Help! My dog just ate half a quest bar

lebbyloses
lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
edited November 12 in Food and Nutrition
Will he be ok? It was chocolate chip cookie dough. I don't think he ate enough chocolate to do him any harm, but what about the other ingredients? Anything dog toxic in there?

Replies

  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    I don't think it'll be a problem outside of some possible gastro upset. How much does your dog weigh?
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    15 pounds.
  • AmyG1982
    AmyG1982 Posts: 1,040 Member
    If its milk chocolate and your dog ins't a toy size you're probably ok. but the smaller the dog the less it takes and the more pure the chocolate the worse it is. The tiniest amount of cocoa (pure baking chocolate powder) could be fatal. if its dark or bitter chocolate I suggest an emergency hospital.
  • azdeha
    azdeha Posts: 58 Member
    Dogs can be amazingly resilient because of their scavenger ancestory. Mine once ate an entire pack of Ibuprofen and a box of Amoxicillin in the same sitting and despite throwing up and having her stomach pumped as a precaution, went on to eat part of my coffee table, numerous socks, the Twilight saga (that I didn't mind so much) half a razor and my makeup - which resulted in green sparkly poop for a week.

    A small amount of chocolate won't harm your dog (depending on size obviously but i've had Westies that stole chocolate and were fine) but keep an eye on him.


    Incidentally...I sound like I'm a terrible owner. She was a rescue with serious seperation anxiety. She doesn't eat anything she isn't meant to now...except the cat food that is.....
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    I was actually worried about the sweetener. I know xylitol is deadly to dogs, but it looks like they use erythritol, which seems not to be, per a quick google.
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    Also, now that I'm not so worried it will kill him, how dare he?! That was going to be breakfast!
  • FeatherBoBeather
    FeatherBoBeather Posts: 255 Member
    With this type of thing, I think it's best to get it checked by your Vet. right away. I wouldn't risk it!
    My mom is a certified vet tech & has been in the field for the last 30+ years and I can't tell you how many times owners have waited too long to get stuff like this checked out. Better safe than sorry. Especially since your pooch is only 15lbs. I hope all is well :flowerforyou:
  • JTick
    JTick Posts: 2,131 Member
    A phone call to the vet is free.
  • Runner5AbelTownship
    Runner5AbelTownship Posts: 243 Member
    I was actually worried about the sweetener. I know xylitol is deadly to dogs, but it looks like they use erythritol, which seems not to be, per a quick google.

    This, also macadamia nuts, even a few can cause severe central nervous system damage . Not that your bar should have any but always check for that nut as well.
  • Ed98043
    Ed98043 Posts: 1,333 Member
    I don't think a Quest bar has pure enough chocolate to warrant and trip to the emergency vet. Keep an eye on your pup and if he starts to look in distress, call the Vet.

    Here's a chocolate toxicity meter: http://www.petmd.com/dog/chocolate-toxicity

    I do know a dog that died from chocolate - he weighed about 65 lbs and ate an entire 24-oz bag of chocolate chips. Half a Quest bar in a 15 lb dog is nowhere near a fatal dose.
  • AmyG1982
    AmyG1982 Posts: 1,040 Member
    With this type of thing, I think it's best to get it checked by your Vet. right away. I wouldn't risk it!
    My mom is a certified vet tech & has been in the field for the last 30+ years and I can't tell you how many times owners have waited too long to get stuff like this checked out. Better safe than sorry. Especially since your pooch is only 15lbs. I hope all is well :flowerforyou:

    I agree with this! When my dog got some chocolate last christmas the emergency vet said if its been more than an hour or so since they ate it there could already be enough in their system to be fatal... Not trying to scare you but better safe than sorry. (speaking from experience, I lost a kitten a couple of years ago after she got into a fatal plant and I did the wait and see game...)

    You could just call them too to see what they think...
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    He will be fine. I can't tell you all the "bad" things my dog has eaten in her life. Dogs love people food. I think there is a lot of scare mongering about what a dog can or can not eat. Did I mention that my dog loves to dig in the garbage and has dragged home the most disgusting things you can imagine? Last week she found a rotten steak that stunk to high heaven. I don't know where she found it or how she beat the magpies and crows to the treasure, but she ate half of it. She was all smiles.
  • ronrstaats
    ronrstaats Posts: 294 Member
    If you are worried about it just force your dog to swallow some Hydrogen Peroxide... in just a few seconds it will puke up everything that is in it's stomach. I have had to do this several times to my dogs that have gotten into things they shouldn't have. and works great and causes no harm to the dog.

    http://healthypets.mercola.com/sites/healthypets/archive/2011/03/15/how-and-when-to-induce-vomiting-in-pets.aspx
  • lebbyloses
    lebbyloses Posts: 133 Member
    I called. You guys are right, better safe than sorry. The emergency vet says erythritol is only toxic in large quantities. So now he's just a bad, food stealing dog who might have diarrheal tomorrow from the proteins, per the vet. I don't care about diarrhea. I just love my dog.

