Chocolate and dogs

If you have a pet dog and you love chocolates, I am sure you have heard that chocolate is harmful for your dog. I heard about it too and had initially thought it was just some unproven myth. Then I thought it was because of all the sugar which could be bad for dogs.

Finally, I did some research and found out that the compounds within the chocolate is poisonous for dogs. In other words, it is like giving your dog poison if your feed your dog chocolate! Chocolates and dogs don’t mix.

It seems that chocolate contains theobromine. This compound is found in cocoa beans, cocoa bean hulls, cola and tea. A 4.5oz of milk chocolate has 240mg of theobromine while baking chocolate has up to 450mg of theobromine per ounce. Dark chocolate also contain more theobromine than milk chocolate.

So, how poisonous is theobromine? Well, it is lethal to dogs if the dosage exceeds 300 mg for every 2.2 pounds of body weight. This means, if your dog weighs 22 pounds, a mere 15g of baking chocolate could cause severe poisoning or it could even kill it. It is because dogs can’t metabolize theobromine so the compound remain in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours. The effects it gave the dog includes seizures, internal bleeding, heart attacks and possibly death.

If your dog inadvertently ate some chocolates, you will need to note if it brought about any toxic effects. The signs of poisoning are like humans, vomiting and diarrhea. However, if the dog had eaten a huge amount of chocolate, it could lead to cardiac arrhythmias and seizures. The only way to treat a dog suffering from chocolate poisoning is to bring it to the vet within the first two hours. Then the vet will induce vomiting so that it throws up the remaining chocolate.

Those of you who have been giving your dogs chocolate must feel guilty but if it does not affect your dog now, you are lucky so stop doing it! I know it is very difficult especially when faced with puppy dog expressions but you must be firm. All dogs love sweet stuffs and that includes chocolate! So, why not try an alternative such as carob the healthy chocolate substitute?

Also note that chocolate is not only poison for dogs but also for horses, parrots, small rodents and even cats. So, the next time you are thinking of sharing your chocolate, don’t even think about a single bite for your pet. It is not worth the heartache and suffering you will put your pet through!