A veterinarian whom I know online recently gave me some information about bathing dogs, and what she said was so much like my own approach, that I got her permission to use it here. I rarely bathe my dogs, but she has the arguments against doing so! “I often have people come into my practice and apologize because they haven’t bathed their dog in a few weeks,” she said. “In my mind, that’s great.”

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You likely know that chocolate isn’t good for dogs. In fact, it can kill them. But how much chocolate does it take? I’ve seen more than one panicked post on a dog forum when someone’s dog has just eaten some chocolate.

So I was pleased to come across a cute chart on the National Geographic website, based on data from the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals):

Weight of Dogs and Chocolate Quantities Consumed

The images aren’t quite right, as the picture labeled as a Doberman looks like a Dachsund to me, but the chart at least gives you some idea of what you are dealing with.

There is some small print at the bottom, which essentially says the exact amounts of the dangerous chemical, theobromine, may vary in the different kinds of chocolate they show. I would also add that dogs, like humans, exhibit biochemical individuality. This means that two dogs of the same size and even of the same breed may react differently to the same amounts of chocolate or other poison ingested.

Seems to me that the main use of this chart is to give you some sense of scale. If your Great Dane eats one chocolate chip, it’s most unlikely that you have a problem! But if the dog is smaller and the qauntity larger, then take a look at the chart and decide if it’s time to call the veterinarian. I like it that the chart allows you to set the dog’s estimated weight in pounds or kilograms, and the amount of chocolate ingested in grams or ounces.

I set the chart for a 50 pound dog and saw the estimates that it would take at least 6 ounces for any symptoms to appear. There are different weights given for vomiting and diarrhea, rapid heartbeats, tremors and seizures, and potential death.

I hope you never need this chart, but I suggest you bookmark this page just in case. And tell your friends! That’s how I found out about the chart, friends telling friends.

Do you have a copy of Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats? Do you pull it out when one of your dogs or cats shows a worrisome symptom? Do you read the reference sections for fun? Do you cook from its recipe section? Do you refuse to lend it out because you might need it all of a sudden?

If you say yes, then you and I are on the same page.

If you don’t have it, I’d like to suggest that it is a very worthwhile book for your collection. Admittedly, I am a book lover, but this is the most essential of my whole collection of dog books… Read the rest of this entry