Dogs Eating Chocolate

If you know of any dogs eating chocolate, please stop them. Chocolate for dogs is poisonous and may prove to be fatal. Of course that the dose that is considered toxic will not be the same in every dog and it really up to the metabolism it has. But, what is the problem with dogs eating chocolate?

Dogs Eating Chocolate – The problem

Chocolate has a substance that is known as the theobromine that is very toxic for dogs. It’s a substance that is also related to caffeine, for example.

The presence of this substance will cause your dogs to be excited, irritated, with an increased heart rate, more urination, a feeling of being restless, vomiting frequently, having diarrhea and muscle tremors. You can check a great explanation video on some of the symptoms by clicking the link below and filling in the free survey.

Click Here to Check a Dogs Eating Chocolate Informational Video

 Dogs Eating Chocolate – What to do

If you’re a dog owner, then you should always a very complete emergency kit for them. In that kit you should include a substance called activated charcoal. This substance is the antidote of a wide variety of poisons, making a fantastic all in one substance to be present in an emergency kit. Another substance commonly used is the hydrogen peroxide (much more common in first aid kits)

Does your dog have any of the symptoms we mentioned above? If that is the case then the first thing you need to do is to contact a vet. Do not try to medicate the dog without talking to a vet first as that could be extremely dangerous! Only a veterinarian can know for sure whether it’s actually chocolate toxicity and the best course of action in that case.

If possible (and in case you suspect of chocolate poisoning) you should try and give the vet as much information as possible. Different types of chocolates have different concentrations of  theobromine which means that he’ll be able to more accurately determine what’s the best course of action.

Another important information to give to your vet is how much time it has passed since ingestion. That’ll also be a determining factor into choosing the best type of treatment.

Dogs Eating Chocolate and Addiction

One of the main issues with dogs eating chocolate is that after they’ve done so, they’ll keep on wanting more and more. It’s a very addicting type of food and they’ll be craving for more, which means that after they’ve tasted chocolate for the first time they won’t want to stop.

Of course that for you this is a very dangerous fact as once you’ve let your dog taste chocolate you’ll need to be much more careful into not letting him get anywhere near any more chocolate.

 Dogs Eating Chocolate – IMPORTANT INFORMATION

If you’re a dog owner you should seriously consider getting the Dog Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook.

Also, if you’re unsure about the foods you may or may not give to your dog,  then our recommendation is the Dog Food for Life.

Remember to never medicate your dog and always be alert on possible symptoms your dog may be having! It’s better to be careful and not risk it!

Dogs Eating Chocolate – First Aid Kit

If you don’t already have them, a first aid kit could potentially save your dog and it a must to have at home.

However, it’s hard to find good first aid kits for dogs and understanding that, we decided to go and find an amazing one on Amazon.com

It features everything you need for your dog and you’ll be ready for any type of accident!

Click here to get the best first aid kit for dogs, ideal for dogs eating chocolate 

Always coming festive seasons like Christmas, New Year and Easter, not counting birthdays and other related topics, we doctors-veterinarians warn our customers that they should avoid giving treats these parties for their dogs or cats.

At Easter time, which “springs” chocolate everywhere, is the critical phase for chocolate poisoning in dogs! Chocolate is not good for dogs. It is very dangerous and can lead to coma and even death.

The chocolate in its composition a substance called Theobromine (found in cocoa), which are rapidly absorbed after oral ingestion and are powerful stimulating the central nervous system and heart. The Theobromine causes a dramatic increase in the cardiac muscle work associated with a large stimulation of the brain, causing severe cardiac arrhythmias in dogs.

The concentration of this substance in chocolate may be 3-10 times higher than in caffeine, for example to gas and the amount of it severely a dog is calculated at around 100 to 200 mg / kg. However, there are reports of symptoms of poisoning such as vomiting and diarrhea, with ingestion of only 20mg/kg, and there are also reports of symptoms of cardiotoxic effects of intake of 40 to 50 mg / kg of chocolate. There are also reports of dramatic effects not only by eating chocolate bars, but also cocoa powder dissolved in milk and offered to the dogs.

