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My dog ate chocolate cake and is lethargic. What can I do at home?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shetland Sheepdog | Male | unneutered | 10 years and 1 month old | 15 lbs

My 10 year old miniature sheltie ate chocolate cake today. Two heart shaped chocolate cakes the size of my palm like mini Jo louis. I have no money to take him to the vet. What can I do at home to help him feel better. He consumed it around 5 o'clock and it is 1:19am and he is lethargic, sighing , and wants to be cuddled more than usual. He doesn't have a fever, what can I give him to eat, ? Do I need to wait 12 hours before he can eat his dry kibble? What would you do if you were me?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 7th, 2018

Well, the good news is that he doesn't appear to be showing signs of toxicity. The ability for the cake to be toxic depends on the size of the cocoa content of the cake. If it's a relatively light chocolate cake, then this would not be enough to cause toxicity. If it was an unusually dark chocolatey cake, then this could be a concern.

In order for you to determine the potential for toxicity, I recommend you find out the amount of cocoa powder used in the cake (may estate based on a recipe online) and use the chocolate toxicity calculator at this link: http://veterinaryclinic.com/chocolate/calc.html

Signs of chocolate toxicity can be vomiting, hyper-excitability, tremors and seizures. If you notice any of these signs, then it's best to take Jasper to a vet for treatment/monitoring. I understand money is a concern, but in this case it would be life-threatening, so I would see about borrowing money, or using credit.

Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done at home for this. It's best to make sure he has plenty of water and that you check him every four hours for any signs of toxicity. You can feed him as normal. If he is better within 12 hours, then I would not worry about any signs of toxicity.

I hope that helps and all is well with Jasper.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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