My dog ate a marijuana chocolate edible. Can I help at home?

How big is your dog? The bigger your dog is the more likely that she will be ok. Keep her in a safe, quiet, dark room where she cannot hurt herself. She may vomit, which could result in aspiration pneumonia if she's too comatose to control her airway. (If she vomits, she could suck some vomit down her airway into her lungs resulting in pneumonia). In a worst case scenario, she could stop breathing due to the severe depression of brain activity. Her blood pressure could also drop dangerously low which could potentially cause kidney damage. If you are absolutely unable to get her to a vet for financial reasons, just keep her in a safe environment away from noise and lights. I'd give it a 50/50 that she may be just fine; however, the other 50% obviously is concern that she may suffer severe complications which could potentially include death. She should start to improve over 12-24 hours but it could take upwards of 2-3 days to be back to normal if she recovers well. If you are able to find a way to afford getting her to the vet, your vet can treat her with IV fluids to help maintain her blood pressure and help speed up metabolism of the THC. They can give her anti vomiting medication to help reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia, and they can treat with medications to help support heart rate and blood pressure if her heart rate is dangerously low. Best of luck, I hope she does well.

I estimate that it would be enough chocolate to cause a mild to moderate reaction. Signs of a mild reaction is hyperactivity. Further signs of toxicity can be vomiting, tremors and seizures. If you notice any of these signs, then it's best to take Toby to a vet for treatment/monitoring, because chocolate toxicity can be deadly. Nicotine toxicity will have similar signs and again it's best to take him to a vet if there is any concern. 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 two hours for any signs of toxicity. If he is not showing any signs after 12 hours, then I would not worry him having toxic effects. I hope that helps and Toby gets through this fine.

I'm sorry that we didn't get to your question earlier! I would guess that Opal is probably doing better by now. The biggest thing to do with THC exposure is to make sure they are in a safe area where they cannot fall or hurt themselves, and often a dark quiet area is best tolerated. It is not unusual for dogs to dribble urine when they are under the effects of THC. With very large ingestions, as it sounds like Opal experienced, they can have depressed breathing, and be unable to stand or walk. IV fluid therapy and medications can be extremely helpful in getting these guys back to feeling normal. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach, and again I am sorry that we didn't get to your question quickly.

There's not much to be done but treat the symptoms after more than 12 hours. A visit to your vet would be prudent if your dog ate a large quantity and is having tremors/twitches or an irregular/fast heartbeat. If he is acting normally otherwise, withhold food for 12-24 hours. Allow small amounts of water or unflavored PediaLyte. Resume feeding a bland diet (boiled boneless, skinless chicken breasts and plain white rice) in small, frequent amounts. Feed until the stool is normal, then transition slowly to the regular diet. If the diarrhea doesn't resolve, see your veterinarian.

Yes, I would be concerned in that marijuana is toxic to dogs and it can lead to further symptoms such as incoordination, wobbliness, dilated pupils, excessive drooling, and seizures, tremors, and comas in extreme cases. It's rare that marijuana toxicity is fatal, but it can happen and not every animal reacts the same to the toxicity. Because of this, it's best that your dog is seen by a vet immediately for decontamination procedures. Please take him into an ER vet clinic if your regular vet is now closed; if there isn't one in your area, there will be a vet on call for emergencies. The information to reach that vet is found on a clinic's answering machine or website.

It's difficult to know how much the actual cocoa content is in this, but brownies tend to be more concentrated with cocoa powder, which is concerning for chocolate toxicity. It also depends on the size of the brownies. In order for you to determine the potential for toxicity, I recommend you estimate the amount of cocoa powder potentially ingested 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 her to a vet for treatment/monitoring as soon as possible. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done at home for this. It's best to make sure she has plenty of water and that you check her every four hours for any signs of toxicity. If she is better within 12 hours, then I would not worry about any signs of toxicity. I hope that helps and all is well with her.

The effects of chocolate on a pet depends on a few factors: how big the pet is, how much they ate, and how dark the chocolate is. The darker the chocolate, the higher the concentration of theobromine, the ingredient that pets are sensitive to. Cocoa powder can have up to 10 percent theobromine. It's all dependent on how dark the chocolate is, where the cacao beans are grown and the brand. According to Hershey's, the theobromine content for their different types of chocolate is as follows. 1½ ounce Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar - 74 milligrams 1½ ounce Hershey's Special Dark Chocolate Bar - 184 milligrams 1½ ounce semi-sweet chocolate chips - 165 milligrams 1½ ounce unsweetened baking chocolate - 466 milligrams 1 Hershey's Kiss - 8.2 milligrams 2 tbsp chocolate syrup - 70 milligrams Theobromine is digested and metabolized very slowly in dogs. The alkaline substance increases the heart rate and slows blood pressure. It also increases urination, causing dehydration. In addition, many digestive problems can occur. Symptoms to watch for generally occur in the first 12 hours. They include: Diarrhea Excitability Increased urination Irritability Muscle tremors Rapid pulse Restlessness Vomiting Left untreated, the dog can develop seizures and die from ingesting too much chocolate. This is where it is important to know exactly how much your dog has eaten. It's important to contact your veterinarian if your dog eats chocolate. In mild cases, you'll be advised to induce vomiting within the first two hours and then watch for signs of chocolate poisoning. If anything alarming occurs, seek veterinary care immediately. If veterinary care is necessary, charcoal is used to absorb as much theobromine as possible. The stomach may be pumped to remove additional chocolate before it digests. The heart is closely monitored and arrhythmias will be treated if they occur. IV fluids may be ordered to prevent dehydration. Seizures will be treated with medications. According to the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center, ingesting 20 milligrams of theobromine can cause mild poisoning. Ingesting 60 milligrams can lead to seizures. A lot of this depends on the dog's size.