Happy Halloween!

  +

MAY EQUAL TROUBLE!

I'm pretty sure that just about everybody loves Halloween.  What's not to love, we get to put on fun costumes, play fun games, and kids are just about cute as can be all dressed up.  And lets not forget about the candy!  I'm pretty partial to peanut butter cups but rarely have I been able to turn down a sweet treat.  We get so excited during this joyful time that sometimes we don't realize that our furry friends have slipped out of their little costumes and gotten into the stash of treats we have for the adorable kids coming to our homes or perhaps even the hard earned treats our little ones spent the evening collecting and enjoying.

Chocolate can be toxic to our pets.  Typically its the doggy members of our family that tend to indulge in a chocolaty treat.  The reason that chocolate can be toxic to dogs is that it contains a chemical called THEOBROMINE.  Theobromine is chemically a compound in the same family as CAFFEINE.  How much harm could that do right?  Many of us drink several cups of coffee every day with out any ill effects.  Have you ever had a really strong cup of coffee though and experienced some shaking in your hands or little jitters?  Well, that is what can happen in dogs from eating to much chocolate.  They can get a large dose of Theobromine and sometimes it can be even large enough to cause generalized seizures, rapid irregular heart rates in addition to vomiting and diarrhea.  This can escalate and result in a very sick pet sometimes. It's pretty rare though.  Most of the time our pets get into a small amount of MILK Chocolate like some M&M's or perhaps a Hershey's bar.  For an average sized Golden, Lab or other medium to large dog this is not going to cause any significant problems.  If they ate a large 1 pound bag they may have some mild gastrointestinal signs like diarrhea or vomiting.  Sometimes these can require supportive care or treatment but we don't expect to see signs of true chocolate toxicity in these individuals.  For the Chocolate lovers out there who prefer dark chocolate cacao or who are baking using bakers chocolate or other dark rich chocolates, that is where we tend to get into trouble.  Particularly when a small pet is involved.  It really doesn't take much dark chocolate to make a 3 pound Yorkie have potential for chocolate toxicity.  Fortunately it's rare to see these types of treats being given out around this time of year.  Visit our website's CHOCOLATE TOXICITY CALCULATOR located at the bottom of the homepage to see how much milk or dark chocolate it will take to make your pet have clinical signs. 

We often forget about all those wrappers and packaging too.  If enough material is ingested there is potential for gastro-intestinal foreign body obstruction to occur.  This is rare but can happen if enough packaging material is ingested to get to the "good stuff".  This can particularly become an issue with some of the larger skull shaped plastic containers that some Halloween candy comes in.

We wish everyone a safe and happy Halloween and may it be as spooky as you like!  Stay tuned for Charli's new costume this year, it's a riot!