When your dog eats chocolate (which, in case you don’t know, is toxic to them), you expect the vet to have a standard protocol to make sure your four-legged friend is OK.
What you probably don’t expect is to watch them take an approach more akin to a carnival ride than to anything medical. Quite frankly, it looks like this vet took their training straight out of a cartoon.
Spin, Spin, Spin
In a viral TikTok with more than 4.2 million views, content creator Ahlyssa (@ahlyyboo) documented her small fluffy white dog’s emergency vet visit after the pup ate a brownie.
“POV: ur dog ate a brownie now the doctors have to make him puke,” the text overlay reads.
The treatment method was unconventional, to say the least.
The vet placed the small white dog on a stool and started spinning it around, apparently trying to make the dog dizzy enough to vomit.
At one point, the dog nearly tumbles off the stool.
The dog looks extra off since the whole lower half of its face appears black from the activated charcoal administered to treat chocolate poisoning.
But the spinning doesn’t seem to be working. And to viewers watching, it doesn’t exactly look like the most scientific approach.
Why Chocolate Is Dangerous For Dogs
Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine, both stimulants that humans metabolize easily, but dogs can’t, according to Colorado State University’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Dogs metabolize these chemicals much more slowly, causing a buildup in their system that puts their bodies “into overdrive.”
The darker the chocolate, the more toxic. Unsweetened, semi-sweet, bittersweet, and dark chocolates pose the greatest risk. But even milk chocolate can be dangerous depending on the dog’s size and how much they ate.
Signs of chocolate poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, seizures, rapid breathing, weakness, and increased heart rate.
But if caught within four hours of ingestion and still in the stomach, vets can induce vomiting to get the chocolate out of the dog’s system.
Standard Treatment Protocol
According to ASPCA Animal Poison Control, standard treatment for chocolate ingestion focuses on managing gastrointestinal signs and controlling cardiovascular and neurological stimulation.
Vets typically induce vomiting (if it’s been under four hours), administer anti-nausea medication, provide fluid therapy to help flush out toxins, and manage symptoms like hyperactivity, muscle tremors, or rapid heart rate with specific medications.
Activated charcoal—which explains the black face on Ahlyssa’s dog—is used less frequently now than it was a decade ago.
The ASPCA notes it’s now “reserved for high-dose cases, particularly when emesis results have been poor.” That’s because chocolate’s high sugar content creates an osmotic effect that pulls water out of the bloodstream, and activated charcoal can worsen dehydration.
Nowhere in the standard veterinary protocol does it mention spinning the dog around on a stool to induce dizziness.
Commenters React
“Surely there’s more professional ways to do this,” a top comment read.
“Someone lied on their resume……” a person said.
“He looks like frank gallagher,” another wrote.
“Yeah so no.. change ur vet cus they’re NOT supposed to do it this way,” a commenter added.
BroBible reached out to Ahlyssa (@ahlyyboo) for comment via email and Instagram direct message.