last night my 5 month lab has eaten some dark chocolate which he managed to get off the kitchen worktop i know dogs arent allowed chocolate but what will it actually do to them? he seemed ok last night he slept ok but today hes been vey hyper should i do any thing to help calm him down

Dear Guest,
You don't say how much chocolate your lab snaffled but being a lab, I would expect it to be as much as possible. Of all chocolates, dark is the worst as it contains the largest amount of Theobromine, which is the chemical that causes the problem. I would suggest a call to your local vet to be on the safe side. Unless its a very large amount , I would think that it will be ok, maybe a few days of being hyper and the shakes and it can also cause a runny bum (:( ), but I would call the vet to see what they suggest. I have to be honest and say that I'm not sure that there is anything that you can do to steady him down a bit while it works its way throuch his system. There's homeopathic remedys that you could try, but I don't know how they'de react with the Theobromine. Maybe, someone else can point you in the right direction with that.
Good luck-don't worry too much-give the vet a quick ring
Ali :)

If it was last night it is probably too late and if your dog is fine then no harm was done. The damage is done as soon as the theobromine gets into the blood system I think - and if the dog has had too much, then it is usually too late. Action must be done very speedily - within a few hours of eating it. Always best to check with the vet - but if it happens again, you must get to the vet ASAP or make your dog sick with a soda crystal pushed down it's throat :)

I am sure that this is correct, as we had a near miss with our dog a few years ago - but he is only 18kg and had eaten two very large boxes of chocolates (some dark chocolate) and the remains of two advent calendars :D Quite a lot of chocolate for a fairly small dog.

Daisy

My one ate a whole box of after eights, when she was tiny not to mention all the chocs of the tree she knocked over. she was fine just a little hyper. ive read lots of peoples dogs have eaten choc normaly at christmas yet there still fine.
Has anyone known of a dog thats had a problem. ive seen people feed there dogs chocolate and say they always do but you always hear that its really bad and can kill.
Allergic reaction mabe??or just kills in large amounts consumed?

I don't know the amounts - the vet tried to work it out for my dog - but it just depends on the weight of the dog and the type of chocolate consumed - dark chocolate (particularly cooking chocolate and cocoa are the worst). But yes - it can and does kill :(

We were caught out by my mother sending a very large parcel before Xmas (normally we keep all chocolate in cupboards or on high shelves). We didn't know what was in it and left it on a worktop as we all rushed out to work and school. When I came home at lunch time, older dog (before we got pup) had ripped the parcel to bits - through brown wrapping paper, bubble wrap, Xmas wrapping paper :D and was sitting in the middle of the remains of several boxes of Belgian chocolates and chocolate ginger. He had also managed somehow to leap up at the shelf and knock the children's advent calendars down and demolish them as well :D Most of the chocolate was dark, so the vet didn't take any chances and pumped his stomach out (fortunately we were insured). Had I known at the time how to make him sick, I would have done that and saved the vet the trouble (and the money :) ).

Daisy

Until a few years ago, I never knew that choccy was dangerous for dogs, and so I always fed my (passed away)Tess choccy......and she never had any problems.
I don't feed any of my dogs choccy since I heard, just in case.

There was something in this month's Dogs Today about two dogs that had died from eating chocolate - one ate a box of chocolates, the other a tin of cocoa powder. My partner buys those enormous bars of Diary Milk, and I am always checking that he hasn't left a bar anywhere where Molly could get hold of it.

so is it chocolate in LARGE amounts that's dangerous for them, or would it be ok to feed them small amounts???
Like I said, until I heard that it was dangerous, I used to feed my Tess little pieces of choccy, (thinking I was giving her a treat) but she never had any probs

I'm told that a Yorkie bar is enough to kill a Yorkie dog.

I used to occasionally feed Minstrels to a dog, and she was OK. But i wouldn't do it now in case it did have a bad effect.

"A Yorkie bar can kill a Yorkie dog".

Easy to remember, that :D

Lindsay

So it must be the amount of the choc. for you folks givin ur doggys choc .get to wilkos and buy some dog choc its only89p for a big bag;)

You're right, LL. Special dog chocolate (from pet shops) has had the theobromine removed, and is safe. We should all keep the 'human chocolate' for ourselves! (Damned good reason!)
:)

Too true JG :D