Generally, the clinical effects of intoxication are seen between 6-12 hours after ingestion of the chocolate. Initial symptoms are: increased water intake, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal enlargement and restlessness (annoyance, agitation). The table may evolve into hyperactivity, increased urination, ataxia, tremors and state of apprehension. And, most fatefully, increased frequency of the heartbeat (tachycardia), increased rate of breathing (tachypnea), blueing of the mucous membranes (cyanosis – lack of oxygen in tissues), hypertension, increased body temperature and the frame can finally evolve into hypotension, lowered body temperature, coma and death.

There’s also the fact that, as chocolate has a large amount of fat, the pancreas also suffers major damage.

Treatment is difficult, aiming at the stabilization of vital functions of the body according to the symptoms you are experiencing.

Well, as the cases of chocolate ingestion may lead to dramatic purposes, it is best to prevent your dog to eat chocolate. And this tip is not only restricted to the Easter season, but for every day of the year.

While the pathetic begging look that goes across the face of a chocolate dog, the dog owner can weaken the most stoic, to remain firm. The not always.

Since dogs have shown chocolate, they want more.

And for dogs, it’s a bad thing.

You might not agree, think back to a time when you enjoy a dog a piece of chocolate, without the side effects reported.

Do not be fooled.

The problem, according to veterinary experts, is that eating chocolate leads a dog a hint of wanting more. This may mean that your dog for a way to get any kind of chocolate, not knowing that certain chocolates are more lethal than other types of jump. And can provide large amounts of chocolate, especially the most toxic type, epileptic seizures in some dogs, all dogs to kill.

Poisoning of dogs by chocolate is not as rare as you might think.

“Making chocolate is a common reason why owners and veterinarians call us,” says Dana Farbman, Certified Veterinary Technician and director of client relationships and professional, ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. “However, it would be difficult to determine an exact classification of the frequency of calls, types of substances we receive calls, can vary considerably depending on several factors, including time of year. We generally experience a slight increase in chocolate calls around holidays such as Halloween, Easter, Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day.
Why chocolate is deadly?

Chocolate contains theobromine. A stimulant found in cocoa beans natural, increased urination and theobromine affect the central nervous system and heart muscle. While the amounts vary depending on the type of chocolate, theobromine, which is toxic dogs.
Symptoms of ingestion of chocolate poisoning in dogs

You can see that your dog has eaten a toxic dose of chocolate on the symptoms. In the first hour, and vomiting evidence, diarrhea or hyperactivity. As time passes, and it increases the absorption of the toxic substance you will see an increase in heart rate of dogs, cardiac arrhythmia, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination or excessive panting may .

This can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, convulsions, coma and even death.
Chocolate is deadly?

If the dog eats 50 pounds a teaspoonful of milk chocolate, not lead to serious problems. However, if that same dog is a chocolate cake in two layers of loops, stomach feels more anger and soon it is likely that either vomiting or diarrhea.

To answer the question: “How is it too” is not easy. The health and age of your dog should be considered. Of course, if you have not completed your dog and not in full shape, his reaction will be different as a young, healthy dog ​​with the same weight on a bar of chocolate.

Another fact to consider is that not all chocolate is the same. Some have a small amount of theobromine, and the other a lot and others that an amount that is somewhere in between. The quantity has a relationship with your dog’s weight. Small dogs can be poisoned, it is easy to understand, from small amounts of theobromine than bigger dogs.

Which chocolate is the safest, relatively speaking? White chocolate. It has the least 1 mg of theobromine per ounce. Far across the spectrum is baking chocolate, which has a range of 450 mg of theobromine per ounce!

