Why cant a Dog eat Chocolate?

Question

I was told Dog are not to eat chocolate but my dog got some out of one of the gift bag from under the Christmas tree.. How will this effect my dog... I love him so...

Answer 1

Chocolate

Chocolate is another common canine hazard. Although it may be your favorite thing to eat, it can be very dangerous for your pet. Chocolate contains caffeine and a related stimulant called theobromine, which can make your dog seriously ill. Both of these stimulants can raise your dogs heart rate, occasionally to the point of being fatal. Chocolate should be thought of as a poison to dogs.

The effect it has on your dog depends both on its size and the amount of chocolate the dog consumed. The smaller the dog, the less chocolate it needs to eat in order to overdose.

With Baking chocolate, half to one ounce can cause death in small dogs such as Toy Poodles, Yorkies and Chihuahuas. In medium sized dogs, such as Cocker Spaniels and Beagles, the amount is two or three ounces. In large dogs such as the Golden Retriever and Dalmatian the amount is eight ounces.

With milk chocolate, four to ten ounces can cause death in toy dogs, one to one and a half pounds in medium-sized dogs; and two to four and a half pounds in large dogs.

A small amount may not cause death but it can make them very ill. Fortunately, most dogs who overdose on chocolate just get an upset stomach with perhaps vomiting and diarrhea.

Answer 2

Many pet owners are perplexed when it comes to their dogs and chocolate poisoning. They have heard the warnings but they either choose to disregard them because their dog likes it as a treat or because they are not sure if they are true. Unfortunately several dogs each year die because their owners all not informed on the dangers of dogs and chocolate poisoning. Valentine’s Day and Easter are two times of the year that your dog could be exposed to enough chocolate to be lethal to him. If you have unanswered questions about dogs and chocolate poisoning, then please read on. It is not the chocolate itself that is the culprit here but one of the naturally occurring compounds found in it. Theobromine is an alkaloid, used in humans for the treatment of high blood pressure and sometimes as a diuretic. But its effect on animals, including dogs, is potentially quite lethal. Humans can quickly metabolize, or change into energy, theobromine in an efficient manner. Your dog, however, cannot. The half-life of theobromine, or the time it takes for half of what has been eaten to be turned into energy in the body, is seventeen and a half hours. While your dog is having a hard time excreting the substance, its cardiovascular and central nervous system are under duress. This has the potential to kill your pet. Cardiac irregularity and gastrointestinal tract bleeding can also be a direct result of chocolate poisoning in dogs. Dogs with epilepsy are particularly vulnerable to theobromine, as it can precipitate seizures. In a variation of the old theme- it is not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog- it is the size of the amount of chocolate that your dog ingests that matters here. A pound of milk chocolate can kill a sixteen pound canine. Different kinds of chocolates are higher in theobromine levels. White, milk and hot chocolate are considerably lower than semi-sweet, dark and bitter or baking chocolate. While the “lesser” chocolates are not as high in theobromine, they are in fat, which could lead to vomiting and diarrhea.

Answer 3

caffine is toxic to dogs. chocolate contains caffine. thus, chocolate is toxic to dogs. if it was a small amout of chocolate, watch for diaherrea and be sure your dog doesn't become dehydrated from this. if it was a large amount, or if you have a very small dog, i recommed going to the vet asap. they will be able to induce vomiting, something that unless you are trained to do should not be attempted at home. just fyi, my great dane ate a one pound box of chocolates at christmas last year - it made him sick to his stomach and he puked it all up himself and was fine. of course, my dog weighs 200 pounds. that would probably have killed a dog under 100 pounds. he even ate the foil wrappers - which made his poo black for a week due to the oxidation of the aluminum in the stomach acid. so don't be too worried if your dog ate any foil with the chocolate and poops black for awhile. hope this helps.

Answer 4

You will find that most dogs cant afford to buy good chocolate and there for opt to not eat any chocolate. If your dog has eaten some chocolate its OK, any maybe he or she was just in the Christmas spirit. And then I am just guessing. I LOVE chocolate. Enjoy.

Answer 5

A lot of dogs get very sick because of it. However; my fiance has a golden lab/retriever and dam this dog is addicted to it and it certainly hasn't given him any health problems. So perhaps it depends on the dog or breed but I do know that this mutt just loves the stuff and will steal it whenever possible. He is especially fond of them orange chocolate balls.

Answer 6

A little bit is not going to hurt them. Chocolate will get the dogs heart rate up and cause them to have a heart attack. It is kind of like people and large amounts of cocain. It gets the heart pumping too fast and that isn't good.

Answer 7

It has nothing yo do with sugar. I know someone who's dog died after eating eating a couple of M&Ms, and I believe that I remeber Chetco mentioned the same thing happened to one of her dogs.

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.

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 even death.

Theobromine, a component of chocolate, is the toxic compound in chocolate. (Caffeine is also present in chocolate, but in much smaller amounts than Theobromine.

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 8

My chihuahua eats moderate amounts of chocolate at least 8-10 times a year. He's nine years old and healthy.

Answer 9

It will make the dog really sick, if it eats a whole lot then the dog may die. If your dog did ate a whole lot then take it to the vet immediately!

Answer 10

Dogs are allergic to chololate. Chocolate can cause violent gastointesinal reactions and even death insome animal.