It's said chocolate is poisonous to dogs; true? Why?

Answer 1

Why is Chocolate Lethal?
Chocolate contains theobromine. A naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean, theobromine increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle. While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it's the theobromine that is poisonous to dogs.

How Much Chocolate Is Deadly?
If a 50-pound dog eats a teaspoonful of milk chocolate, it's not going to cause serious problems. However, if that same dog gorges himself on a two-layer chocolate cake, his stomach will feel more than upset and soon it's likely he'll be vomiting or experiencing diarrhea.

To answer the question "How much is too much" is not simple. The health and age of your dog must be considered. Obviously if your dog is aged and not in top shape, his reaction to a plate of chocolate is going to be different from a young healthy dog of the same weight.

Another fact that must be considered is this: Not all chocolate is the same. Some has a small amount of theobromine; another type has a large amount and still another contains an amount that is somewhere in between. The quantity has a relationship with the weight of your dog. Small dogs can be poisoned, it is easy to understand, from smaller amounts of theobromine than large dogs.

Which chocolate is the safest, relatively speaking? White chocolate. It has the least amount of theobromine: 1 mg per ounce. Far on the other side of the spectrum is baking chocolate, which has a huge 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 up there near baking chocolate: semi-sweet chocolate with 260 mg/oz.

You might try using this to remember these chocolates from least to most toxic: What Happy Moose Says BAA? Or: White-Hot-Milk-Semi-Baked. If you have a better way to remember, contact us!

Knowing which chocolate is the most toxic is important, but leaves one wondering how much must be eaten to poison a dog. The list in this box should be helpful. Maybe you can clip it and post it on your refrigerator?


White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes 250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog, 125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.
Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound 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 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.
Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two one-ounce squares of bakers' chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog.

Answer 2

"Chocolate contains theobromine, an alkaloid that dogs can't metabolize quickly. If a dog ingests a large amount of chocolate, the theobromine can build up and reach a toxic level of concentration, leading to cardiac arrest. Different types of chocolate are more harmful than others, and the effects will vary, depending upon the size and weight of the dog. However, it is potentially lethal." (retrieved from an online article http://ask.yahoo.com/20000607.html which listed "Household Items That Can Poison Dogs." as their source) This article might provide more information that you would like to read.

Answer 3

chocolate is very high in naturally occurring stimulants and some dogs cannot handle that. It speeds up the dog's heart and can cause heart failure or seizures. Not all dogs have problems. I have an older 12 pound Bichon that got into the candy dish and ate over a pound of chocolate snowcaps and rasinettes in one sitting. Not the first problem. It really depends on the dog. If your dog gets into chocolate simply keep an eye on him or her. If the dog starts acting funny call the vet.

Answer 4

Yes it is very true. There are components to chocolate that a dogs system does not digest and breakdown and over time it becomes a toxin. Baking chocolate and dark chocolates are worse than milk chocolate, but they are all very bad for your dog. The dog basically has liver failure or goes into cardiac arrest due to the caffine in the chocolate.

Answer 5

Chocolate is poisonous for dogs because a chemical in to coco bean is poisonous to dogs. If a dog takes a bite of chocolate he/she should be ok, they might get sick but if they eat a lot of it it can very well be deadly.

Answer 6

The truth is chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs in sufficient quantities. This is a xanthine compound in the same family of caffeine, and theophylline.

Toxic Levels

The good news is that it takes, on average, a fairly large amount of theobromine 100-150 mg/kg to cause a toxic reaction. Although there are variables to consider like the individual sensitivity, animal size and chocolate concentration.

Answer 7

Several members have posted why chocolate is poisonous to dogs so my advice to any dog owner (or other pet) is that if you didn't buy it from a pet store and it's not made for pets, don't feed it to them at all. Most animals are unable to properly digest most foods that are meant for humans and it can cause them to be terribly sick or have severe stomach pain.

Answer 8

Chocolate is poisonous to dogs. It is also poisonous to humans, but only in large amounts. I think it has something to do with theobromine, an alkaline which is found in chocolate.

Answer 9

Yes, it is true. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is poisonous to dogs. You can recognize that your dog has eaten a toxic dose of chocolate from the symptoms. Within the first few hours, the evidence includes vomiting, diarrhea or hyperactivity. As time passes and there's increased absorption of the toxic substance, you'll see an increase in the dog's heart rate, which can cause arrhythmia, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination or excessive panting. This can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, seizures, coma and death.

The type of chocolate the dog eats affects how sick the dog becomes. Here is the approximate proportions of each.

. White chocolate: 200 ounces per pound of body weight. It takes
250 pounds of white chocolate to cause signs of poisoning in a 20-pound dog,125 pounds for a 10-pound dog.

. Milk chocolate: 1 ounce per pound of body weight. Approximately
one pound of milk chocolate is poisonous to a 20-pound dog; one-half pound for a 10-pound dog. The average chocolate bar contains 2 to 3 ounces of milk chocolate. It would take 2-3 candy bars to poison a 10 pound 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 20-pound dog; 1/6 pound for a 10-pound dog.

. Baking chocolate: 0.1 ounce per pound body weight. Two
one-ounce squares of bakers' chocolate is toxic to a 20-pound dog; one ounce for a 10-pound dog. list end

Answer 10

yes my dog ate a small piece of chocolate and started throwing up and had sever diarrhea, we called the vet and had to give her some peroxide to make her throw it up.

another time she jumped on the table and ate a whole bunch of chocolate cupcakes, but the vet said that baker's chocolate was OK