With Halloween right around the corner, we would like to remind all the readers that certain types of candy can be toxic to your pets. Please keep all candy up off the ground so the temptable innocents (children and pets) will stay away from excessive amounts. I have found that the top of the refrigerator is a great place.

All dogs like chocolate, but chocolate is toxic to dogs. Chocolate can be dangerous because it contains a caffeine-like component called theobromine. Theobromine is an ingredient in milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, and baking chocolate. It’s nontoxic to people in the amounts present in commercial foods (thank goodness for that), but can be quite harmful to dogs. Unsweetened chocolate, like the type used for baking, contains higher amounts of theobromine and is therefore more toxic. Eight to 16 ounces of baking chocolate could be enough to kill a medium-size dog, and baking chocolate is eight times more potent than milk chocolate.

“No, no!” (And we’re not talking to Rover.) Photo by Agnes Lantaruk.

The stimulant effect of theobromine can cause irregular or excited heartbeats, particularly in animals. It affects the central nervous system, causing any of the following clinical signs in your pet; panting, diarrhea, restlessness, excitability, nervousness, vomiting, stomach ulcers, depression, frequent urination and bluish mucous membranes. As the effects get worse, muscle tremors and tenseness, seizures, coma and sudden death may occur. This can happen in an untreated pet in as short a time period as four to six hours after ingestion of chocolate. At this point, time is of the essence and treatment is vital.

If this problem is caught early after ingestion, your veterinarian will be able to induce vomiting or pump the stomach and give activated charcoal to prevent further absorption of the toxins. Sometimes, supportive care involving oxygen and artificial respiration for respiratory arrest are needed. Potential seizures and irregular heartbeats must be controlled, along with IV fluids and electrolytes.

Some Long Beach hospitals are offering free X-rays of Halloween candy to look for metallic objects such as razor blades, but and remember to check your candy thoroughly for any type of sabotage and dispose of it properly if it looks tampered with. It’s not likely to happen, but you never know. The best idea is to take your young trick-or-treaters up and down Second Street or in any commercial area in town where the businesses are giving out candy. Check out the local medium or use the Google function. And dimes to dog biscuits that some of those businesses will be giving out pup treats as well!

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

Check LBAH’s Facebook page for a recap of last week’s holiday warnings.