best to induce vomiting through hydrogen peroxide (one teaspoon for every 10 lbs of your dog’s body weight). If you don’t have hydrogen peroxide or simply aren’t comfortable with this, call your vet immediately.
We’ve all had our dogs get into something they shouldn’t have and then panicked. Or maybe we’re just quick to cave when our four-legged friend begs at the table. If you’re not sure about a food’s toxicity to your pup or just need some advice, you can always call the Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435.
[spacer height=”15px”][divider][spacer height=”15px”]
[alert type=”warning” color=”#888″ show_close=”true”]Back to Gateway Pet Gazette Front Page. Click here for more stories.[/alert]
[divider]