Here are a few other chocolates for you to ponder: hot chocolate, 12 mg of theobromine per ounce, milk chocolate, 60 mg / oz and near baking chocolate: semi-sweet chocolate with 260 mg / oz

You can try this, these chocolates from least to most toxic effects that you remember: Happy Moose BAA said what? Or half-baked white-hot milk. If you have a better way to remember, please contact us!

Knowing that chocolate is the most toxic is important, but leaves one wonders how much should be eaten to poison a dog. The list in this area should be useful. Maybe you can fix it and send it to your refrigerator? White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate in the poisoning of a dog of 20 pounds, 125 pounds to cause a dog weighing 10 pounds.
Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight given. About one pound of milk chocolate is toxic to a dog of 20 pounds, half a pound to 10 pound dog. The candy bar-middle with 2-3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would poison candy at 2-3, 10 pounds of dog. Semi-sweet chocolate has a similar toxic level.
Sweet cocoa: 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight. One third of a pound of sweet cocoa is toxic to a dog of 20 pounds, 1/6 pounds for a dog weighing 10 pounds.
Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounces per pound. Two one-ounce squares of baking chocolate is toxic to a dog of 20 pounds, 1 ounce for a 10 pound dog.

Chocolate – for people, not dogs

Delicious, sweet, and is absolutely delicious, chocolate is one of the best snack in the world. This is so versatile, even on different types of ways that they can be incorporated in foods. You can dip strawberries in melted chocolate for a combination of healthy and unhealthy, or maybe you have a moist chocolate cake baking, cooking, or maybe some chocolate biscuits gooey torque. Some of my favorite candy, Snickers and Twix, have something in common with others, they are a creamy chocolate!

Yes indeed, this snack is so amazing, it still has a critical error. What could this be? It is easy to see, really. The error is white chocolate. Ha, just kidding! But seriously, while white chocolate is always a problem, I am referring to an ingredient found in chocolate. This is such as theobromine and theobromine is poisonous for some animals, one of these animals, a dog.

What makes it so deadly to our four-legged friend? This is how dogs digest through a difficult time having to do this. The dog’s digestive system is unable to process the theobromine in chocolate in a very efficient, as we humans. The half-life of theobromine in dogs is approximately 17.5 hours. Oh, that’s terrible!

Unfortunately, I do not want to buy chocolate without theobromine for the simple reason that chocolate is made from cocoa, fruit that it contains theobromine. It is impossible, the ingredient theobromine, sad dogs to escape.

There are two important factors in determining the lethality of chocolate. One is the size, and the other is the type of chocolate. Check out the first size:

Size and weight

Size matters. Breeds of larger dogs like German Shepherds, Dalmatians and Bulldogs can eat a lot more chocolate than smaller breeds as Maltipoos, Chihuahuas, Yorkshire Terrier, or until they know how the chocolate poisoning. The reason for the weight. The more they can eat chocolate, roughly? She depends on the type

Type of chocolate
It’s time to do some math!

Dark chocolate: A £ 5 Maltipoo puppy can be one ounce of dark chocolate, before eating toxic levels. £ 70 a German Shepherd can 14 oz dark chocolate before consuming toxic levels. As you can see from the figures, the difference in size is a big factor, which allows larger dog to eat a larger amount. But look what happens when you change the type of chocolate.

Milk chocolate, milk chocolate contains less theobromine than most of chocolates. The Maltipoo £ 5 or £ 70 German Shepherd can eat double or even triple the amount of milk chocolate as dark chocolate, before receiving the theobromine poisoning.

Why is this possible? It is the fact that several types of chocolate with varying amounts are made of theobromine. Some chocolates are easily and stronger than others, because consist of more than theobromine. The examples above are only two types of chocolate available to consumers, there are other, types even more chocolate found in stores.

Seeing the above calculation, you should consider whether it is safer for a dog only a small amount of chocolate without approaching the danger zone, but the answer is always a big fat NO! Even small amounts of chocolate can cause abdominal pain for the dog. Side effects of nausea and, vomiting and diarrhea, and a variety of diseases of the stomach. Nobody wants to clean this dirty mess, believe me! Thus, for the well being of your dog, and his, and perhaps prevent your rugs, giving them a chocolate snack, like asking a nibble.

