Building up a chocolate tolerance?

A new coworker mentioned that her vet told her to start feeding her dogs a small amount of chocolate every day, on a plan to gradually increase it, until her dogs could eat a full chocolate bar with no problems, in case they ever went on a chocolate binge. She said the vet told her she would have to give them some every day from now on, and then they'd be safe and not react to chocolate at all.

I hadn't heard of this before.

The really scary part? She told her mom, and her mom has started as well. Her dogs are at least big enough to handle some chocolate without worry (she said she has a 'big pit' and a rot mix), but she said her moms dogs were 'little poodle-like things'!!! :eek:


Anyone else heard of a vet advising this? I tried to talk to her about at least having her mom talk to a vet first, if NOTHING else, but she blew me off. :( I hope all the dogs will be ok.

Tell her to find a new vet.

I agree 150%, that is one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard.

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Originally Posted by Karen

Tell her to find a new vet.

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I did tell her I knew my vet in the city I just moved from would gladly talk to her over the phone for free for a second opinion, but she again blew me off.

She seems to accept this vet she goes to (forgot to ask which vet, will do tomorrow) as an absolute authority, and really didn't seem interested in my concerns at all. Since it came from a vet, I was hoping there was maybe SOMETHING I hadn't heard of, but... :(


I will harass her more tomorrow. The poor little dogs...

Wow that is rediculous. Even more for the mother to follow through and actually belive it.

What kind of licensed vet would say that? It makes no sense! It's like asking us to drink antifreeze or taking meds, and gradually having a larger intake everyday.

That vet is insane or high on something! Would he also suggest that she feed her dog small amounts of anti freeze every day to build up a tolerance for it?

You need to do more than hassle her a little tomorrow. Tell her she's risking her dog's life!!!!!!!!!!

We spent hours one day trying to save a toy poodle that had eaten 2 or 3 pieces of valentine chocolates. If the dog had been fed small amounts of chocolate daily prior to that incident, the toxins would have been built up in her system and she wouldn't have survived.

My 85 pound dog ate a large special dark chocolate bar and a small pack of oreo cookies and it didn't faze him. It could have killed him if he'd already had the toxins from prior chocolate in his system.

It's time for a new vet!!!!!!!!!!

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Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

What kind of licensed vet would say that? It makes no sense! It's like asking us to drink antifreeze or taking meds, and gradually having a larger intake everyday.

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Sorry, we were typing at the same time! ;)

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Originally Posted by applesmom

Sorry, we were typing at the same time! ;)

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We both thought antifreeze at the same time? What are the changes of that! ;)

Sheesh, what a stupid thing to say.

The only reason humans can deal with chocolate and not dogs or cats, if they were interested in it, is because our bodies can expell the stimulants before it does harm to us. Dogs and cats aren't able to do this, it stays in their systems a lot longer and so can do the damage. Eating a bit of chocolate each day isn't going to change that.

The best thing for people to do is keep all cocoa and chocolate meant for people well out of reach of their pets. It isn't difficult really to keep stuff like that in an upper cupboard where a pet can't get to it.

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Originally Posted by Canis-Lupess

Sheesh, what a stupid thing to say.

The only reason humans can deal with chocolate and not dogs or cats, if they were interested in it, is because our bodies can expell the stimulants before it does harm to us. Dogs and cats aren't able to do this, it stays in their systems a lot longer and so can do the damage. Eating a bit of chocolate each day isn't going to change that.

The best thing for people to do is keep all cocoa and chocolate meant for people well out of reach of their pets. It isn't difficult really to keep stuff like that in an upper cupboard where a pet can't get to it.

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I thought they were allergic to something in it...

Dark chocolate can indeed be fatal to dogs, milk chocolate can be tolerated without any serious adverse effects, but honestly i think that vet is missing a few marbles up top myself, a very strange thing to tell someone to do, sure hope he told her not the dark chocolate.

:(

It is ths stimulant theobromine that is toxic to dogs. Basically, it affects the heart, causing it to speed up or beat irregularly. This is what can make the dog ill or even die if it causes the heart to stop. Exercise can bring this on.

If the human body didn't expell it faster, the same would probably happen to us too.

Milk chocolate is still dangerous to a degree but a dog can eat more of that than dark chocolate to be affected by theobromine poisoning.
I have heard of dogs get ill or even die just from eating some milk chocolate too.
I read about two english bulldogs who died within minutes of each other half an hour after being fed a piece of sponge cake with a bit of chocolate on top. They were champion showdogs too. The owner had several more and was a breeder but, feeding their dogs crap like that, they weren't very responsible with regards to diet and every dog owner should know about the dangers of chocolate but some people refuse to believe it because they always fed their dog chocolate and it didn't do anything to it yet.....

The owner of the bulldogs stated how the male dog that died had been fed a bar of chocolate every evening all of his life, he was 7, and it had never done anything to him before. What idiot feeds their dogs a bar of chocolate every day?

I sure hope this vet is not telling her to do this just to get her business when the dogs get sick.

And a dog ate a chocolate bar EVERY night for 7 years and lived THAT long? :confused: That was luck!!!

Crazy!!! :eek:

Tell me about it!!!

They were asking for it really. Hope they learned their lesson before they killed anymore dogs.

Not only does it effect their hearts, but they can go into "Pancritius Shock" (SP).

If anyone remembers my ex's family dog Cadeau (BM, mix), she got into chocolate before I knew them.. My ex said she was shaking, foaming at the mouth, & puking all over... he said it looked like she was having a seizure!
Luckly she made it to the vet on time & lived. But that was pure luck that she survived it after getting that bad.

Just like people, some dogs can handle chocolate longer/larger amounts the other dogs, but that aside, its still poison for them.

She called in to work today (she said she was snowed in and couldn't make it... but she lives about 15 minutes away, and there is no snow anywhere near here I am aware of) so I am not sure when we will work together again.

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Originally Posted by Sophist

She called in to work today (she said she was snowed in and couldn't make it... but she lives about 15 minutes away, and there is no snow anywhere near here I am aware of) so I am not sure when we will work together again.

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I think your should ask the name of her Vet who told her this & then
call the Vet yourself. No reputable Vet would tell her to do that.

Find out the name of the vet.

I like the above suggestion, call the vet yourself and see if this is what he said or if there is some misunderstanding.

Then, based on the second reply, I would not hesitate to contact the state licensing board. At that point, the vet will have told you directly to give a dog chocolate, and you ahve good reason to file a complaint!

I hope youa re able to follow through on this, those poor doggies! what will she be doing "for" them next???

Sandra

There has to have been a misunderstanding or the vet might have said it as a joke and they didn't realize it. The bromide in chocolate can kill dogs. Why in the world would a vet say such a ridiculous thing in the first place.
I think they should find another vet real fast.

That's one of the dumbest things I've heard.

A possible lead... this is just a shot in the dark, not sure about it, but after doing a little research I found out that the local University (just moved to a college town) recently partnered with one of those 'learn to be a vet tech online' programs... I guess one hospital is heavily 'training' these individuals.

I am thinking MAYBE some new, ignorant wannabe vet tech may have said something, and she took it as a vet? Only remotely possible explanation I can think of... I WILL find out from her one way or another, and making a call to the animal hospital she patronizes.

I tried to talk to her again about who her vet was, and she bit my head off and kept insisting she would have to look up her vet's name when she got home and get back to me about it. After a bit more pestering, she said she would bring in the vet name and number when she comes in to work tomorrow, and she took some information I printed out about dogs and chocolate. I am not sure at this point if she'll even really read it.

Everyone there now officially thinks I am a little deranged, but that is okay. Hopefully she will follow through tomorrow.