Dog eaten dark chocolate

[curlyLJ]

My dog ate some dark chocolate while I was on the school run today. I took her straight to the vets and they made her vomit, but now they are saying she needs blood tests and IV fluids for 24 hours, meaning she'll have to stay overnight.

Does that sound right?

I'm guessing the insurance will cover it but this is going to push the amount I need to pay up considerably 🫤
I wasn't expecting that!

How much did she eat? Did she vomit it all up?

If she’s a small dog they may be erring on the side of caution.

Yes it does, unfortunately. It's terribly toxic so they'll want to monitor ddog and make sure it's all out of their system!

Dark chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate.

They would have considered roughly how much she ate, how much was digested and her weight (a great dane eating 1 or 2 squares would be very different to a chihuahua eating the same quantity).

If you want more conservative treatment, ask the vet - they are the best people to explain why they are recommending IV fluids and blood tests following the emetic (all very normal treatments for chocolate ingestion though).

Ultimately you are her owner so need to decide whether to consent or not - but if there's a risk of longterm damage its probably better to do the treatment?

@OutsideVoice

How much did she eat? Did she vomit it all up?

If she’s a small dog they may be erring on the side of caution.

I couldn't be certain but it was a chunky bar and she probably ate a couple of squares. She only weighs 5kg so she is small.

@AwkwardPaws27 OK thanks, that makes sense. Having not been in this situation before it just sounded a bit much.

She is only a tiny dog, so I guess they are erring on the side of caution.
I only spoke to an assistant, the vet is going to call me later to discuss so will go with their advice. Dread to think how much an overnight stay is going to cost though!!

There's an example calculator here: www.vets-now.com/dog-chocolate-toxicity-calculator/

A 5kg dog for example would only need to eat a v small amount, about 15g, of high % dark chocolate to be at risk of toxicity. The % in milk chocolate is much lower, whereas dark is higher, which is why it is riskier.

Yes i get that, I think it was probably about 15g that she ate.

I got her to the vets within 30 mins and they told me she vomited all her breakfast and the offending chocolate. That was why I was querying the necessity for 24hours of IV fluids.

I asked if she could stay on fluids all day and I collect her tonight just before they close. That will be 8 hours of fluids. The vet is going to call me later to discuss.

She's a rescue dog and still relatively nervous. Being moved to the bigger vets (they don't do over-night at the one I took her to) and being away overnight will likely stress her out

If you're with a decent pet insurer such as Pet Plan, the price doesn't rise due to claims made. However, the payments do go up as the dog gets older.

I hope they let her home, I understand your anxiety for her, but please follow their advice. Good luck, you did well to get her such prompt treatment xxx

I will take the vets advice if he believes it is necessary.

I'm just hoping the insurance pays out!

This happened to our dog about 6 years ago, she ate a lot of chocolate. I still have no idea how she got at it. She had to stay overnight. The insurance did pay out then though, and any premium rise wasn't noticeable above the yearly increase.
Hope your dog's OK.

@curlyLJ

I will take the vets advice if he believes it is necessary.

I'm just hoping the insurance pays out!

Can't see why they wouldn't (rejected claims are usually where its related to a pre-existing condition or an exclusion, like if your policy doesn't cover dental care). We've claimed over £9,000 and our insurer (Bought By Many) have paid every penny (except our excess, obviously).

That's good to know! Thanks

Yes, it sounds about right, unfortunately - dogs can be expensive!

Hopefully he'll be fine after a good amount of time on fluids, though :)

Just spoke to the vet. He is recommending the 24 hours on fluids to protect her kidneys, especially as it was dark chocolate. He'll do another blood test tomorrow before she comes home to make sure she's OK.

Thankfully she is insured this time. Vet bills can go ridiculously high very quickly 😳

Bless her!

Better to be safe than sorry with things like this though. Mine had us up the vets a few Saturdays ago as he decided to eat a box of Bakewell Tarts - including all the foil wrappers and the cardboard