To make your dog more and enjoy this feast dark, thinking about where their snacks. I suggest the top in places that can not reach them, or tucked in a drawer. Down Low in the closet is a big no, because the animals may have moments of brilliance. I have some cats that can really open up my closet doors below, and then go inside and I are sleeping on top of each food. There are places to rest comfortably in a cabinet I tell them, but they are cats and not listen to me! Anyway, keep your chocolate safe, do not sell much at the hands of a dog, however.

Chocolate Overload, what to do

I told you to hide the chocolate from you, now look what happened! I have stories of dogs eating chocolate, and also includes the owner, rather than rush your pet to the vet decided to go out and see if the dog recovers. Once the symptoms have become too scared to wait any longer, it is only then that the owner decides to visit the vet. Unfortunately, the dog arrived minutes late, and he died. How sad, if not the owner would have responded sooner, could have a happy ending.

The moral is that if you suspect your dog has eaten a potentially lethal amount of chocolate, it must not wait! Action is needed sooner rather than later. Call a vet, and she quickly there, every minute counts.

Could it have something in case of emergency, as mentioned, the situation is a nightmare activated charcoal. This is an antioxidant that can be used to can treat the poisoning of this type. He could buy your dog a little time before the race to the vet’s office.
In conclusion

Basically, chocolate is not the dog’s best friend. It can lead to poisoning, even in small quantities, and should be avoided completely. The next time you chew on a bar of delicious chocolate, and your dog looks to complain about a little thing, you resist the temptation to share, because it could mean the life of your pet! This also means you have an extra bite of chocolate. Mm!

You’ve undoubtedly heard people say that you should never give a dog chocolate, but you likely don’t actually know why it is harmful for your canine friend when it seems so good for you.  The answer to ‘why can’t dogs eat chocolate?’ is that chocolate contains the alkaloid theobromine.  This substance acts a lot like coffee, except that dogs can’t metabolize it nearly as well as people can.  As a result, the stimulating effects are multiplied substantially, which can cause potentially fatal side effects.  That is why dogs can’t eat chocolate and must be given help if they do.

What Makes Chocolate So Bad:

Much like drinking a cup of coffee, theobromine increases heart rate and gives a stimulating effect, which is why you can get a rush after eating chocolate.  Unfortunately, in dogs, this rush is significantly intensified which can be very dangerous.  Especially for older dogs, this increase in heart rate can get to the point of causing failure and death.  In addition to that, there’s a long list of symptoms which can also harm or kill your dog, including excessive panting, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures, rapid heart rate, dehydration, whining, increased urination, muscle twitching, and hyperactive behavior.

This is ‘why can’t dogs eat chocolate?’ and must be helped if they do.  The half life of Theobromine is approximately 17 and a half hours, which means that if your dog is alive 24 hours after eating chocolate, then there is a very good chance that it will be fine.  Cats are also very sensitive to the alkaloid and shouldn’t be allowed to eat it, but because they don’t have sweetness receptors, they generally aren’t interested in it anyway.

It should be noted that Theobromine can be found in substances besides chocolate.  It is also in the leaves of the tea plant and in the cola nut.   As such, don’t let your dog near any foods that contain either of those.

How Can You Help a Dog That Ate Chocolate?:

As you aren’t likely to have sophisticated medicines at your home to treat the Theobromine in the bloodstream, it is essential that you stop it from reaching that stage.  You can give a dog a tablespoon or two of hydrogen peroxide or syrup of ipecac to make them vomit, which will get rid of the majority of the chocolate and significantly reduce the risk of the Theobromine reaching toxic levels.

It is also very help to give your dog some activated charcoal which helps by binding to the theobromine and preventing it from getting into the blood.  If this isn’t enough, then you should take the dog to the vet for medical treatment.  While it is difficult to treat the alkaloid directly, they can give the dog anti convulsive drugs as well as other medicines aimed at reducing the symptoms.

