Allie's first counter surf and she ate.......

[Leigh & Allie]

Wednesday afternoon I brought home some muffins from the office. We had had a meeting and there were some left over muffins so I brought two home for my son. I got a blueberry one and a chocolate chocolate chip one. These were the really BIG ones you can get at Costco. I bet you know where this is going.....so anyway, my son ate the blueberry one on the way home from school. When we got home he put the chocolate chocolate chip on the counter. Allie has NEVER shown any interest with anything on the counter. She has never counter surfed at all. She turned one in August and that has never been an issue with her. She is a mini so that probably has something to do with it. Anyway my son and I sit down and he starts his homework. I am quizing him to help him study for a test. I get up when I notice Allie is not around. She usually is where ever I am so this is unusual. I look around the kitchen and she is nowhere to be found. Then I notice the paper towel that the muffin had been sitting on. It is on the floor and I start my panic. Where is Allie and WHERE is the muffin. I find Allie under the dining room table and I call her. She comes out with this look on her face. She KNEW she had done something wrong. The muffin is nowhere to be found not even a crumb. SHE HAS EATEN A CHOCOLATE MUFFIN!! It is 5:45 at this time so I call the vet in a panic. Thankfully someone answers. I tell the receptionist what happened and she says "Take her to the emergency clinic now the chocolate can be fatal" then she says hang on a minute let me talk with someone. Apparently, my vet was still there and he did some calculations on the suspected amount of chocolate she ate and he said he thought Allie would be o.k. just to watch her and see what happens. If she starts throwing up or has runny poo to take her to the emergency vet. I am very happy and relieved to say she never had any problems and everything came out well (no pun intended).

[Camilla and Darwin]

Darwin has never ever counter surfed either, and he's a little over a year and a half. Now I'm worried, he's a standard so it wouldn't be hard....

I'm so glad Allie is okay!

[Pocket & Beth]

Glad to hear Allie is okay! I know how worrisome that can be! The first week we had Pocket we took him to my aunt's house. She put out a huge plate of brownie's for everyone on the coffee table. Some of us went to go examine something in the kitchen, leaving my cousin's BF with the dog. Somehow, he managed to let Pocket eat the ENTIRE plate! I was so worried, I thought he was going to die after only having him for a short time (some dog parent's we were! although, what the hell was the BF thinking!?) Anyway, after calling the dog emergency line and talking to them, they said that brownies have a small amount of cocoa, and some dogs aren't even allergic and to monitor him. I think I had a stomach ache from worry for two days after this, until I really knew he was in the clear. Now, his nose goes extra high in the air when brownies are around though, and he lurks around them, but knows not to touch.

[Leigh & Allie]

Wow. Thanks for that. I was also wondering if the chocolate muffin part was as bad as the chocolate chips in it. I was guessing that the chocolate chips were worse then the chocolate muffin part. I told my vet everything I could think of about the muffin. That it was big and that there were chocolate chips in it. He did his calculations and he thought she would be fine and she was. I guess there will not be long term problems? He did not say anything about it and did not tell me to give her peroxide or anything. It has been a 5 days now since it happened and I can not find anything wrong with her thankfully! I thought I would share because with the holidays coming up this could happen to someone else.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

As I was reading this I was thinking to myself how much and what types of chocolate does it make before we should be worried. I thought this was very interesting when I found this article, so thought I'd share:

You've probably heard that chocolate can kill your dog - but do you know why chocolate is poisonous, which types of chocolate are more harmful than others, the symptoms of chocolate poisoning and the one thing that's more lethal than chocolate?

The following seven questions tell you all you need to know about chocolate and your dog.

Why is chocolate poisonous?

The cocoa tree contains two naturally occurring substances - theobromine and caffeine - both of which are toxic to dogs. Cocoa beans conatin theobromine a higher concentration than caffeine.

Dogs metabolise theobromine very slowly - it can stay in your dog's bloodstream for up to 20 hours. During that time it interferes with the body's functioning mainly stimulating the central nervous system and affecting the heart and kidneys.

What is the toxic level of theobromine?

The lethal dose for theobromine is between 100mg to 200mg per kg of bodyweight ; the lethal dose for caffeine is the same.

However, severe symptoms of theobromine poisoning may be evident at much lower doses .

