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How Our Severity Scores Work
What the 0–10 score encodes, how the checker adjusts it, and what it deliberately refuses to pretend.
Every DogSafe item carries a severity score from 0 to 10. It's a communication tool, not a laboratory measurement: here's exactly what it encodes, and what it deliberately refuses to pretend.
What the number means
| Score | Tier | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Safe (green) | No known toxic dose: portion size is about digestion, not poisoning |
| 1–3 | Mild (amber) | Real but usually manageable: monitor, call if signs appear |
| 4–6 | Moderate (orange) | Can cause significant illness: a call is the default |
| 7–10 | Severe (red) | Dangerous: treat exposures as urgent |
What goes into a score
- Potency: how little causes harm, scaled to body weight where the toxicology supports it.
- Severity of outcome: stomach upset scores differently than kidney failure.
- Predictability: toxins with unpredictable thresholds (grapes) or delayed onset (rodenticide) score higher than their average case would suggest, because 'wait and see' fails badly with them.
- Exposure realism: how dogs actually encounter the substance, in what amounts.
How the checker adjusts it
For dose-dependent items, the interactive checker scales risk with your dog's weight and the amount eaten. Chocolate uses real theobromine math against published mg/kg thresholds. For items with no safe dose, the checker deliberately does NOT scale: any amount of xylitol returns the same emergency answer at any weight, because that's the truth. A score that responded to inputs it shouldn't respond to would be theater.
The limits, stated plainly
Individual dogs vary: age, health, breed sensitivities and plain bad luck all move outcomes. The score triages your attention; it never overrules a veterinarian, and when the page says call, call.
More DogSafe guides
Sources: ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center; Pet Poison Helpline. This page is a general reference and not a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog is in distress, contact your veterinarian or an emergency animal hospital immediately.