Just took our 5 month old Staffy bitch Lexie to the vets, she had blood shot eyes.

The vet asked questions about Lexie and her eating habits, the vet came to the conclusion that her symptoms were due to the family giving her chocolate treats.
We did not understand the dangers of chocolate, but the vet was very concerned about Lexie, she seems her normal destructive self but the vet said we could have done
irreversible damage to Lexie, the vet has taken blood samples and gave her eye drops and a 5 day course of antibiotics.

The vet has left us feeling very uneasy, as Lexie is only 5 months old, the vet has said we might have poisoned her and done permanent damage to her liver and kidneys.
The amount of chocolate we have been giving her is approx a mars bar a day over the last month.
We are racked with guilt, and hoping for the best. Is the vet exaggerating or could there be a long term problem.

All replies appreciated.

The vet has given you a timely warning about the dangers of giving chocolate to dogs - it contains a chemical called theobromine which is toxic to them. :( There is some information about the dangers in this link. Hopefully Lexie will be all right, but please, never give her any human chocolate again. The special 'dog chocolate' has had the theobromine removed, so is safe - but just like humans, treats lead to overweight which shortens lifespans, so are best avoided altogether.

Oh my, as JG has already explained very dangerous, the equivalent of one mars a day even not knowing the toxic levels of choclate for a dog, did you not think of obesity, Staffies are very solid dogs at the best of times too much weight on a Staffie at the very least would cause strain on her legs with a large solid body to hold.

The one and only thing to remember is just don't give your girl any of our food, dogs eat meat some fish, eggs and dog food, complete foods have everything in it she needs including veg but that is it, don't offer her your left overs or anything you eat yourself that way she will stay healthy, fit and hopefully live a long life.

Hope that she will be ok.

As said before there are great dangers to dogs feeding chocolate.

I do hope she will be ok.

I would say though I wouldn't even give my children a Mars Bar a day

Why on earth did you think it was ok to feed this kind of thing to a puppy

Sorry if I sound a bit harsh but common sense must play a part here :)

We accept the criticism posted, but we were looking for constructive information on Lexies predicament.

I gave a "mars bar" figure as an approximate of what we might have feed Lexie, the most feed her at any one time would have been a small milky way,
and then just odd xmas sweets.

Both our Staffs get a balanced diet, and we are not in the habit of feeding them off the table! It occurs when we see them after we both come home from work..
This has been a wake up call and we have taken steps to change things for both dogs, we are waiting for the blood results from the vets, so are still a little apprehensive.

Regards..

Until the blood test results come back there's no way of knowing what damage, if any, has been done, so the only constructive information possible is to stress (to not only you but everyone else who might read this ;)) the very real danger of giving chocolate to a dog and to advise strongly never to do it.

Chocolate is poison to dogs. There's no other way of saying it. Hopefully Lexie and your other dog will be all right longterm. If you feel you must give them a treat when you come home (though I expect your presence is enough pleasure in itself!) give them a small portion of their day's ration of their day's dog food. :)

The amount of chocolate we have been giving her is approx a mars bar a day over the last month

A day is the key ;)

You should NOT be giving a dog anything but what is best for a dog and that is a balanced diet ;)

Chocolate is not part of that ;)

It occurs when we see them after we both come home from work..

Can you explain :)

I cannot give any assurances that Lexie will be ok but do really hope so :)

Can I ask what you feed your Staffs just out of interest including treats ;)

Regards

Lucy

I can't give you any advice I'm afraid, but I would like to say it takes a brave person to admit when they've done wrong and at least you are trying to do you best to correct it.  A lot of people who know the dangers of obesity and toxins still treat and feed their dogs inappropriately.  At least youa re trying to educate yourselves about the situation! :-)

You've obviously learnt your lesson, so I wont preach about that.  Just be sure to research toxic substances to dogs.  Quite a lot of plants in the garden can be toxic also.  i recenty found out that morning glories were highly toxic to dogs.  The last owner of my house put loads of them in!  I didn't know, but found out before my dogs got interested.  Removed them toute suite!  Also Ivy is apparently toxic!

Good luck with Lexie.  Fingers and toes crossed for you.

Hi frankiedent

I think others have pointed out the dangers of feeding chocolate to dogs so I wont go into that :)

However, since you didnt know that chocolate is a danger I am assuming that you dont know that there are other foods that are out of bounds. You can do a search on here or google toxic foods for dogs. There are lots of sites that offer listings of foods to avoid. Another hazard I wasnt aware of when I first got Sox was Bloat. Its worth doing a search on this. Sorry If Im teaching you to suck eggs and Im not trying to frighten you its just that when we first became owners, I was amazed at some of the important things I didnt know about, despite having done lots of research, so I try and tell anyone who will listen about these things as im sure im not the only one who didnt know.

Remember never to leave chocs under or on the tree as your dogs will have the taste now and will probably sniff them out.

Sorry I cant offer any advice about the prognosis for your little one but I think Jeangenie's advice about waiting for the blood tests is quite right. All dogs respond differently to this kind of poison with some not suffering any visible symptoms and others being irreversibly affected :( You cant undo what is done now so there is no point in beating yourself up about it, although I know thats easier said than done, but it wont serve any purpose. Just wait for the bloods to come back and deal with the situation then. The vet cannot know what the effects will be until the bloods are back but the purpose of the advice given will have been to prepare you for the potential outcome based on sound research and experience. So although it may have left you feeling uneasy it is their moral responsibility to let you know what may happen. Lets hope that you have had a lucky escape and that it doesnt result in any long term damage.

The best thing you can do is tell anyone that will listen about the danger of foodstuffs that are toxic to dogs - it always suprises me how many people dont seem to know about the dangers of chocolate, in particular.

I do hope it all turns out to be ok and please keep us updated with the results of the blood tests.
Thinking of you and the little one at this difficult time, I hope shes ok.
Caroline x

Hows Lexie doing? Have you seen any improvement so far?

Lexie is still her normal self, still using the house as a toilet but getting better.

She still has blood shot eyes, but they have got slightly better with the drops.

When are her test results due?