why is chocolate bad for dogs?

Answer 1

Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. Even licking a substantial part of the chocolate icing from a cake can make a dog sick. The next most dangerous forms are semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate, with milk chocolate being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250gm block of milk chocolate, however the high amount of fat found in milk chocolate can lead to an attack of pancreatitis.


1 ounce per pound of body weight (2 ounces per kg of body weight) for milk chocolate.
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight ( 1 ounce per 1.5 kg body weight) for semi-sweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight ( 1 ounce per 4 kg) for baker's chocolate.

During many holidays such as Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter and Halloween, chocolate is often accessible to curious dogs, and in some cases, people unwittingly poison their dogs by offering them chocolate as a treat or letting them lick a frosting bowl.

Answer 2

Many dog owners dont believe that chocolates poison their dogs because many pets have stolen chocolate Holloween treats by the bagfull and didnt die, but here is the official reason.
Certain chemicals in chocolate, notably caffeine and theobromine, can cause erratic heartbeat and in large enough doses can kill your pup.

Answer 3

some of these people are CRAZY! the caffine is NOT what will make them sick or KILL them...I mean it isnt good for them but that isnt what hurts them.I completely agree with B.W...he/she hit it right on the money..the darker the chocolate the more poisonus....and no not all dogs get sick however my old dog ate a whole box of chocolates and she had to have her stomach pumped. however White Chocolate is prefectly fine for dogs....because white chocolate isnt really chocolate.....there is one ingredient in dark and milk chocolate that isnt in white chocolate. and it honestly depends on the size of your dog and what kind of chocolate they eat. if you dog eats and M&M thats FINE! however a whole block of baking chocolate is NOT GOOD. if you ever have a dog that has eaten alot of chocolate, mix a cap full of hydrogen peroxide with some water and pour it down their throat. it will make them vomit up the chocolate :) and it wont hurt them.

Answer 4

After all those answers i am sure your worried as hell. And they are valid answers chocolates kill. plain and simple i once had a german shepard and it ate a whole kilogram of chocolate and survived!! i t depends on your dog. i dont advise you feed your dog chocolate at all and your litle mutt will live to see another day buddy. No chocolates= no stress and worry

Answer 5

The Caffene in the chocolate can cause the dogs heart to race up and cause the dog to have aheart attack

Answer 6

Chocalate can kill or blind a dog. I didn't knowm this and gave oreos to my big dog and after a while he lost his sight-The vet said he had (i forget the name) but basically he developed allergies in his eyes-DO NOT FEED dogs or cats chocolate-but the fake stuff at the pet store if your dog likes the smell, of chocolate and you can't resist the desire to give him some-

Answer 7

Why chocolate poisons dogs and how to treat chocolate dog
poisoning


While the pathetic begging look that goes across the face of a
dog wanting chocolate can weaken the most stoic dog owner, stay firm.

Do not give in. Ever.

Once dogs have tasted chocolate, they want more.

And for dogs, that's a bad thing.


You might disagree, thinking back to a time when you noticed a
dog enjoying a tidbit of chocolate with no deleterious effect.

Don't be fooled.

The problem, according to veterinary experts, is that eating a
speck of chocolate leads a dog to crave more. It can mean that
your dog will jump at a opportunity to get any type of chocolate,
not knowing that certain chocolates are more lethal than other types.

Larger amounts of chocolate, particularly of the most
toxic type, can bring about epileptic seizures in some dogs, and
in all dogs, can kill.

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

"Chocolate ingestions are one common reason why pet owners and
veterinarians call us," said Dana Farbman, Certified Veterinary
Technician and Manager, Client and Professional Relations,
ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.


"However, it would be difficult to verify an exact ranking in
frequency of calls, as the types of substances we receive
calls on can vary greatly depending on many factors, including
the time of year. We generally do experience somewhat of a rise
in chocolate calls around holidays, such as Halloween,
Easter, Christmas, Valentine's Day and Mother's Day.





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.


Symptoms of Chocolate Dog Ingestion and Poisoning

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.


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?

List of 4 items

. 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


www.eurobichons.com

Answer 8

The caffene can cause the dog to have a heart attack

Answer 9

chocolate is good but bad for people and dogs because it is sweet and dogs arnt sapoosed to have sweets otherwise they could die if i didnt answer your question then go to google

Answer 10

Check out link!