My dog licked a spilled soft drink. Will a small amount harm him?

Hello there! A small amount of root beer should not cause any major problems. Sometimes, when dogs ingest a new food, it can cause stomach irritation and mild vomiting. This usually resolves itself as long as it is a small amount of non-toxic food. Some diet sodas contain a sugar substitute called xylitol, that can be toxic and require a vet check. A quick google search showed me that there's only one niche brand of sugar-free root beer that has this ingredient. You are probably safe, but check the ingredient list for "xylitol" just to be sure. Otherwise, none of the ingredients in the major root beer recipes I just found online looked alarming at all. I would expect Charlie to range from completely fine to mildly and temporarily nauseous from his mischief. :) I hope this is helpful! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Your dog licking a very small amount of alcohol should not cause him any serious harm, although depending on the alcohol content it may cause him to become slightly drunk. This can cause wobbliness/ataxia, lethargy, vomiting. If you notice any of these signs, he should be seen by a veterinarian. Otherwise, he should be OK, and I recommend requesting that your mom not leave any alcohol within Chewy's reach! I hope this is helpful!

Hello, and thanks for using PetCoach. If it was just a couple licks, then the dose of caffeine Niko got would be pretty small and I wouldn’t induce intervene. If he drank a more significant amount then I recommend contacting Pet Poison Helpline to better quantify and assess how much caffeine he actually consumed. From your description it sounds like a pretty small amount - but if you perceive it was more than a couple licks, it’s worth getting guidance from the toxicology experts. There is a $65 fee to start a consultation with Pet Poison, but that’s far less than you’d spend rushing him in to an emergency vet, and they very likely may advise you that his caffeine exposure was small enough not to be of concern. Since the cold brew is liquid, it may be too late to get out of his system even if you induced vomiting, so the question at this point is likely whether you should watch for development of symptoms or whether the exposure is high enough to warrant preemptive hospitalization. I do not suspect Niko’s exposure was that high, but we’d need more info on exactly how much he consumed. Here’s the info for Pet Poison Helpline if you decide to call: https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/ (855)764-7661 Hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If you have the packaging see if it tells you how many milligrams (mg) of xylitol it contains or you can call the company and ask. Bentley would have had to ingest 2410mg of xylitol for it to be a toxic dose. I doubt that him licking a basically empty container would have enough to harm him. But it isn't wrong to double check. Good luck!

No, Sprite is not deadly to dogs. It is not ideal for him to drink it because of the high sugar, high caffeine, etc but it will not kill him. I doubt he drank enough for it to be harmful in anyway. Just don't let him drink it on purpose. He should be fine.

Hi there and thank you for using pet coach to address your concern. Oggy will most likely be ok as the alcohol has likely since been absorbed since ingestion. I would monitor him for any signs of depression, lethargy, seizures inappetance and contact your vet if you see any of these changes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.

Hi! It sounds like your husband intervened early and Pepper didn’t get to drink too much espresso. This should be totally fine. She likely didn’t get enough to cause a problem, but since she’s so small, watch for signs of excessive caffeine like panting, trembling, rapid heart rate, or any other change in behavior. If you have any doubts about how she is behaving, have her evaluated by a veterinarian. Good luck.