Will dogs really die from eating chocolate?

Question

My dog got into chocolate and I'm not sure if I should take it seriously or not. It was a little piece of a brownie and now I'm freaking out about it. What's the real answer?

My dog got into chocolate and I'm not sure if I should take it seriously or not. It was a little piece of a brownie and now I'm freaking out about it. He's a pretty big dog and is very active. What's the real answer?

Answer 1

That probably won't harm your dog however chocolate does kill dogs. It depends on how much is consumed, the size and shape of the dog, and the type of chocolate. It causes their heart to race resulting in a heart attack. Your dog will act extremly hyper and pretty much just die, fall over. It's terrible.

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

According to a story I read about dogs getting into Halloween chocolate, it can be very harmful and even fatal. The darker the chocolate, the worse for the dog, also depending on the amount eaten and the size of the animal. For all the technical stuff, you can read the story at http://www.all-dog-supplies.com/halloween_chocolate.htm if you're that interested. There is a cool story there on how a dog was rescued and given a good home (and how he got his name, Owen). In my opinion, though, I don't know why so many people on here give their dogs chocolate as a treat. If there's even a chance it is harmful, why take the chance? How many answers on here say something like 'I know it can kill them in a large enough quantity, so I just give them one square a day'? I wonder if those same people, upon finding out that a teaspoon a day of arsenic in their coffee will kill, will just add half a teaspoon?

Answer 3

With just a little bit he may be okay. It is still not a good idea to let him have it. Chocolate has a toxin in it dogs can't process. It can build up in their systems and cause death. Even if your dog goes through this with no problem, please keep the chocololate away from the dog. It can also cause them digestive pain, etc.
Your precious dog is not worth taking a chance in the future.

This is a link to an article of chocolate toxicity and how to calculate how much chocolate per your dogs weight is toxic.
http://www.vetinfo4dogs.com/dtoxin.html#Chocolate%20toxicity

Answer 4

I was reading up on Chihuahuas because I really want to get one and in like every single book it says that dogs can NOT eat chocolate ESPECIALLY bakers chocolate.

If they do it can possibly be deadly. If your does eat chocolate you have to try and make them throw it up and then call a veteranarian.

I'm not sure about brownies though. I though they meant stuff like Hershery's or something. Is the chocolate they put in brownies real?? If so just follow the instructions I just gave you.

Answer 5

THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT ....

to all those who have said it is Ok for a dog to be fed chocolate you are infact wrong. It has NOTHING to do with worms but a chemical called THEOBROMINE. This chemical does not break down easily in the digestive system.. it is an accumaltive poison meaning that if you feed your dog chocolate on a daily basis you are making it harder for the poision to break down and you are risking killing your dog ...
STRANGELY enough the chemical is also toxic to humans BUT our bodies can break it down a lot easier and it would take an awful lot to affect us.

If your dog has accidently consummed a tiny amount of chocolate YOU MAY BE FINE .
. but please phone your vet ASAP BEFORE you read any more YAHOO answers ..
as it is evident that many people here are not aware of the facts ( not attacking them as we all think we know about things we don't)

Answer 6

A little piece of brownie is nothing to worry about. Dogs can get very sick and sometimes die from eating too much chocolate though, especially dark chocolate. It is posionous to them but does not give them worms like some people stated. Also you should NEVER intentionally feed your dog chocolate no matter how little, it is not worth the risk.

Answer 7

So they say but my mum gave her 2 dogs chocolate every day and they was fine.

I've got 2 dog's now and give them chocolate but only now and again since i heard it's so bad for them.

I think it depends on the size of the dog and how much they eat of it

We have allways had collie size dog's and of course we wouldn't give them a massive bar but a mars bar or something that size is fine

My friend's all give their dogs chocolate as well as I've never known a dog that has got ill from it.


P.S CHOCOLATE DOES NOT GIVE A DOG WORM'S THAT'S A LOAD OF RUBBISH.
IF THAT WAS THE CASE MY MUM'S DOGS WOULD HAVE HAD THEM AND MY DOGS WOULD 2 AND ALL MY FRIENDS DOGS AS WELL.
AS NONE OF THE DOGS I KNOW GOT WORM'S BY EATING CHOCOLATE AND THIS IS THE FIRST I'VE HEARD OF IT I'D SAY IT'S CRAP!

Answer 8

There is a chemical called Theobromine in chocolate that is poisonous to dogs. The amount needed to make a dog sick or kill them varies with the size of the dog. It can effect the central nervous system and the heart. Yes, I have seen dogs get into chocolate and they can be just fine. Still, I would keep all chocolate away from all dogs, simply because you just don't know how much it will take to make him/her sick or kill him/her.

Also stay away from raisins and onions. Grapes and raisin ingestions can lead to acute renal failure, and onions can lead to a particular type of anemia.

Answer 9

From what I understand the answer is yes, My dog actually grabbed a snickers bar from me and before I got it back it was to late, and nothing happen to him, so I assume that it would have to be a lot of chocolate in order for the dog to die.

Answer 10

Due to diuretic effect a dog that eats large quanities of cholocate may pass large volumes of urine and become unusually thirsty. the ingrediate so deadly to dogs is a substance called theobromide. There have been several cases of dogs dying from eating too much chocolate: www.snopes.com/critters and www.baringvet.net/chocolate.