Conclusion:

Many people have wondered, ‘why can’t dogs eat chocolate?’ and now you can tell them.  It is important to pass this information on to anyone who doesn’t know it so that they can protect their dogs from hurting themselves by indulging their sweet tooth.

The answer to the question ‘is chocolate bad for dogs?’ is a resounding yes.  While a tiny bit of chocolate isn’t necessarily fatal, if you know that your dog has eaten chocolate, then it is essential that you take steps to prevent any serious damage.  The danger comes from an alkaloid called Theobromine.  Humans are able to quickly and easily process it, but dogs and many other animals can’t, which is how they end up getting sick.  It is important that you understand Theobromine so that you can protect your dog from hurting itself.

Getting to Know Theobromine:

Being familiar with Theobromine can help you recognize the dangers present in it and prevent it from hurting your beloved dog.  It is an alkaloid that has similar effects as caffeine, meaning that it is a mythyxlanine stimulant.  It causes a slight increase in blood pressure and a stimulation of the central nervous system, which you’ve no doubt noticed if you’ve ever pigged out on chocolate.

The problem comes from the fact that many animals, dogs and cats in particular, can’t metabolize Theobromine as fast as we can, so those stimulating effects are much more severe and potentially dangerous.  The side effects of Theobromine if it reaches toxic levels includes excessive panting, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures, rapid heart rate, dehydration, whining, increased urination, muscle twitching, and hyperactive behavior.

While some of those symptoms are more unpleasant than damaging, some of the effects, the rapid heart rate in particular, are potentially fatal.  Now you can answer ‘is chocolate bad for dogs?’

How Much Theobromine is Too Much?:

It is essential that you are familiar with the different amounts of Theobromine in foods as well as how much is necessary to reach toxic levels in your dog.  Once you know this, you can be more confident about your actions.  While the size and the age of the dog affect how well it can metabolize Theobromine, larger dogs can handle a higher quantity and older dogs have more trouble dealing with the side effects, the specific amount is dependent on what type of chocolate the dog eats.

For milk chocolate, a dog will reach toxic Theobromine levels at approximately one ounce of chocolate for one pound of body weight.  For dark chocolate, it’s 1/3 of an ounce per pound.  Baker’s chocolate is 1/9 of an ounce per pound.  Cocoa powder is 1/16 of an ounce per pound.  You may be wondering about white chocolate as well, but because it is made with no cocoa solids, it would take 200 pounds of white chocolate to reach toxic levels in a small 16 pound dog, so you shouldn’t worry.

Conclusion:

While it is certainly potentially very dangerous for a dog to consume chocolate because of the Theobromine, at the same time, it takes a pretty decent quantity of chocolate to cause harm to most dogs.  While you shouldn’t disregard the risk chocolate poses, you also shouldn’t get overly excited if your dog eats a stray chocolate chip, and now you can answer when your family asks, ‘is chocolate bad for dogs?’

Everyone knows that chocolate can be harmful to their beloved pets, dogs in particular, but many still ask ‘why is chocolate bad for dogs?’  Chocolate contains Theobromine, which is a stimulant similar to caffeine.  A human body can metabolize this alkaloid without any trouble, but many animals process it much slower, which makes the effects far more intense.  This is why you should always try to avoid letting your dog consume any chocolate, and if they do eat a dangerous amount, you should take action to prevent harm.

What is Theobromine and Why is it Dangerous?:

Theobromine is a mythylxanine alkaloid that acts as a stimulant.  If you’ve ever eaten a large quantity of chocolate, and I’m sure you have at one point or another, then you know the kind of rush it can give you.  You feel a little flushed and your heart starts beating faster.  This same thing happens to dogs when they eat chocolate, except because they don’t process the Theobromine as well, the effects are significantly more severe.

