Pekoe said

what are the effects of tea on..... dogs....?

I left a pot of earl grey out and forgot about it, so my 5 year old brother, being a 5 year old poured it into the dog dish… and the dog drank it… think he’ll be ok???

12 Replies

My 5 lb dog once got onto the kitchen table and drank my dad’s coffee. I wasn’t there, but dad said he was fine. You might want to watch him to be sure, but he will probably be okay if he is generally healthy. The effect will also depend on how big your dog is and how much tea it was. Also, citrus oils are supposedly bad for dogs, not sure why or how, but that’s something else to look out for because of the bergamot.

If he looks ill, maybe call a vet or emergency animal hospital. Sorry. I hope your pup is okay.

I found this online in case you need it:
http://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/poison/caffeine/

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Azzrian said

Hope your pup is okay!

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Dorothy said

First of all, I am not a vet, and do not own a dog. That being said, I’ve heard caffeine is bad for dogs, however the amount your dog drank (which I don’t know) may not be horrible. Their heart rate goes up which causes problems. If you suspect your dog needs medical attention, seek it.

(Sorry in advance for the poor advice if it turns out to be that!)

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Scott B said

Slide 5 here lists some symptoms of caffeine poisoning: http://pets.webmd.com/dogs/ss/slideshow-foods-your-dog-should-never-eat If you suspect the dog has poisoning, take it to the vet.

Sometimes accidents happen, but no one should never intentionally give a dog anything with caffeine.

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Pekoe said

thank goodness, the dog is fine, turns out it was my sisters decaffeinated stuff, she told me to pour the water in the pot when it boiled, and being an ADD 10yr old she forgot about it, leaving my brother to do that. I drink tea, you see, to calm me down…

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Not sure about dogs, but in Japan I’ve seen people giving green tea to cats without any side effects.

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I don’t know about tea but I know dark chocolate is bad for dogs and cats. However milk chocolate is okay if you give them the safe amount. 1oz of milk chocolate per 1 lb of animal. My dog being 140lbs of muscle can have 140oz of milk chocolate. Not that she ever will, but it’s still good to know :D I don’t remember what the ratio is for white chocolate. Yes I know this was about tea so sorry for being off topic.

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Guys, never give anything with caffeine in it to your dog OR your cat; it can kill them. And once they have already ingested a lethal amount, taking them to the vet will be of no use.

I don’t know about cats but if it’s tea that went down with dogs, you can give them some hyrdogen peroxide to make them throw it back up. As it’s tea and not corrosive that’s okay. Ask your Vet :D

Good thought! Although that would only work if you caught it quickly.

I’m maybe more paranoid about it than some dog owners, since cats are generally so much smaller. Oh, and at least one of my cats seems to LOVE chocolate bars. I really have to watch and not leave any chocolate lying around.

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I researched a bit, caffeine becomes toxic at 150-200 mg per kilogram of body weight for dogs. A chihuahua weights about 2 kg, so he would have to drink 2 cups of coffee.
It’s easier for dogs to die because of eating too much chocolate (contains caffeine too), because they would rather eat a lot of food at once than drink a lot of liquid.

a good thing I have a big dog :D Thanks for the info :D

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