According to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Animal Poison Control Center, mild signs of poisoning occur in animals ingesting 20 mg of theobromine and caffeine per kg of bodyweight, severe signs are seen at 40-50 mg/kg, and seizures occur at 60 mg/kg.

How your dog reacts to swallowing chocolate will be a function of his size, general health, sensitivity to theobromine and caffeine, and the type and quantity of chocolate eaten.

How much theobromine and caffeine is there in chocolate?

The level of theobromine and caffeine in chocolate varies between the type of chocolate, the brand and the fact that the natural occurrence of these substances in cocoa beans is variable.

Broadly:

* White chocolate - 1.1 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate;
* Milk chocolate - 64 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate;
* Dark sweet chocolate - 150 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate;
* Instant cocoa powder - 151 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate;
* Unsweetened baking chocolate - 440 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate; and
* Dry coca powder - 808 mg of theobromine and caffeine per ounce of chocolate.

So how much chocolate can my dog eat?

White chocolate does not contain very much theobromine and caffeine, and your dog would need to eat a very large quantity before he would be at risk from theobromine poisoning.

If we look at a 10lb (4.5kg) dog such as a Yorkshire Terrier and a 70lb (32kg) dog like a Labrador Retriever, the following amounts of chocolate would be considered lethal doses (if we take 100mg/kg as the lethal dose):

For the Yorkshire Terrier - approximately 7oz of milk chocolate or 3oz of instant cocoa powder, or 1oz of unsweetened baking chocolate or just over half an ounce of dry cocoa powder.

For the Labrador Retriever - approximately 3lbs of milk chocolate or 1.3lbs of instant cocoa powder or 7oz unsweetened baking chocolate or 4oz of cocoa powder.

These are approximate amounts only, but do show how lethal dark chocolate is compared to milk chocolate, and how small dogs are more at risk than large dogs.

Dogs get a taste for chocolate - they find the flavor of theobromine addictive. Even if your dog can eat small amounts of chocolate without any ill effect, don't give him a taste for it because he'll then try to sniff out and eat chocolate at every opportunity.

If you really want your dog to eat something that's like chocolate, you can always use carob which is a good alternative; here a link to a recipe for carob biscotti which your dog with love just as much as chocolate biscotti!

What are the signs of poisoning?

The symptoms of theobromine poisoning generally show within four to twenty four hours of your dog having eaten the chocolate.

The early symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive thirst, increased urination and restlessness .

As time goes on, and your dog absorbs more theobromine into his system, symptoms such as lack of co-ordination, muscle twitching, hyperactivity, increased heart rate and raised blood pressure will be evident .

These can lead on to seizures, coma, heart arrhythmia, hyperthermia, and ultimately death .

Even if your dog eats a small amount of chocolate, he may show signs of vomiting and diarrhea due to the high fat and sugar content of the chocolate.

What do I do if my dog's eaten chocolate?

The first thing you should do is to call your vet and describe the symptoms your dog is showing (if any) and the type and quantity of chocolate your dog has, or you think he has, eaten.

Your vet will need to treat your dog, but may advise you to make your dog vomit before bringing him to the surgery. This will reduce the amount of theobromine that's in your dog's body that he can absorb.

Most dogs recover within 24 to 72 hours of treatment by their vet .

Does this mean that cocoa mulch is toxic too?

Yes, cocoa bean shell mulch is very toxic to dogs - there is approximately 255 mg of theobromine per ounce of mulch.

For a lethal dose of cocoa mulch our 10lb (4.5kg) Yorkshire Terrier needs to ingest just under 2ozs (368g), and our 70lb Labrador Retriever just 13ozs (368g).

Dogs are attracted to cocoa mulch as it has a sweet smell. As your dog explores things of interest with his mouth, and being an indiscriminate eater, he could easily swallow a couple of mouthfuls whilst he's investigating where that lovely cocoa smell is coming from.

It's not easy to notice that your dog has swallowed cocoa mulch - you're not likely to spot a pound of mulch missing from the garden. Most deaths from theobromine toxicity are from the ingestion of coca mulch because owners aren't aware their dog's eaten it. By the time the symptoms show the dog has often suffered too much internal damage to be saved .