    I was worrying because I once went to a talk where a vet said the amount of xylitol in a few pieces of gum could kill a small dog, and I have a small dog! But luckily erythritol is not xylitol.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
    That's a lot of fiber for a dog. You should prepare the big shovel.
  • jposthumus
    jposthumus Posts: 2 Member
    My 40 pound labradoodle did the same thing this morning! 1/3-1/2 Quest chocolate chip cookie dough protein bar.

    Called the company; they said full bar contains 7-8 grams of unsweetened chocolate. At max, he ingested 2.4 grams. Per above toxicity table, it shouldn’t be a problem.

    Called vet, induced vomiting per instructions. Not much protein bar came up though.

    Did all work out ok for your dog?
  • jposthumus
    jposthumus Posts: 2 Member
    Neither funny nor helpful
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
    jposthumus wrote: »
    Neither funny nor helpful

    It just means this is a necro thread and is over 4 years old so you won't get an answer
  • manderson27
    manderson27 Posts: 3,510 Member
    edited May 2018
    I just spent 10 minutes reading this resurrected zombie thread. :D:D This is not the first time. I really should check the dates on these things.
  • 2baninja
    2baninja Posts: 518 Member
    YUP, so did I, I really need to look at dates....
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,260 Member
    jposthumus wrote: »
    Neither funny nor helpful

    Actually it is since you resurrected a 4 year old thread. And yes, the amount of chocolate would NOT be toxic to a normal dog of that size. Nor would the rest of the quest bar ingredients.
  • grinning_chick
    grinning_chick Posts: 765 Member
    edited May 2018
    Yeah, yeah, I get it; someone raised a zombie thread from the dead. It happens, people.

    But for future readers: It is not so much the chocolate content you have to worry about on things like a Quest bar if your dog gets a hold of one since the amount of chocolate tends to be fairly low down on the ingredient list. Well, not unless s/he gets into and eat an entire box of them...then of course call a veterinarian and have them run the math.

    It is whether or not it contains xylitol. That sugar alcohol is highly toxic to dogs and it takes very little to cause seizures due to hypoglycemia and hepatic (liver) necrosis that can result in liver failure. => https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/xylitol-danger/

    Bottom line: If your dog eats something other than normal diet, call a veterinary doctor. There's a lot of things a lot of people don't think could be toxic/fatal that are. And it doesn't always take a lot to be toxic/fatal.





  • nickssweetheart
    nickssweetheart Posts: 874 Member
    azdeha wrote: »
    Dogs can be amazingly resilient because of their scavenger ancestory. Mine once ate an entire pack of Ibuprofen and a box of Amoxicillin in the same sitting and despite throwing up and having her stomach pumped as a precaution, went on to eat part of my coffee table, numerous socks, the Twilight saga (that I didn't mind so much) half a razor and my makeup - which resulted in green sparkly poop for a week.

    A small amount of chocolate won't harm your dog (depending on size obviously but i've had Westies that stole chocolate and were fine) but keep an eye on him.


    Incidentally...I sound like I'm a terrible owner. She was a rescue with serious seperation anxiety. She doesn't eat anything she isn't meant to now...except the cat food that is.....

    I'm sorry but that's one of the funniest things I've ever read.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,286 Member
    I think you missed the point - quiksylver is not showing zombie pic because dead dog would be funny - but because this is a zombie thread posted back in 2014.

    Nobody needs to be helpful now - OP's issue is long over.
  • LifeWithPie
    LifeWithPie Posts: 552 Member
    jposthumus wrote: »
    Neither funny nor helpful

    You were replying to a 4 year old thread. Do you really expect an answer from the OP?
  • WickAndArtoo
    WickAndArtoo Posts: 773 Member
    lebbyloses wrote: »
    I called. You guys are right, better safe than sorry. The emergency vet says erythritol is only toxic in large quantities. So now he's just a bad, food stealing dog who might have diarrheal tomorrow from the proteins, per the vet. I don't care about diarrhea. I just love my dog.

    I was worrying because I once went to a talk where a vet said the amount of xylitol in a few pieces of gum could kill a small dog, and I have a small dog! But luckily erythritol is not xylitol.

    I have called my vet many times for things like this that ended up not being a big deal, always better safe than sorry.

    That being said the people mentioning how resilient dogs can be are correct also! My friends puggles are about 20 lbs and the have eaten pounds of chocolate (more than once), multiple toys, endless amounts of fermenting apples with cores and seeds included, and multiple packs of gum in one sitting. I mean the list goes on, these are just a few of the items I personally know about... and they live with a four year old who I’m sure feeds them things all the time. They are both more than ten years old and perfectly healthy, neither one has ever had to visit the vet for any of these things... so yep even small dogs can survive these things, but there are probably varying degrees of sturdiness so it’s better to err on the side of caution.

    Another hilarious story of dogs eating something poisonous... when we got our first dog I told my husband not to feed him grapes, which was news to him because apparently they used to toss grapes for their childhood dog to eat as a treat all the time!

    I’m glad your little nugget will be okay, there’s a good chance he won’t even have diarrhea! Give him a big kiss, we feel the same way about our two dogs :)
This discussion has been closed.