When a dog eats enough chocolate for it to become toxic to them, they can experience side effects including excessive panting, diarrhea, vomiting, seizures, rapid heart rate, dehydration, whining, increased urination, muscle twitching, and hyperactive behavior.  While not all of these effects are necessarily fatal, the increased heart rate in particular can be, especially in older dogs that can’t handle it as well.

The exact amount of chocolate that is required to reach toxic levels of Theobromine is dependent on many factors ranging from the specifics of the dog to how strong the chocolate is.  For instance, milk chocolate has virtually no Theobromine in it and your dog would have to consume hundreds of pounds to get sick from it.  However, things like baker’s chocolate and cocoa powder have higher levels of it and should be particularly avoided.  Hopefully you can now answer when someone asks you, ‘why is chocolate bad for dogs?’

What Do You Do if Your Dog Eats Chocolate?:

If your dog does somehow eat a large enough amount of chocolate that you are worried about its health, then there are things you can do to help.  You can’t stop the Theobromine in your dog’s bloodstream at home, but you can try to stop it from reaching the blood in the first place.

The first thing you want to do is to immediately induce vomiting in your dog, which is most easily achieved with hydrogen peroxide or Ipecac.  This will get a lot of the chocolate out of its system before it has a chance to get into the bloodstream.  You also want to get the dog to eat some activated charcoal.  It will bind itself to the Theobromine and stop it.  If you are still worried or if the dog is still showing symptoms, a vet’s office can give the dog special medicines to further help.

Conclusion:

Theobromine is very dangerous to dogs if eaten in sufficient quantities, but you can stop it from causing harm.  As long as you take immediate action when your dog eats too much chocolate, you won’t have to worry about the question, ‘why is chocolate bad for dogs?’

If you’re asking this very same question I hope it’s not because you’ve seen the effects of chocolate in a dog before. If you’re a dog owner who is wondering on why can’t dogs eat chocolate, then you should know that chocolate has many substances that after the nervous system, from which are most hazardous  for dogs caffeine and a substance you may not know of which is theobromine.

These two stimulants, acting together on the dog’s nervous system causes it to collapse. You’ll see your dog’s behavior change immediately, getting what seems to be a very nervous state of mind. Their heart rate with fire through the room and it’ll increase their symptoms of urination. It’s really a very poisonous substance for them and something you should avoid at all costs.

Why Can’t Dogs Eat Chocolate? – What are their symptoms?

As we have mentioned before, some of the symptoms you’ll immediately notice on your dog is that he’ll be very restless. In the beginning he’ll start vomiting and getting diarrhea, later developing into seizures that can cause him to die.

Of course that not all cases of dogs eating chocolate will culminate in such a sad way. It all depends on the amount of chocolate the dogs have eaten and their own size.

And while white chocolate would require dogs to eat their own weight to have some serious effects (because, as you may know, white chocolate has very little chocolate in its composition), if you see dogs eating chocolate that is for baking purposes, even a very small amount of will may cause the nervous system to start collapsing!

One of the worse things about dogs eating chocolate is that for them it’s a very addictive substance. Only a small amount of chocolate will lead to the dog wanting more and more chocolate, even if it’s hazardous for him. The best chance you have is to never allow for your dog to eat chocolate.

But let’s take at a biological perspective on why can’t dogs eat chocolate.

Why can’t dogs eat chocolate? – Metabolize theobromine

The main issue behind why can’t dogs eat chocolate is because of the presence of theobromine. Why on humans this is a very easily metabolized substance, dogs simply aren’t able to do the same. This causes for the substance to start accumulating in the organism up to the point where it becomes toxic.

At these concentrations, theobromine can cause some serious problems which include cardiac arrest. You can’t always look out for your dog, so it’s better to have any substance which has chocolate completely out of reach (because of the addictiveness).

So if you ever see dogs eating chocolate, make them stop as fast as you can. You may be fast enough to stop it from getting into their system, which would be ideal. But you’ll have to be extra careful because once they’ve tasted chocolate, they’ll never stop wanting more.