Dog toxicity hub — every calculator + emergency guide
Every dog-toxicity tool Goodboy Atlas ships, organized by what your dog ate. If you're in the middle of an emergency, skip this page and go straight to /my-dog-ate for the 60-second action plan, or call a poison hotline — every minute matters.
All dog toxicity tools
20-40 mg/kg mild · 60+ severe
Methylxanthine math by chocolate type, amount, and dog weight. The most common pet-poisoning call in North America.
100 mg/kg → hypoglycemia · 500 mg/kg → liver failure
Sugar-free gum, "no sugar added" peanut butter, mints. The fastest-acting common household toxin — symptoms in 15-60 minutes.
50 mg/kg GI · 100+ kidney injury · 300+ critical
Advil, Motrin, Rx-strength ibuprofen. Dose math by weight × tablet strength. A 200 mg Advil in a 5 kg dog is already in the GI-ulceration band.
Species-dependent — Amanita phalloides lethal at 5g for a 10kg dog
Identification guide for 11 toxic species + 6 toxicity syndromes. Hepatonecrotic, cholinergic, neurologic, gastroenteric. Photographs + action plan.
<2 subclinical · 2-9 moderate · 9-15 severe · 15+ critical
THC dose math by product type (flower, edible, oil, concentrate) and dog weight. Cannabis exposures up 765% since 2018. Honesty with the vet matters — they are not mandated reporters.
No reliable threshold — treat any exposure as risk
Acute kidney injury at unpredictable doses. Tartaric acid is the suspected nephrotoxic agent. Some dogs react to 1-2 grapes.
~2.8 g/kg acute kidney injury
Raisins are dried grapes — ~4× more concentrated. Raisin bread, mince pies, cinnamon-raisin bagels all hit this curve.
Per-toxin thresholds
Single-page reference: onion, garlic, macadamia, avocado, alcohol, caffeine, bread dough, cooked bones. Toxic doses + symptoms + when to ER.
Methylxanthine reference
The science behind why chocolate hurts dogs — methylxanthine half-life, COX-1 inhibition, and what treatment actually looks like at each severity tier.
Safe / Caution / Toxic per food
Searchable safety ratings for 50+ human foods rated for dogs AND cats. Type "chocolate" or "grapes" to filter instantly.
EMERGENCY / CALL VET / MONITOR tiers
The 60-second action plan for any suspected poisoning. Each toxin sorted by urgency tier with the right calculator + 4-region poison hotlines.
How to use this hub
- Mid-emergency? Go to /my-dog-ate. It's the 60-second triage page — toxins sorted by urgency tier, action plans, hotlines.
- You know what your dog ate, want the exact dose math? Pick the specific calculator above (chocolate, xylitol, grape, raisin, ibuprofen) — each computes mg/kg and tells you whether to monitor, call the vet, or go to the ER.
- Wondering whether something is toxic at all? Browse the common toxic foods reference or the searchable food safety database.
- Want the science? Long-form articles like chocolate toxicity explained dig into why each toxin works the way it does — useful when you have time, not in the middle of an incident.
What's NOT here (and where to go instead)
Cat-specific toxicity: cats have lower thresholds than dogs for most NSAIDs (especially acetaminophen — lethal at 10 mg/kg in cats), and lily exposure causes acute kidney failure in cats that doesn't happen in dogs. See the cat toxicity hub + cat-lily emergency.
Prescription veterinary medications: this hub covers human-medication and food exposures. For a concern about a vet-prescribed drug your dog is already taking (carprofen, meloxicam, gabapentin, etc.), call your prescribing vet first — they have the dog's file.
Plant toxicity (other than grapes): oleander, sago palm, azalea, foxglove, tulip bulbs all have dog-specific toxicity. We don't have dedicated calculators yet — call the hotlines directly for plant ingestions.
Sources: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center; Pet Poison Helpline; Merck Veterinary Manual — Toxicology section; Plumb's Veterinary Drug Handbook (10th ed., 2023). US-baseline sources; UK / AU / NZ readers see the regional hotline list above for equivalent triage authorities.
Dog toxicity — frequently asked
What's the single most dangerous food my dog could eat?
Xylitol — by speed of onset and severity at low doses. A single piece of high-xylitol gum (0.3-1 g xylitol per piece) can cause hypoglycemic shock in a 5 kg dog within 15-60 minutes. By dose-to-impact ratio, xylitol is the most dangerous common household toxin for dogs. Chocolate is the most common emergency call, ibuprofen is the most common owner-administered toxin, but xylitol is the fastest killer.
My dog ate something but seems fine. Should I still call?
Yes — call regardless. Most toxic exposures have a deceptive 4-12 hour symptom-free window. By the time symptoms appear, treatment options narrow significantly: activated charcoal stops working after ~2 hours, induced vomiting after ~4 hours, IV fluid therapy for kidney injury is dose-dependent on how early it starts. The whole point of a hotline call is to triage on DOSE, not on symptoms.
How much do the hotlines cost?
As of 2026, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center charges $95 per case (one-time, covers unlimited follow-up calls about the same incident). Pet Poison Helpline charges $85 per case. UK's VPIS owner line is £35. The Australian Animal Poisons Helpline (1300 869 738) and New Zealand's National Poisons Centre (0800 POISON) are free for owners. All four lines are 24/7 and staffed by veterinary toxicologists.
Are these calculators a substitute for a vet?
No — the calculators are decision-support, not diagnosis, and they are explicitly designed that way. Every calculator on this site is decision-support: it gives you the mg/kg dose your dog ingested + the severity band that dose typically falls into, so you can decide whether to call your regular vet, call a hotline, or go to the ER. The calculators do not diagnose, do not prescribe, and do not replace clinical judgment. Always call a hotline on confirmed ingestion regardless of what the calculator says.
What about cats? Why a "dog" toxicity hub?
Cats are smaller and metabolize many drugs differently than dogs — their toxic thresholds are usually lower, sometimes dramatically (acetaminophen is lethal in cats at 10 mg/kg, well below the dog threshold of ~100 mg/kg). We have a separate cat toxicity hub with cat-specific guidance, plus the cat-lily emergency guide for the most lethal cat-only exposure.
My dog took a vet-prescribed medication and I'm worried about the dose.
These calculators target accidental ingestion of human medications + foods. For a prescribed veterinary dose concern (e.g., "did I give my dog twice the carprofen?"), call your prescribing vet first — they have the dog's file and the right dose math. After hours: the same ASPCA / Pet Poison Helpline numbers handle prescription overdose triage too.