luvmyswissy
He never had a problem, now I am thinking its becasue it was not choc with sweatner. The darker the choc. the more sweatner generally.
No -- chocolate is its own problem -- theobromide is the "poison" - but the basic deal is that when the dog's liver processes the chocolate it literally turns into a substance VERY LIKE COCAINE. The darker the chocolate the more theobromine. It has NOTHING to do with sweener. It has everything to do with the concentration of theobromine. Something like Oreos is mostly flour, sugar, etc. -- there's very little concentrated cocoa or chocolate. And cocoa is on a whole different level than just plain old cheap chocolate (i.e., cocoa in the can like you'd use for baking -- it's got more 'dark' chocolate than you'd realize because it's not sweet yet).
"sweetener" -- there are various Sweeteners that dog's can't have. Xylitol is the current major problem because so many gums/diet things use it. ANY artificial sweetner (including Stevia, which most folks don't realize alters blood pressure) can be a problem, but xylitol even in *very* small quantitites can shut down a dog's kidneys. At this point I don't have *any* artifiicial sweetener in the house, particularly not in my purse -- the risk of somebuddy getting it is just plain too high.
I'm going to get on my soapbox just a bit here -- but I hope it will help someone's dog.
**BEWARE** -- when you just 'call' an emergency vet you are NOT talking to a vet. You are typically talking to a receptionist and that is usually not safe advice. Now there are some that are good, but some that are NOT (like someone's e-vet receptionist told them to induce vomiting after a dog had eaten a glass ornament??? YIPE -- BAD ADVICE!!!!!). Don't rely on the receptionist for anything other than "how long will I have to wait if we come NOW". Their stock answer really ought to be "come in and let the vet check".
Theobromine causes **liver damage**. So it is something that can be built up -- for those folks who are convinced that their dogs "don't have a problem with" chocolate because they don't SEE any hyperness, etc. -- they're foolish. Because it DOES damage the liver, even in small amounts, and frequency can make the damage cumulative.
The size of the dog, the concentration of chocolate/theobromine, the amount of sugar -- these will all impact how the dog will respond.
DYAN -- FOR GIBBY -- I would give him milk thistle for a few weeks. The "damage" that is done isn't erased quickly -- and it takes a few weeks for the liver to regenerate itself.
Mint -- not a bad thing at all -- in fact I deliberately give my dogs mint. It's a good anti-oxidant and it's a good tummy settler. It's VERY likely that most of the gut damage that could have been done was mitigated by the mint in the fudge. The combination of the mint with the stomach acid is likely what eventually made his gut get rid of what it couldn't process.
In honesty? I would NOT avoid vomiting just because a dane is prone to bloat. I would be fully prepared to RACE to the e-vet but if he'd eaten something TRULY toxic (like acetaminaphen) - it would be less risky to induce vomiting and deal with the potential for bloat, than to kill his kidneys by allowing the body to process something truly toxic.
ALL OF US SHOULD KNOW what the big bad nasty stuff is poison-wise. Things like theobomine yes -- but things that can KILL (and kill FAST and with very little ingested) are things like Tylenol products, various kinds of rat poison (mouse, rat, snail/slug poisons), antifreeze, pseudophedrine, any NSAIDs (aspirin, ibuprophen), or ANY medicine taken in quantity, arsenic, Fleet enema (and I know some use those routinely at shows, but they *can* be poison), pesticides & fertilizers,
RECOMMENDED BOOK: I'm still going to recommend The Pill Book Guide to Medication for Your Dog and Cat -- (1998 Dell reference) -- it doesn't have the newer drugs, true BUT the first 75 pages of it are the BEST first aid book you will find. It has a whole section on poisons, and first aid in the beginning. It's an absolutely invaluable book and it's CHEAP (like $7 on Amazon). You won't usually find it at a bookstore -- but it can be ordered easily. I think I've worn out three copies of it over the years. it is just plain THAT valuable.
First aid is always a judgment call. But don't fail to administer first aid because of fear. You have to JUDGE what is the greater evil -- the bad thing that the dog has ingested or gotten into -- or a potential problem. In honestly, ANY TIME you have to use first aid, you oughta be ready to head for the vet ***NOW***. And if you are simply 45 minutes from an emergency vet -- in an abundance of caution I'd be heading FOR the vet and if you decide by the time you get there that the emergency has passed, then turn around. (i.e., if you had to make Gibby throw up, it would be the act of vomiting that could institute volvulus (bloat) so you could wait UNTIL he throws up and get in the car to go to the vet. If you drive 1/2 hr and he's showing NO signs of bloat, then turn around and go home.
Making any sense? Part of first aid is evaluating the risk.
Seriously folks - if you don't HAVE a first aid book that you can instantly lay your hands on? YOU SHOULD. There aren't many first aid books that I would just sit and read thru, but the one at the beginning of the Pill Book is one you should do that with. Because it's general -- it's literally a list of stuff that's a problem and a description of why.
Things like NSAIDs (ibuprophen, aspirin) - those are things we all have in our medicine cabinet (and often in our purses) -- but the PIll Book will tell you what the dangerous dose is.
This is the time of the year when dogs tend to get bored and inquisitive -- small animals come in houses seeking shelter from cold and then people lay down poison (and maybe it's not in your house, but it takes a heartbeat for them to "find" something and ingest it from elsewhere).