It’s the time of the year once again when candies and sweet treats are everywhere. However, as a responsible and loving owner, you need to take extra precautions when bringing sweets in your home. Your dog might be witty and smart, but they may not be able to determine what’s good and what’s not for them when it comes to food. If it tastes good, then they would most likely eat them.
So, when it comes to sweets, especially chocolate, you need to make sure you don’t give them to your dog. Sweets and candies can potentially be harmful and toxic to your dog.
But what do you do when you suddenly found your dachshund got a dip into your candy jar or you suspect that he did? Here are the things you need to know.
Check What He Ate
The first thing you need to do is don’t panic. Don’t scold your dog as he is just acting on instinct.
Check your dog if he still has sweets in his mouth. From there, check your candy jar and see what’s missing.
You need to list all the possible ingredients of the sweets he ate. If possible, retrieve the package information for the candy. This is very important so you and your vet later would be able to determine the likelihood of toxicity.
Please note that raisins and artificial sweeteners such as xylitol can cause severe illness to your four-legged friend. Humans can digest these items with no problem, but not your dog.
Be Alert for Signs of Illness
It is crucial to understand what could happen if your dog ingests too much sweet. In some cases, your dog’s gut would sense that what it ate isn’t safe and thus, he will eventually just vomit them out.
Moreover, your dog would most likely eat candies with the wrappers on it. This is another problem that can lead to indigestion and intestinal blockage, especially for a small dog. To diagnose and confirm, an X-ray may be needed and surgery might be done as necessary.
There’s also an illness that may only show up a few days after your dachshund overindulged on candies. This illness is known as secondary pancreatitis.
The pancreas helps in the digestion of food. Since candies aren’t normally part of your dachshund’s diet, the pancreas may have a hard time digesting them. This leads to secondary pancreatitis or inflammation of the pancreas. Signs and symptoms may include weakness, pain, repeated vomiting, hunched back, diarrhea, loss of appetite, fever, and dehydration.
Dogs Eating Chocolate
Of all the sweets and candies that you should never give to your dog, the most toxic one is chocolate.
Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine. Both of these substances can dramatically increase heart rate and exaggerate nervous system response.
Of course, please note that there are various factors that may affect your dachshund’s response to chocolate. If your dog is on the small size, even one small chocolate bar can be deadly. The type of chocolate can also affect the level of toxicity.
Signs of chocolate poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, restlessness, seizures, abnormal heart rate, collapse, or worse. Please note as well that if your dog already has a heart problem or existing medication conditions, even a smaller amount of chocolate can cause serious illness.
Call Pet Poison Helpline
If you confirmed that your dog ate sweets and candies or even you just suspect that he did, don’t hesitate to call the pet poison helpline in your area. If you are living in the US, call 855-213-6680 for advice. Alternatively, call the ASPCA poison control hotline on 800-548-2423. They are available 24/7.
Pet poison centers normally have a database of substances toxic to dogs. They also know how much of these ingredients can harm your pet. Be sure to know your dog’s weight and the number of sweets he ingested.
Get in Touch With your Vet
Finally, it would be a good idea to bring your pet to the vet for assessment. The vet would ask you about what happened and obtain the needed information to make a better diagnosis. Once your vet has examined your dachshund, he will discuss with you the best course of action.
Final words
Prevention is always better than cure. It is best to keep your sweets, candies, and chocolates in places that your pet can’t access. Put them away in such a way that your dog won’t even be able to smell them.
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