Buster ate Halloween candy!

[Box Boys]

Oh boy....there's nothing like getting a phone call at work from your son (who got home first from school) to say "chocolate's bad for dogs, right?" Buster had gotten to my youngest son's Halloween candy. My son left it on his floor (oops) or should I say ARGH. My son found about 20-30 wrappers all over the house (mostly chocolate but also some chewy sugary candies). Buster was VERY EXCITED. After a call to the vet, I instructed my son to give Buster 2 tablespoons of peroxide to induce vomiting. After several loose stools, and 5-6 times of vomiting (all within 15 minutes), Buster is OK now. He even threw up chunks of chocolate and some more wrappers. He did put us through a scare though, because after the vomiting he turned very lethargic. The vet also told me to give him Pepcid AC and to make sure his heart wasn't racing. It was for a bit, but he stabilized and is doing fine now. It's a good reminder to make sure he can't get into things he shouldn't be in....it's our responsibility to keep him safe. I did hear later that it's the dark baker's chocolate that is really toxic for them...

 

[dodgeandmar]

My Dodger once at an entire bag of Hershey's Kisses, wrappers and all. It was on the TOP of my bookshelf, apparently he can fly. Anyway, he somehow opened the bag all nice and neat, but then he destroyed the contents. It was like 50 Kisses. The vet told me not to worry about it since it was milk chocolate and he's such a large dog. He was fine. Only he pooped sparkly for 2 days.

I think the peroxide is what made your dog lethargic. I had to give Dodger an ENTIRE bottle once. He somehow managed to get medicine out of the bathroom cabinet and swallow like 15 pills. Then he REFUSED to puke. Finally after downing the whole bottle he couldn't control it anymore. He threw up like 6 times and then did nothing but lay around for a while. I imagine it probably tires them out.

Glad your baby is okay!

 

[Caney Creek]

Whew! Glad Buster's OK.

Yep, the darker the chocolate the more dangerous it is for doggies. He'd have to eat a TON of milk chocolate to reach the level of it being toxic. Thank goodness there's not usually much dark chocolate in Halloween candy

 

[Gatorblu]

My Dodger once at an entire bag of Hershey's Kisses, wrappers and all. It was on the TOP of my bookshelf, apparently he can fly. Anyway, he somehow opened the bag all nice and neat, but then he destroyed the contents. It was like 50 Kisses. The vet told me not to worry about it since it was milk chocolate and he's such a large dog. He was fine. Only he pooped sparkly for 2 days.

Thor did the same thing! (Except the kisses were in gift bags on the table.) Sparkly poop and all!

As for being lethargic afterwards, I'm sure it is from the stress of vomiting. I don't know about you, but if I've been throwing up, all I want to do afterwards is lay somewhere quiet. Well, that and rinse my mouth out about 100 times.

I'm glad Buster is ok now. And it is a good reminder, with all the holidays and the treats that go with them approaching to be careful in all the rush to make sure we keep our babies safe.

 

[Blain]

I feel your pain... And then some. A few weeks ago, my wife called me to say the dogs had gotten into some home-made double chocolate cookie dough and had eaten the ENTIRE batch. My male, who is VERY food driven, had probably had the most. The dough was made with baker's chocolate, which is high in Theobromine -- a chemical similar to caffeine. Knowing how serious this chemical can be in canines (do a Google search on Canine Methylxanthene Toxicosis), I had her call our local vet. He too recommended hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting.

Following the H2O2 and vomiting, both had high heart rates, so they both took a trip to the vet and spent the night there for observation. They came home after a day, but NOS had to return a couple days later when he had refractory vomiting and diarrhea. He spent another two days there while his gut rested and he received IV fluids.

The good news is that Bonnie and NOS are back home and doing well. Will this cure NOS from his passion for stealing food off the counter when no one is looking? Probably not, but it will definitely remind us to be more careful with food left unmonitored on the counter.

 

[Box Boys]

Thank heavens NOS is ok after all that. Jeez! What a scare...far more serious than what I dealt with in Buster. Like you said, it gives us a wake up call to be much more careful.