My dog ate chocolate, grapes or onion — what should I do?
For many foods that are toxic to dogs, the dose and size of the dig is important. If you are ever concerned that your dog has eated something toxic, it is important to let us know the approximate weight of your dog, and the amount of toxin they may have eaten.
My dog ate chocolate, what should I do?
For chocolate ingestion, the type of chocolate makes a big difference to how dangerous it is for your dog. As a general rule, the darker the chocolate the more toxic it is likely to be.
The best way to understant the risk for your dog is to use a Chocolate Toxicity Calculator, such as the on FOUND HERE If you enter your dogs weight, select the type of chocolate and the amount eaten, it will let you know if your pet requires veterinary attention. If vet attention is recommended you should contact your vet urgently – if treated early we can induce emesis to make the dog vomit, which removes most of the toxin. Once the dog is showing clinical signs of chocolate toxicity, such as seizures or heart problems, it is much harder to treat.
Should I worry if my dog ate grapes?
Grapes are a tricky food to give advice on. It has only recently been discovered that it is the tartric acid in grapes that causes toxicity. The most common problem caused by grape toxicity is kidney failure, which can be catastrophic.
The amount of tartric acid in grapes varies considerably, and there also appears to be a lot of variation in how suseptable each dog is to the toxin. As a rough rule of thumb, veterinary treatment is strongly advised if the dog has eaten roughly 0.5 grapes per kilogram. For example, if a 20kg dog has eaten 10 grapes, we would strongly recommend vet attention. If a 20kg dog has eaten one grape it is very unlikely to have any issues.
Once again, if we are concerned a dog has eaten a toxic amount of grapes then vomiting is our best treatment. Removing the grapes from the dog before the toxin can be absorbed is generally successful, though in some cases we may recommend hospitalisation on fluids and/or blood tests to monitor the kidneys.
What about if my dog has eaten onions?
Onions can be very dangerous for dogs. Onions can cause damage to the dog’s red blood cells, leading to the cells being distroyed and the dog developing a severe anaemia (lack of blood cells).
The toxic dose of onions is from around 5g of onion per 1kg of body weight. For example, for a 10kg dog we would be concerned if they ate around 50g of onions.
It can take several days for the signs of onion toxicity to become apparent, so if you are concerned that your dog may have eaten a toxic amount we would recomment prompt veterinary attention. Treatment may include making the dog vomit of caught early, activated charcoal to absorb the toxin, and for more severe cases supportive care in hospital and possible blood transfusions.
If you are ever concerned that your pet may have eaten something poisonous, please call us urgently at the Bunbury Vet Clinic on 97215999 or the Eaton Vet Clinic on 97250399.
