To think they should take him to the vets

[Huggyhuggy]

My mum and dads dog had a full box of ‘black magic’ dark chocolates yesterday and today has vomiting, wheezing, and is laid down looking very sorry for himself but they won’t take to the vets saying none will be open now

Dog ate two boxes a couple of days apart. The first box were pure dark chocolate with mint oil in.

I know it’s a long thread but I’m sure that was mentioned within the first few posts by OP. That’s why people were so concerned.

Im glad the dog is okay and is well and I just hope the parents now know what is toxic for dogs (and have some insurance in place).

edited to correct typo

But OP took the dog to the vet, and he was fine.
Lurchers can vary so much in weight.... from 12kg to 40kg.

So we hear yes! Obviously we cannot know for absolute certain what the outcome really was.

He may well be fine, but if still isn’t ok to do nothing in these circumstances and I do realise that this was NOT op’s fault at all.

@JubileeJuice I Reslly do hope you don’t have a dog, seeing as you’ve found this so funny.

That's the thing it's good when a dog empties the contents of their belly. There's nothing for the vet to suck out of them. If it was me I would have waited and made sure he drank plenty of water so he can flush his system. What more could the op and her parents do for the greedy dog.

I had a dog and when he was 2 my partner took him to the park he ran around like a lunatic for 3 hours. The next day he wouldn't walk he was in pain when he tried to stand up. I googled what to do it told me to go straight to the vet I didn't I waited until the day after and he started walking again. Silly bugger exhausted himself.

What more could the OP do - well a vet would give medication to support the heart, chocolate poisoning can cause arrythmias and tachycardia, support the rest of the dog, it can also cause hyperthermia, and muscle spasms and all the way up to seizures. These things, left unsupported/untreated can do serious damage or kill.

Not something you tend to find out until the dog is dead though.

He threw up the chocolate and the vet sent them on their way by the sounds of it after a check up. The vet didn't do much. I suppose better safe than sorry.

I do think people are too quick to go to the vet.
I am in a few dog groups on FB, and even the smallest little cut gets replies of "vet now!".
I just think, if it was me, what would I do. If my tummy felt a bit off, I would wait it out. I do the same for my dog.

My partner had food poisoning and he stayed in bed until he felt able to get up and eat again.

The injection used to induce sickness can also cause a heart attack in worst case scenarios.

My own dogs have eaten things they're not supposed to such as raisins and onions and they're fine.

My mum used to give her lurcher grapes... for years (she had no idea they were bad). Dog lived to 17.

Mine are currently 13 and 15. They often come to a sports club with me and people have given them snacks in the past - including bits of steak and onion slices and garibaldi biscuits.

Thanks for updating, he's absolutely gorgeous.

I hope your parents are contrite and grateful to you but I suspect not.

I take my dog to the vet if he so much as looks like he is thinking about being unwell. I know my dog and I know when he is off colour - I take no risks whatsoever with his health. Better safe than sorry.

op I’m glad your parent’s dog is ok. He is gorgeous!

Also, the grape thing - it is impossible to tell whether a particular dog is ok with grapes. Some dogs will be fine, some dogs will go into kidney failure.

I can’t imagine not even calling the vet if I think my dogs ill. I’d rather have the peace of mind, seeing as how they can’t talk and explain how they feel. I know I’ll get shot down by the MN brigade but to me it’s like a young toddler - they can’t explain exactly what’s wrong so if something isn’t normal I will get mine checked by a qualified person.

Mine once ate a daff bulb and I rang vets straight away and off went for a four hour trip and a sickness jab…. They were so brilliant, she came out jumping about looking like she’d had a great adventure and wasn’t the slightest bit bothered. I couldn’t have just sat and waited to see what happened.

Im so glad that the dog is okay, and that OP managed to sort it out. She did the right thing.

Where did I find it funny?

I have multiple dogs, and have for decades. I'm just not a hysterical owner and have the sense and experience to understand that a very small amount of chocolate tends not to kill larger, healthy young dogs.

Well done op ignore the cruel and idiotic comments. Glad he's safe. What a cutie

I think people are getting confused here. It’s not just food poisoning for dogs, chocolate is toxic. It’s toxic poisoning. It’s not just a case of having a bad stomach for a few days. I know of a small dog who died from chocolate poisoning. He ate half a box of dark chocolates.

Vets around here take it very seriously with suspected chocolate poisoning. Dogs are admitted and on a drip and given various medication. Only two Christmases ago a friends dog was rushed in having eaten some. He’d only eaten a few but the vets had him in for 3 days as a precaution.

@Jifmicroliquid when a dog comes in having eaten chocolate they're given a sickness injection (if within a reasonable time frame from ingestion) but most owners decline the fluids/drip and hospitalisation because of costs. So they're sent home with charcoal to mix in with food to absorb toxins.

Is your partner a Cocker Spaniel?

He's no spring chicken he's at that age where it could kill him. People are just as important as animals in regards to health.

If you truly are a VCA, you need sacking as you obviously can't give the right advice, do your employers know you wouldn't advise clients to be seen if their pet ate raisins or onions??

They would be furious can imagine the amount of money they would lose. A vet would say if you love your pet you would pay it wouldn't you. I've known people to spend thousands and it didn't change the outcome. Pet insurance no matter how much you pay doesn't cover everything and if your dog needs more treatment then you will pay it knowing the outcome is not good. Your held down by the emotional need to keep your pet alive.

I read years ago a woman bought her daughter a pet hamster. The hamsters leg got caught on the oven one evening after it escaped. They took the hamster to the vet and they charged them £500 to remove the hamster leg. When it comes to animals are we really that stupid?

I guess you've only ever come across bad vets - in 25 years I've never heard anyone say if you love your pet, you'd pay wouldn't you 🙄
Clients are advised to be seen on a case by case basis, chocolate and onions can be worked out on the amount eaten but, until the research gives us new and accurate info, all grape/raisin/sultana ingestions are advised to be seen. Trust me when I say we don't want to see any pets unless they need to be seen!
Stop tarring us all with the same brush, we're sick of it.

sighthounds are more reactive to toxins than most breeds