Celebrating Valentine’s Day Safely with Your Pet

Valentine’s Day is a day of fun, expressing love for our loved ones including pets and sharing. It could, however, turn to be fatal especially when some precautions regarding toxic foods to pets are not carefully adhered to. Here, we provide some emergency measures you can take against chocolate intake for your pet. 

Beware of Dangers of Chocolate

Despite its taste, chocolate is a hazardous snack for your pet. First of all, chocolate contains theobromine, a chemical that is toxic to your dog. Moreover, it contains caffeine which is known to be toxic to dogs. These chemicals make chocolate to be a toxic snack causing cardiac arrest, gastrointestinal complications, and even seizures with even a small amount causing diarrhea and vomiting in dogs. Dark chocolate is known to be more dangerous due to higher concentration of theobromine. White chocolate is high on fat and sugar, which could lead to pancreatitis. It can also increase the dog’s heartbeat leading to cardiac arrest. 

Remedies When Your Pet Has Eaten Chocolate

The first action you need to take is to contact your veterinary officer for a professional action. The officer will calculate the seriousness of the incident by determining the amount of chocolate taken and the concentration. When chocolate is ingested, various remedies can be taken depending on the time the incident was discovered and the severity of the symptoms. If discovered early, the pet owner can induce vomiting using certain medications. 

The severity of the symptoms depends on the age, weight, overall health of the dog and the type as well as the amount of chocolate consumed. In order to minimize the effects and severity of the chemical, veterinary officers can ingest charcoal into the dog in order to bind up the theobromine to prevent it from spreading to the other parts of the body. IV fluids can also be administered for supportive care to help the body excrete more of the toxin. 

Conclusion 

Chocolate can turn your fun moment with your pet into a fatal ending. In order to avoid this, we advise you to consider alternative gifts like toys and new outfits for your pet. Incase of chocolate ingestion, the above tips will help you navigate the situation. 

References: Braselton, EMRVC