If your dog got into alcohol and is acting drunk, call your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital right away. Alcohol is toxic to dogs, and what looks like a funny wobble can escalate to dangerous territory within an hour. Most dogs recover fully with proper care, typically within 8 to 12 hours, but quick action makes the difference.
What to Do Right Now
Your first move is to call your vet or, if it’s after hours, your nearest emergency veterinary clinic. If you can’t reach either, the ASPCA Poison Control Hotline (888-426-4435) and the Pet Poison Helpline (855-764-7661) are available 24/7. When you call, have this information ready: what your dog drank, roughly how much, when it happened, and your dog’s approximate weight. These details help the vet assess severity fast.
Do not try to make your dog vomit unless a veterinarian specifically tells you to. Making a dog throw up after alcohol ingestion can actually make things worse, since alcohol irritates the stomach lining and vomiting can cause additional complications. This is true for most poisoning situations: inducing vomiting at home without professional guidance is sometimes the wrong call.
While you’re waiting to get to the vet, keep your dog warm. Alcohol drops body temperature through several mechanisms, including opening up blood vessels near the skin and interfering with the brain’s ability to regulate heat. A blanket or towel can help. Keep your dog in a quiet, safe space where they won’t stumble into furniture or fall off anything.
Signs of Alcohol Poisoning in Dogs
Symptoms usually show up within an hour of ingestion, though they can be delayed up to two hours, especially if your dog had food in their stomach or consumed a large amount. The most common signs are wobbling or stumbling (loss of coordination), unusual sleepiness, vomiting, and inability to stand up or stay upright.
More severe poisoning looks different. Watch for tremors, disorientation, whimpering or unusual vocalization, diarrhea, slow or labored breathing, and a body that feels cold to the touch. Seizures and loss of consciousness are the most dangerous signs and mean your dog needs emergency care immediately. In one documented case, a dog that ate fermented rotten apples developed vomiting, tremors, and dehydration and did not survive, so even seemingly innocent sources of alcohol can be serious.
Surprising Sources of Alcohol
Beer, wine, and cocktails are the obvious culprits, but dogs get alcohol poisoning from things you might not expect. Raw bread dough is one of the most common hidden dangers. Yeast ferments sugars in the dough inside your dog’s warm stomach, producing alcohol that gets absorbed into the bloodstream. There’s a well-documented case of sourdough ingestion alone causing alcohol poisoning in a dog.
Rotten or fermenting fruit (especially apples and grapes that have fallen in a yard), hand sanitizer, certain mouthwashes, and some desserts made with liquor can all contain enough alcohol to affect a dog. Small dogs are at much higher risk because it takes far less alcohol to reach toxic levels in a 10-pound body than a 70-pound one.
What Happens at the Vet
Treatment for alcohol poisoning in dogs is mostly supportive, meaning the vet helps your dog’s body ride it out safely. If the ingestion was very recent and your dog is still alert, the vet may induce vomiting or use activated charcoal to limit absorption. Beyond that early window, the focus shifts to keeping your dog stable.
Your dog will likely receive IV fluids to prevent dehydration, support blood pressure, and help the body process the alcohol faster. If blood sugar has dropped (a common complication), glucose therapy corrects that. Warming blankets address the hypothermia. Dogs with severe symptoms may get medication to control nausea or seizures. Hospitalization typically lasts 24 to 36 hours in serious cases while the veterinary team monitors vital signs.
Alcohol reduces the body’s ability to deliver oxygen to tissues and can interfere with normal cell function, which is why even a dog that “seems fine” after drinking alcohol can deteriorate. The vet is watching for respiratory depression, dangerously low body temperature, and metabolic imbalances that aren’t visible from the outside.
Recovery and What to Expect
The good news: most dogs that receive proper care recover fully. Mild to moderate cases typically bounce back within 8 to 12 hours. More severe intoxication can take up to 24 hours, and dogs that needed hospitalization may take a bit longer to feel completely normal.
During recovery at home, your dog may be groggy, have a reduced appetite, or seem “off” for a day or so. Offer small amounts of water frequently and reintroduce food gradually. If vomiting continues, your dog seems unusually lethargic beyond the expected recovery window, or anything feels wrong, call your vet again.
For most dogs, a single episode of alcohol poisoning that’s treated promptly doesn’t cause lasting organ damage. The liver handles alcohol in dogs similarly to how it works in humans, just far less efficiently, which is why small amounts hit them so hard. Repeated exposure or extremely severe untreated cases carry a higher risk of lasting harm, but that’s rare when owners act quickly.
Preventing It From Happening Again
Keep all alcoholic drinks out of reach, including unattended glasses at parties. Store raw bread dough where your dog can’t access it, and clean up fallen fruit in your yard before it starts to ferment. If you use alcohol-containing products like hand sanitizer or mouthwash, keep them in closed cabinets. Dogs are curious and often attracted to the sweet smell of mixed drinks and fermenting fruit, so prevention is really about staying one step ahead of their nose.