Is Coffee Bad for Dogs and Puppies?
Many dog owners prevent their dogs from eating or drinking items that are bad for their health. However, they find ways to get that food or drink which they are not allowed. Coffee is known to be very fatal for dogs. This can cause significant decrease in body weight because they are generally small in size in comparison to humans. Listed below are certain things which you can do if your dog drinks coffee by mistake. Below mentioned are also certain symptoms which you need to look out for when the dog has drunk your coffee.
Signs of Caffeine Poisoning in Dogs
You need to know that caffeine poisoning only takes 30 to 60 minutes to show symptoms in terms of clinical terms. Dogs can develop caffeine toxicity. They show many signs when they have been poisoned by caffeine. Some of the signs are restlessness, hyperactivity or vomiting or panting and sometimes also agitated behavior. There are other conditions which are more dangerous as the toxicity keeps on building and thus starts the seizures or tremors. These symptoms can last to a maximum of 5- 12 hours.
Amount Of Caffeine Which Is Dangerous For Your Dog?
Coffee contains around 95 to 165 milligrams of caffeine which is what you put in when you pour a cup of coffee for yourself. However, if you are talking about different products which are caffeine pills, then you must know that they contain 200 milligram of caffeine. Let’s take 14 milligrams of caffeine for a pound of body weight. This amount is very dangerous for the dogs.
An adult dog such as the Yorkshire Terrier weighs between 12 to 15 pounds, if takes around 168 milligrams of caffeine can cause severe caffeine poisoning in them. Now, let’s take an adult Chihuahua which is typically around6 pounds, so if it takes caffeine which is as little as 84 milligrams, it may suffer from caffeine poisoning. Same goes for the German Shepherd which has a weight of around 49 to 71 pounds, if it takes around 686 milligrams of caffeine, will suffer from poisoning due to caffeine.
How To Treat Your Pet When It By Mistake Drinks Your Coffee?
If somehow your dog drinks your coffee, the first and foremost thing you need to do is call your veterinarian. Ask them how soon they can visit your pet. To reduce the exposure, you can try inducing vomiting. However, never try to induce it on your own, seek advice first. If done incorrectly, it may cause aspiration pneumonia in your dog.
When your veterinarian visits your pet, they might give an intravenous fluid to remove the caffeine from the body. They might also give medication to control the vomiting or seizures. The seizure is dangerous as it reduces the heart beat of the dogs. It generally takes a good few days for the dog to recover from the effects of caffeine from the dog’s body.
You might want to keep a watch on your dog to make sure that seizures won’t increase. If you see that the dog’s condition is not getting any better. You can take them to a Veterinary Clinic for a checkup and complete examination.
Other Items Which May Contain Caffeine
There are many other food ingredients or items which may contain caffeine. These products are tea, soda, chocolate, coffee grounds and even pills for diet. Some energy drinks in your fridge also contain caffeine. Medicines, such as Midol or Excedrin also contain caffeine in good amounts. It is very important to tell the vet if they have consumed a painkiller as most of the pain relievers also contain the component acetaminophen. This is a very high toxic and fatal component, if ingested by a dog. Also, anything which contains the dark chocolate or simple chocolate is dangerous for dogs. It is important for you to keep the things which are dangerous out of the reach of your dogs.
Keep It Out Of Reach
Caffeine might be really helpful when you want to start your day. However, it is a product which can get your dog extremely unwell and can be life threatening at times. So, you as the owner of the dog should be careful while brewing your coffee. You should clean up the grounds where your pet can reach.
However, if you can’t make out if your dog has had coffee from your cup or not. Get help from your vet. It might be a little disturbing as you can’t share your treat with your friend but if that snack kills your friend, it is better not to share it.
