It’s Almost Chocolate Time – But Not for Dogs
Yum, yum, but not for Fido
Halloween is just around the
corner and candy is rapidly populating the store aisles.
Beware
Beware of spooks and beware
of your dog getting into chocolate – it is so
not good for your best friend.
How Not Good?
Check out (and save) this
handy link from PetMD.com
and follow these steps before you need them in a hurry.
1.Enter your dog’s weight in
pounds (if you don’t know how much Fido weighs, contact your veterinarian or
use your family scales [weigh yourself, pick up Fido and weigh the two of you
together, then subtract the first weight from the second])
2. Select the type of
chocolate Spot got into: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, baker’s chocolate,
semi-sweet chocolate, cocoa powder, or white chocolate.
3. Select the amount of
chocolate King ate, in ounces.
4. Look above on the page
for the Chocolate Toxicity Meter which varies from None, Very Mild, Mild,
Moderate, to Severe.
5. To the right is a paragraph
that tells you what action to take for that amount and type of chocolate eaten
by your dog, along with the Pet Poison Hotline number (855-213-6680).
And More. . . . Why and How Much
I love this webpage. It not
only explains why chocolate is toxic to dogs, and shows the symptoms to be
concerned about, but also tells us that your 50-pound dog (maybe an Australian
Shepherd size) may get sick from 8 ounces (half a pound) of milk chocolate but
can be poisoned by only 1 ounce of Baker’s chocolate!
Check out the number of
ounces of chocolate in that candy bar in your purse, just to be on the safe
side, then put your purse up high.
Possible Treatment
Perhaps the best part of
this URL is the short video in which a veterinarian explains almost more than
is on the webpage – including possible treatment. She also recommends to seek
medical assistance as soon as you know your canine has eaten chocolate – don’t
wait until the symptoms develop: time is of the essence.
But, . . .
However, look carefully at
the two charts on the bottom of the page. In a hurry, you may misunderstand
them – they are not nearly as helpful as I would want charts to be.
Act Now
So, in preparation, take a
look now at the Chocolate Toxicity Meter link and become familiar with it.
Memorize the URL. But most crucially, practice good chocolate management if you
have a dog – put the stuff up high.
(Caveat: from PetMD.com, 5 October 2016)
(Caveat: from PetMD.com, 5 October 2016)
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