Friday, March 25, 2016

Easter Eggs Can Kill Your Dogs: Keep Chocolate Away!

Every year, the Monday after Easter Sunday, Vets are overworked trying to save Dogs that are victims of Chocolate Poisoning.  So please keep your chocolate eggs away from  your chocolate-loving canine friends.  After your Egg Hunts are over, make sure you pick up any unclaimed eggs! Indeed, keep your dogs away from chocolate on any occasion!

     
             

Dog Owners Simply Don't Know the Dangers finds UK Survey
A shocking survey for Dogs Trust in the UK has revealed that over 57 per cent of pet dogs have eaten chocolate intended for humans and more than 1 in 10 have become ill from it. Of these, 8 per cent died and nearly a quarter required urgent veterinary treatment.
    Many dog owners are simply unaware of the dangers – 39 per cent of the dogs who’d eaten human chocolate were given it by their owners, while the remainder ate it because it had been just left lying around in the home.
    Chocolate contains theobromine, which is extremely toxic to dogs. Toxic doses vary according to the size of dog and cocoa solid content of the chocolate; the darker the chocolate, the greater the amount of theobromine. As a rough guide, Dogs Trust estimates that 50g of plain chocolate could be enough to kill a small dog, such as a Yorkshire Terrier.
                 

  
To keep your dog safe, follow these simple rules from Dogs Trust 
● Keep your ‘Chocolate Away’ – hidden out of sight where your dog can’t reach them.
● Never feed your dog chocolate intended for humans.
● If an Easter egg goes missing and you suspect your dog is the culprit, contact your vet straight away.
● Look out for any of the following symptoms: vomiting containing blood, a sore tummy, excessive thirst, excitability, drooling, rapid heart rate and, in severe cases, epileptic-type fits.
● If your dog is displaying any of these signs take him to your vet immediately – there is no antidote for theobromine poisoning so the sooner treatment is implemented, the greater the chance of recovery.
● If you want to give your dog an Easter treat stick to natural doggy snacks.

1 comment:

  1. The same issue being reported Down Under, courtesy of the Sydney Morning Herald

    "Lauren Grey had done almost everything right – the 200 grams of dark chocolate was inside its own bag, inside a bigger shopping bag, stored one metre off the ground in a wardrobe in her bedroom.

    But the vet's whippet Tilda was not discouraged, and after sneaking into the bedroom one day had soon devoured the ten 20-gram pieces while neatly leaving the foil.
    For the 11-kilogram dog, the dose of chocolate and its pet-toxic caffeine and theobromine would have been enough to cause seizures and kill her, her owner said.
    "If we had of been out four to six hours, we may have come home to a dog that could have survived, but if it was 12 hours there would be a dead dog or one beyond saving," Dr Grey said.

    Fortunately the vet's husband, who had been outside gardening, spotted the "guilty looking" dog and the foil and got medical help, with Tilda bringing up about 90 per cent of the chocolate via induced vomiting.

    Together with some activated charcoal to soak up any that remained, Tilda avoided all symptoms which would have followed if the toxins made it into the blood stream.
    Tilda's case was not rare, with private company Pet Insurance Australia reporting 341 claims of poisoning last year, with chocolate the most common cause."


    Read more:

    http://www.smh.com.au/environment/animals/easter-no-excuse-for-ignoring-dogs-fatal-chocolate-threat-20160324-gnqila.html

    ReplyDelete