Have you ever had one of those dark chocolate oranges? They tend to make their appearance at Christmastime every year. (I don’t recall ever eating one in June or July.) Anyway, I know that lots of you really like chocolate, and many really like dark chocolate. I like it, but prefer the non-orange-flavored variety.
We are not alone: Our dog likes it too.
Last night we came home, after being gone for a few hours, to find an empty box and foil wrapper, with no signs of the actual chocolate orange. Apparently, the pooch had sniffed out the chocolate orange, and climbed up on top of the kitchen table to grab it. What? This was a first for us.
We were mad at him, but the anger was quickly replaced by concern – even a frantic concern.
Chocolate can be toxic for dogs. Especially dark chocolate. This was a lot of chocolate for a little dog.
My daughter quickly jumped on the computer to do research, I started dosing the dog with hydrogen peroxide to get him to puke up the chocolate. What should have started him wretching merely resulted in a couple of hefty, chocolatey burps.
By this point we were all getting nervous, and some scared tears started to flow. This silly dog has definitely worked his way into our family, and into our hearts. We love him.
I found a 24/7 emergency vet and took him in.
I welcomed in Christmas Eve morning as they treated the dog to get him to vomit, gave activated charcoal, IVs, etc. Crazy – all because he likes chocolate. (Do I seem suddenly poorer to you?)
The prognosis this morning is good. I should be able to take him home, which salvages what could have been a really terrible Christmas.
Now, about the chocolate – yes, we have learned our lesson. We were not aware of how his urge to eat chocolate was so great that it could lead him to do something so wrong – almost fatal. He is a smart dog, but when it comes to chocolate, his urges overpower any other influence.
Now, some of you might say, “If you really loved your dog, you would just let him eat what he wants.”
Actually, that is exactly what we would do if we didn’t love our dog.
You see, there are rules for owning a dog. Quite a few of them. One of the rules for owning a dog is to not let them eat chocolate. Even if he wants to. No matter how strong his urge to eat chocolate is, we must try our best to warn him, and help him avoid it.
Does this make chocolate bad? No, chocolate is awesome. Does this make our dog bad? Maybe a little disobedient, but we still love him – in fact, we love him even more now that he is in danger.
Why would we be so against something he clearly desires? Precisely because we love him. We know that the very thing that he desires so much as to drive his behavior, is the very desire that, when acted upon, has the potential to destroy him. We can’t indulge him, or condone it.
Yes, we could silently stand by and watch it happen, or even encourage him to follow his desires – but would that be love? Not by any stretch of the imagination.
It is really a simple principle: We want him to keep the rules because we love him. We encourage him to keep the rules because we love him. Even if he interprets it as hate. (We understand, and we know what is in our hearts.)
Anything less would be a false love, and ultimately destructive.
Well this is a gem I’m sorry I missed first time around.
Our dog was diagnosed with diabetes a couple of years ago. Not only is chocolate bad for him, but so are dog treats, table scraps and even too much dog food. Talk about taking all the joy out of life (in his eyes)! But we love him so we carefully measure out his dog food and his insulin and hide all of the things that are too tempting. Every once in a while he manages to get into the dog food bag and then we must go through the process of checking his blood sugar, adjusting his insulin and food, rechecking his blood sugar. You’d think he would learn….. Thank goodness for a living Heavenly Father who never gives up on us, no matter how many times we fall.
Cindy
Our dog’s name is “chocolate” and she has found it a few times but has survived. maybe her name helps?
This so applies to current events that will affect all of us and are so totally stunningly devastating. How long, Oh Lord wilt thou put up with the evil in this world. Please surround us with thy love and protection. Help us to love the sinner and not the sin.
My dog loves chocolate, too. But my dog is 125lbs. So when my dog ate a large amount of chocolate, we got onto the computer to figure out how concerned we should be to find that our sweet Nanna would have to consume 20lbs. of chocolate to be fatal. Huh. There’s the solution. Get a bigger dog: no vet bill when dog gets ahold of chocolate. We most certainly don’t encourage it and we don’t share. The thing we are more concerned about that is fatal to dogs, is onions. Don’t let your dog eat onions. Who knew?
Merry Christmas!
Those chocolate oranges are disgusting. Now I dislike them even more. Poor poochy.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, MMM. Thanks for this lovely blog. xo
Beautiful analogy. Merry Christmas to you and yours.
I also have a dog that loves things she shouldn’t eat. It’s a constant battle to keep her safe & obeying the ‘rules’. I think my kids have probably thought the same things that my dog thinks about me, but I know what’s in my heart.
Awesome analogy. This is why I love reading your posts, MMM.
I like it! Also, made me ask myself “What if it’s not my dog?”