My Dog Ate Chocolate: What to Do Right Now

First, do these four things

1. Take the chocolate away and keep the wrapper or packaging. It shows the type of chocolate, the weight of the pack and the ingredients.
2. Work out roughly how much is missing and when your dog ate it. A best guess is fine.
3. Know your dog’s weight, or your best estimate.
4. Call for advice now. Call your vet, a 24-hour emergency hospital, or a pet poison line: ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 or Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661. Both lines are open day and night, and both may charge a fee.

Do not wait to see whether your dog gets sick. Signs can take hours to show, and treatment is simpler and works better when it starts early. Do not try to make your dog vomit unless a vet or poison line tells you to.

Emergency or wait? A quick guide

Red: go to an emergency vet now

• Muscle tremors, twitching, stiffness or a seizure
• A racing or uneven heartbeat, fast breathing, or heavy panting while resting
• Extreme restlessness or agitation that does not settle
• Repeated vomiting, a swollen belly, stumbling, collapse, or a dog that is hard to wake
• Your dog ate baking chocolate, cocoa powder or dark chocolate
• A small dog ate a large amount of any chocolate
• The chocolate was sugar-free, or contained raisins or macadamia nuts

If you can, phone the hospital from the car so the team is ready. In Houston, the hospitals in our listings that are open all night are on the 24-hour emergency vets page.

Amber: call your vet or a poison line right away

• Your dog ate any milk chocolate, chocolate candy, brownies, cake or cookies and seems normal
• You do not know what kind of chocolate it was, or how much
• Your dog has vomited once or has loose stools but is otherwise bright
• Your dog is drinking and peeing more than usual after eating chocolate
• Your dog swallowed wrappers or foil along with the chocolate

The person you speak to will use your dog’s weight and the type and amount of chocolate to work out the risk. They will then tell you whether to go in now, come in for treatment to empty the stomach, or watch at home.

Green: watch at home, but only after you have been told it is safe

• A vet or poison line has checked the amount and said it is below the level of concern for your dog
• Your dog ate only a small amount of white chocolate and is acting normally

Even then, watch your dog closely for the next day or two. Go back to the phone, or to the clinic, if you see vomiting, diarrhea, restlessness, a fast heartbeat, trembling or a painful belly.

Why chocolate is dangerous for dogs

Chocolate is made from cocoa, which contains two natural stimulants: theobromine and caffeine. Vets group them together as methylxanthines. Chocolate holds far more theobromine than caffeine, and theobromine does most of the harm.

People break these stimulants down fairly quickly. Dogs do not. According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, the half-life of theobromine in dogs is about 17.5 hours, which means it takes most of a day for the body to clear just half of it. The stimulants build up and overexcite the nervous system and the heart. They also make a dog pass more urine, which can lead to dehydration.

There is a second, separate problem. Chocolate is rich in fat and sugar. Even when the dose of stimulants is low, a big helping can upset the stomach or trigger pancreatitis, a painful inflammation of the pancreas.

Which chocolate is worst?

The rule is simple: the darker and more bitter the chocolate, the more stimulant it contains, and the less it takes to cause harm. The table shows the combined theobromine and caffeine content reported by the Merck Veterinary Manual.

Type of chocolate	Stimulants per ounce (approx.)	Risk
Dry cocoa powder	807 mg	Highest
Unsweetened baking chocolate	440 mg	Very high
Cocoa bean hull garden mulch	About 255 mg (some products have had it removed)	High
Semisweet and sweet dark chocolate	150 to 160 mg	High
Milk chocolate	64 mg	Moderate
White chocolate	About 1 mg	Very low for stimulants; fat and sugar can still cause illness

Source: Merck Veterinary Manual, Chocolate Toxicosis in Animals. High-cocoa bars sit between dark and baking chocolate: Merck gives about 286 mg per ounce for a 65% cocoa bar.

How much is too much?

Merck reports mild signs such as vomiting, diarrhea and thirst at about 20 mg of stimulants per kilogram of the dog’s body weight, heart effects at 40 to 50 mg/kg, and seizures at 60 mg/kg or more. It also warns that some dogs become seriously ill at lower amounts.

