How to Make a Dog Throw Up After Eating Chocolate – Important Information for Dog Owners!

If your dog consumes chocolate, it’s important to act swiftly and think about ways to prompt vomiting. This is because eating chocolate can put your dog at risk of theobromine or chocolate poisoning.

This can kill your dog.

Therefore, depending on how much chocolate your dog ate, and whether it ate dark chocolate or milk chocolate, you need to take your buddy to the vet immediately.

If you are unable to drive your dog to the vet’s office, then you must try to make your dog throw up at home.

In this guide, we tell you how to make a dog throw up after eating chocolate.

How to Make a Dog Vomit After Eating Chocolate? How do You Flush Chocolate Out of a Dog’s System?

Many dogs start vomiting and have diarrhea and restlessness after they have eaten chocolate with roasted seeds of cocoa plants. This will depend on the dog’s weight and the quantity of chocolate it has eaten. The vomiting is a sign of chocolate poisoning in dogs.

If you notice your dog having chocolate, please keep the candy stash away from your dog’s reach so it cannot eat any more chocolate. With small puppies (or if the dog weighs less than 10 lb), it may be best to crate-train them to avoid such mishaps.

If you suspect your dog has eaten dark chocolate, milk chocolate, or baker’s chocolate, then (if you cannot provide prompt medical care), use hydrogen peroxide to flush it out of your pet’s body.

• Take a turkey baster and fill it up with 1 tsp of hydrogen peroxide. For a medium-sized dog, use 2 tsp and for a larger one, use up to 3 tsp of H2O2.
• Squirt the solution over your dog’s tongue and into your dog’s throat.
• Make your pet walk a little to ensure that the hydrogen peroxide bubbles up for inducing vomiting
• Stay by your dog’s side to ensure it does not reingest the throw-up.

Please check out our detailed guide on how to use hydrogen peroxide to make dogs vomit.

You can also make a dog throw up without using hydrogen peroxide. The alternative to making a dog vomit after it eats chocolate is to use activated charcoal. You can also try to use your fingers to make your buddy throw up.

Dog Ate Chocolate – How Long Will a Dog Vomit After Eating Chocolate?

According to the AKC, the signs and symptoms of toxicity in dogs can occur within 6-12 hours after having it- depending on the amount eaten.

However, there are no hard and fast rules here. Most dogs puke right away, although some may not show any reaction at all.

It all depends on how much candy the pet consumed, the type, and also your dog’s size.

For example, if a small dog eats chocolate, then poisoning may occur within minutes. For larger dogs, the reaction may be slightly delayed. It is worse in smaller dogs and dogs with heart-related issues.

Therefore, if you know your dog ate chocolate for sure, you must monitor it continuously for signs of poisoning, or better yet, try to induce vomiting.

What is Chocolate Poisoning in Dogs?

Most humans love chocolate but if a pooch accidentally had chocolate, then it may be best to take it to the veterinarian to induce vomiting. It contains caffeine and theobromine, and both of these ingredients are toxic to dogs. Dogs cannot metabolize theobromine.

Peer-reviewed studies show that almost all chocolate varieties contain theobromine. However, the ones that contain the maximum amount are unsweetened baker’s chocolate (390 mg of theobromine per ounce), cocoa and cocoa bean powder, and dark chocolate.

Milk chocolate contains the least amount of theobromine- about 44 mg per ounce. Semi-sweet chocolate contains even more theobromine up to 150 mg per ounce. White chocolate has no theobromine but it is fattening to dogs (and humans)!

• If a small dog ingests 50-60mg per kg of dog’s body weight, it could develop cardiac symptoms.
• At doses of over 60 mg per/kg of a dog’s body weight, a dog could suffer from seizures.

This implies that even the smallest amount of chocolate or a small meal of choco cake could be toxic to a small breed canine and result in symptoms of chocolate poisoning.

This also implies that if your dog has eaten a small piece or a few crumbs of chocolate cake, then it won’t suffer from chocolate poisoning in dogs. This is even more the case in large dogs that were accidentally fed a small piece of chocolate cake as a tasty treat.

Having said that, you don’t want to take the risk, and it is best to prevent your dog from ingesting chocolate. Here are the symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs:

• Stomach upset
• Abdominal pain
• Retching, nausea, and vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Loss of appetite
• Behavioral changes
• Hiding
• Lethargy
• Increased urination or polyuria
• Cardiac symptoms like an elevated heart rate may occur in severe cases.
• Tremors
• Seizures
• Death

To prevent this complication, if your dog consumed chocolate, instead of treating it with home remedies seek prompt veterinarian care from a vet to induce vomiting.

Also Read  Urgent: How to Make a Dog Vomit After Eating Grapes

Dark Chocolate: How Quickly Does Chocolate Affect Dogs?

According to veterinarian experts from VCA Hospitals, dark chocolate contains almost 130-450mg of theobromine per ounce.

Consequently, a small-sized dog could develop signs of chocolate poisoning within 2-6 hours if it has consumed too much chocolate.

What Can I Give My Dog If He Accidentally Ate Chocolate? Important Steps to Take if Dog Eats Chocolate

A good rule, after you suspect your pet had chocolate is to use 3% hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting. Give 1 tsp of hydrogen peroxide to a small breed dog and up to 3 tsp of 3% hydrogen peroxide for a medium to large dog.

You can also administer some activated charcoal to your dog. Veterinarians recommend a dose of 1-3g of activated charcoal per 2.2 lb. of body weight.  

Don’t forget to check the chocolate wrapper to know exactly the quantity of chocolate it ate.  Call the Pet Poison Helpline vet and provide them with the above information.

If your dog is showing dangerous signs of chocolate poisoning, then it may need to get its stomach pumped, along with IV fluids, and veterinary medications. It also needs its blood pressure checked.

What if My Dog Doesn’t Vomit After Eating Chocolate?

If your dog has only eaten a small quantity of chocolate like milk chocolate, then chances are it will recover completely without any dangerous signs of chocolate toxicity or poisoning.

However, you must still monitor your dog and check for dangerous signs like heart palpitations, confusion, drooling, loose stools, etc.

It is a good sign if your dog doesn’t vomit after it eat chocolate. It probably means that it ate a small quantity and that the chocolate did not contain too much theobromine to cause chocolate poisoning symptoms. However, you must still restrict your dog from ingesting chocolate in the future.

FAQs 

How much chocolate is toxic to a dog?

1.5 ounces of dark chocolate, cocoa powder, or baking chocolate could easily cause chocolate toxicity in a 10-pound dog. If you suspect dog eats chocolate, then monitor it for toxicity symptoms.

Can a dog recover from chocolate poisoning?

As long as a dog receives medical help within 2 hours of swallowing chocolate, then the prognosis is good, and the pet may recover.

Will 1 chocolate hurt a dog?

A small piece of milk chocolate won’t hurt a large dog. However, if a dog eats chocolate in multiple pieces, it could be lethal for small dogs.

Conclusion

Chocolate can be lethal to dogs due to its caffeine and theobromine content. If your dog eats chocolate, please monitor it over the next few hours. Depending on its weight, the type of chocolate, and the amount of chocolate it has eaten, a dog could develop chocolate poisoning within hours.

Please call your vet or seek help from the pet poison control helpline.