Your dog ate something wrong: what to do in the first ten minutes

Step 1 — Separate the dog from the food

Move the dog away and take the food away, even if it means taking it out of the dog's mouth. Do not chase, shout or grab at the throat: a stressed dog may swallow faster or bite. If there are other dogs in the house, shut them out of the room — the second dog will often finish what the first one started.

If the food is on the floor, sweep it up now. If it is a dropped packet, put it in the bin and close the lid. Removing the source is the only step that stops the dose from increasing while you do everything else.

Step 2 — Write down four things

You will be asked these on the phone, and having them ready saves minutes that matter.

1. What exactly was eaten

   The brand and product if you have the packaging. "Chocolate" is not enough — milk chocolate and baking chocolate differ by a factor of fifteen.

2. How much

   Estimate by weight or by proportion. Half a bar, a handful, one square. If other dogs were present, assume the affected dog ate all of it.

3. When

   The time, as precisely as you can. Decontamination is most effective within two hours, so this number decides the treatment plan.

4. Your dog's weight

   An actual number, not "medium". If you do not know, weigh yourself holding the dog, then weigh yourself alone and subtract.

Step 3 — Phone a professional, not a search engine

Call your own vet first if they are open. If it is out of hours, call the emergency clinic, then a poison service. Both of the numbers below operate 24 hours a day and are staffed by veterinary toxicology specialists who can calculate a dose while you are still on the line.

Outside North America, search for your national animal poison service or call the nearest 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital. The important thing is to reach a person who can weigh the risk against your dog's actual body weight, not to find a forum thread.

Step 4 — Do not induce vomiting unless told to

This is the most common harmful mistake owners make. Vomiting is a medical procedure with real risks: aspiration into the lungs, damage to an oesophagus already exposed to a caustic substance, and injury from a sharp object. It is also useless for anything already absorbed, which is most things after two hours.

Never use salt water, and never use hydrogen peroxide without direct veterinary instruction — the wrong dose causes severe gastric irritation, and the right dose is not something to guess at home.

Step 5 — Get to the clinic with the evidence

Take the packaging, the remaining food, any vomit in a sealed container if it is easy to collect, and a note of the time and estimated amount. Vets can identify a product from a photograph of the label faster than from a description, so photograph it on the way out.

Keep the dog calm and warm in the car. Do not let them drink large volumes of water — small sips are fine, a bowl is not, particularly if surgery may be needed.