Dog ate chocolate

Question
My 60-65 lb. lab/mix ate chocolate yesterday at about 5 p.m.  She has "found" chocolate before, and not really been adversely affected - small amount of vomit, diarrhea - always passed.  She vomited last night for the first time about 7 p.m.  I put her out for the night about 9 p.m.  When I got her this morning she is still "burping liquid" - no more vomit that I've seen.  She had a normal bowel movement, but of most concern, she seems to be shaking/trembling, and a lot of the burping.  Should I take her to the vet, or induce more vomiting somehow?

Answer
Hi Kim!It is usually the dark chocolate, not milk chocolate that causes problems. Dark chocolate has chemicals that can affect the heart and kidneys.As for the vomiting,do not let her eat for 24 hours after each vomit.During her fast,encourage her to lick her whistle.Also try letting her lick an ice cube.As for the diarrhea,also don't let her eat for 24 hours after the onset of the diarhea.As for the trembling,she be losing energy or strengt,you should slowy change her food to extraq strengh and energy pedigree.If she is shaking around her butt or hips,you can try starting him on a Glucosamine-Chondroitin-MSM supplement to see if that helps. Give about 1000 mg per 50 pounds twice daily.As our dogs age, much like us they develop various age related ailments such as Osteoarthritis. Additionally due to over, in, and gross breeding, some breeds have come to be more prone to genetic related joint conditions.
I can offer a few suggestions to help your pet in either case. First, make sure he is not overweight, excess weight puts more stress on joints, causing more long term damage, if he is obese than you can put him on a strict weight loss diet, (green beans, lean boiled chicken and powdered vitimin supplements), however if he could only stand to lose a few pounds, switching his diet to a "lite" or senior formula will help provide less fat and higher fiber..
Regular exercise is also indicated, to help not only keep him in shape, but to keep the joints flexible. If you live in a colder region of the country make sure he has ample warmth. Cold weather plays havoc on achy joints. Place a heating pad or extra blankets in his bedding to help keep him warm on chilly days and nights. In the same fashion, applying a heated compress or hot water bottle to his achy joints twice daily will help provide relief.
Buffered aspirin can be administered (if you get the go ahead form your veterinarian), you can offer one quarter of a 325 milligram tablet per ten pounds of body weight.
Finally, there has been the introduction of several positive dietary supplements on the market for both people and pets within the last couple of years. Glucosamine sulfate and Methylsulfonylmethane, (MSM) are the two I recommend most. I have found that they can be costly, however that formulas indicated for people over pets is less expensive and can be found at most discount retails stores. Look for a combination of the two in one capsule, and use a generic brand.($5-$10 for a bottle of 100). There is no difference as long as the dosing equals around 1000 milligrams of Glucosamine, and 1500 milligrams of MSM.
Vitimin C and E supplements can also be added daily to reduce inflammation in the joints and cartilage. Your veterinarian can offer you recommended anti-inflammatory, however they can add up in cost very quickly, as some of the medications can average around $1.00 a pill. I recommend you try the Glucosamine and MSM supplements first; it may take up to six weeks to see some positive results, but I have had the best success with them verses prescription medication. There is some great information available on the internet about these supplements, and I invite you to research them. I hope this offers some help. If the vomiting and diarrhea solution does not work in a day,call a vet.Make sure your dog doen't get into chocolate again.Please keep me posted!  Nicole.D.