Size changes everything. The FDA gives this example: six ounces of semisweet chocolate chips would probably cause mild to moderate signs in a 60-pound dog, but could be fatal for a 6-pound dog without veterinary care. Cornell’s canine health center notes that about one ounce of milk chocolate per pound of body weight can be deadly, and that far less baking chocolate, around a tenth of an ounce per pound, may be lethal.

These figures are a guide, not a safety line. Packs vary, recipes vary and dogs vary. You do not need to do the sums yourself: give the numbers to your vet or a poison line and let them do it.

Signs of chocolate poisoning and when they start

Signs usually begin 2 to 12 hours after the chocolate was eaten. Cornell notes they can last 12 to 36 hours, and Merck says up to 72 hours in severe cases.

• Early or mild: vomiting, diarrhea, drinking a lot, peeing a lot, a bloated belly, restlessness
• Getting worse: hyperactivity, panting, a fast heartbeat, wobbliness
• Severe: tremors, muscle stiffness, seizures, abnormal heart rhythms, high body temperature, collapse, coma

Chocolate poisoning can be fatal, through abnormal heart rhythms, overheating or breathing failure. This is why vets ask you not to wait for signs before you call.

What else was in it?

Chocolate is often not the only hazard. Tell the vet or poison line about anything else on the label.

• Xylitol. Some sugar-free chocolate and candy is sweetened with xylitol, which the ASPCA says can cause low blood sugar and liver damage in dogs. Treat this as an emergency.
• Raisins and macadamia nuts. Both can be toxic to dogs on their own.
• Caffeine. Chocolate-covered coffee beans and other caffeinated products add to the stimulant dose.
• Wrappers. Mention any foil, plastic or paper your dog swallowed so your vet can advise you.

What happens at the vet

There is no quick test for chocolate poisoning. Vets diagnose it from what you tell them and from examining your dog, which is why the wrapper and your estimate of the amount matter so much.

1. Triage and questions. Staff check heart rate, temperature and alertness, and ask what was eaten, how much and when.
2. Emptying the stomach. If your dog is still well, the vet may give a medicine to make it vomit. Chocolate is absorbed slowly, so this can still help some hours after eating.
3. Activated charcoal. Sometimes given to bind what is left in the gut. Vets use it selectively, because it carries its own risks in chocolate cases.
4. Fluids and comfort. Intravenous fluids support the heart and help flush the stimulants out. Anti-nausea medicine settles the stomach.
5. Monitoring and medication. Dogs with signs may have their heart rhythm watched on an ECG and be given drugs to control tremors, seizures or an abnormal heartbeat.
6. Bladder care. The stimulants can be reabsorbed from urine in the bladder, so staff walk dogs often or place a urinary catheter.

A dog that ate a small amount may go home the same day with instructions. A dog with signs often stays in hospital until they pass. Ask for a cost estimate before treatment starts; clinics expect the question.

Outlook

Most dogs do well when they are treated early. Cornell describes the outlook as generally good for dogs with mild signs or small amounts that get prompt care, and less favorable once a dog has seizures or has collapsed. The amount eaten, the type of chocolate, your dog’s size and how quickly treatment starts all matter, and only the last of these is in your hands.

What not to do

• Do not wait for signs. By the time they appear, the chance to empty the stomach may have passed.
• Do not make your dog vomit on your own. Do it only if a vet or poison line tells you to and explains how.
• Do not give human medicines, milk, salt, oil or other home remedies.
• Do not rely on an online calculator in place of a phone call. It cannot see your dog or read the label.

Keeping chocolate away from your dog

• Store chocolate, cocoa powder and baking supplies in closed cupboards, not on counters or in bags on the floor.
• Take extra care at Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Easter, when there is more chocolate in the house. Check children’s rooms and backpacks.
• Tell guests and children that chocolate is not a dog treat.
• If you garden, check whether your mulch is made from cocoa bean hulls.
• Save your vet’s number, your nearest 24-hour hospital and a poison line in your phone today. If you are in Houston, you can find clinics near you in our Houston vet directory.

When in doubt, call. A two-minute phone call to a vet or a poison line is the safest way to find out whether your dog needs treatment tonight.