Your dog is always eager to play with the most peculiar things, such as a piece of cloth, your hair brush, and even your shoes and socks. The time dogs spend playing with that stuff creates curiosity in their mind, and they start chewing whatever they come into contact with. Especially when your fur baby is in the teething stage, he’d love to chew on everything. So it’s good to be careful about the things lying around him.
Most people want to know whether their dog can eat milk duds or not. The answer to this critical question is a big no, as any kind of chocolate is toxic to dogs. When we talk about milk duds, these are made of cocoa and vegetable oil – basically, a caramel ball covered with a layer of confectionery chocolate outside. As you already know, any type of chocolate containing Theobromine is detrimental to a dog’s health. The same goes for milk that isn’t exactly healthy, even if it is lactose-free.
The more the quantity of Theobromine, butter, and milk, the higher the chances of your dog getting sick. With that said, let’s have a detailed discussion and see how toxic milk duds can be and what you can do to prevent the situation from worsening. So, Keep on Reading!
Are Milk Duds Toxic to Dogs?
Yes, milk duds can be harmful to your dogs’ health as they’re made up of ingredients that are not good for your dog’s health. As a rule of thumb, you don’t give your dog any food containing butter, sugar, milk, or any mix of these three. The same goes for Theobromine and caffeine, which can harm your dog equally bad. Sometimes eating milk duds have a very small impact on your dog’s digestive system. But if they intake a large quantity, it may lead to severe consequences.
If your dog eats milk duds in a small quantity, it wouldn’t kill him straight away but will still cause mild poisoning, resulting in rapid breathing and muscle tremors. If your dog ingests a high amount, your dog may end up suffering from pancreatitis or lack of coordination. A large quantity of butter in milk duds is fatal, so keeping your dogs away from such dessert is better.
The effects of milk duds differ according to the dog’s age, size, and breed. Sometimes eating milk duds do nothing to your dog’s stomach. To more clearly understand why milk duds can be toxic, check the ingredients list. Milk duds are made of vegetable oil, dextrose, nonfat milk, and chocolate, and none of them is healthy for your pup.
What Happens if A Dog Eats Milk Duds?
It can be potentially hazardous if your dog ends up eating a considerable amount of milk duds. Theobromine – an essential ingredient of chocolate and milk duds – is really dangerous for your dog’s health. Though black chocolate does not contain much of it, the milk chocolate will still have it. A dog can fall ill even by eating black chocolate containing caffeine.
Many times dogs are okay even after consuming chocolate or milk duds. But sometimes, he will face some stomach problems and some other issues. Normally, it takes six to twelve hours for him to show any symptoms. Some common aftereffects include intestinal upset or diarrhea. Besides, if you notice your dog appears restless and hyperactive, breaths rapidly, or lacks coordination, it’s better to consult your vet immediately.
You may have to be more careful about little puppies as their low immune power can aggregate their health. Their bodies might not be able to fight the toxicity of chocolate and other ingredients. Regardless, vomiting is a usual sign of chocolate poising in dogs, and sometimes, blood vomiting when they consume large amounts.
What Should I Do if My Dog Ate Milk Duds?
If your dog eats milk duds, you can try to make him vomit if you get to him earlier. But it won’t work if more than two hours have passed, so if you get to know it after a few hours, better to let a professional handle it. The doctor will give him medicines that will induce vomiting as it is the first viable option to help your dog. If that doesn’t work, wait for the symptoms to show up, as the second thing you can do is to get his symptoms treated.
Being a pet lover, your first and foremost duty is to take care of your dog’s diet. But if he still manages to sneak some duds away, puking can get them out of his system. If that doesn’t work, the next thing is to wait and look for irregularities in his behavior or other symptoms. Your dog experiencing stiffness, hyperactivity, muscle tremors, and lack of coordination are big red alerts as you should go to the vet ASAP. Tell the doctor the exact quantity of milk duds your dog has swallowed to help him treat accordingly.
If you don’t know what quantity of milk duds is dangerous to your dog’s health, use a calorie calculator to identify how much chocolate a dog can eat. If your dog is 10-pound, then 0.2 ounces of baker’s chocolate is enough to affect your dog’s stomach. For the same-sized dog, 1.6 ounces of milk chocolate is toxic. But only a complete checkup will let you know whether your dog is alright or if he needs to stay under observation for some more time.
Conclusion
As of now, we have learned that milk duds contain ingredients that aren’t very healthy for your canine buddy. But if your dog eats milk duds, his health is definitely at risk. Although chocolate isn’t much of a dominant ingredient in milk, as milk duds are mostly caramel rich, still that little quantity will have Theobromine and can be fatal to your dog’s health. But now you know how to handle your dog if he eats milk duds. It might be your favorite food, but don’t share it with your pet buddy.
