Everyone knows that chocolate and dogs do not mix. The most dangerous types of chocolate are bakers and dark as they have the highest amount of cacao. Milk chocolate is mostly cream and sugar and usually doesn’t cause any problems unless consumed in mass quantities. If your dog does get into the candy stash you should bring them in immediately so we can induce vomiting. Having them vomit eliminates as much chocolate as possible from their system, and then a does of activated charcoal usually can absorb the rest. Signs of chocolate toxicity include agitation, hyper-excitability, increased heart rate, seizures and death. I will say that with treatment it is very rare to see a dog die from chocolate toxicity.

Another common one we see at Friendship is grape and raisin ingestion which can cause kidney failure. This one is a little confusing as it varies on the individual dog as to how many grapes or raisins must be ingested to cause toxicity. Again you should bring them in for us to induce vomiting and empty their stomach. We then recommend that they stay in the hospital on intravenous fluids for 48-72 hours while we monitor kidney values. This flushes out the kidneys and hopefully prevents any toxin accumulation. The scary thing with kidney disease is that once damage occurs it cannot be reversed.

Xylitol is an artificial sweetener found in most sugarless gums and causes low blood sugar and liver failure in dogs. Why a box of minty gum is an attractive thing to a dog I do not know but frequently we have a dog come in that vomits up the entire pack with wrappers still on each piece. This also requires hospitalization so we can closely monitor the blood glucose and liver values. If any changes are noted we can then address them with fluids and medications.