2007-02-08 13:18:45 · 17 answers · asked by ? 4 in Pets ➔ Dogs
Yes, it is possible, depending on the size of the dog, the amount and the type of chocolate that was eaten.
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.
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.
2007-02-08 14:37:54 · answer #1 · answered by HDB 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate will kill most dogs. Contrary to popular belief- it doesn't have much to do with the size of the dogs- more like how their individual immune system handles it. While working at a vet- we had someone bring in a small poodle that ate 4 dove chocolates- she ended up with nothing other than slight diarrhea. There was also a yellow lab brought in that ate 12 chocolate chip cookies- with the cheap, milk chocolate variety of chips- to make a long story short- the dog ended up dying from poisioning. It was digusting...we had to wear raincoats and carry umbrellas to work with the dog- it kept seizuring and spraying chocolate smelling feces everywhere- I couldn't eat chocolate for weeks after that.
2007-02-08 22:46:51 · answer #2 · answered by D 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, there is something in chocolate which dogs can not metabolize well. My 80 pound dog got into my chocolate cake when I answered the door (I know, bad mistake on my part) and he was just fine. The size of the dog and the amount of actual chocolate ingested will determine how detrimental it will be to your dog. Obviously, chocolate cake does not have a lot of chocolate, and my dog is big enough to metabolize the slice he devoured. The best thing to do is to be vigilant about keeping chocolate out of reach of your dog.
2007-02-08 22:05:32 · answer #3 · answered by KS 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
as chocolate is fatal, its actually the caffeine in chocolate that is the key item here. Baking cocoa actually the worst for a dog, and yes people are right about it depending on size and amount eaten, but it would take an ENTIRE Hershey's regular chocolate bar to be potentially fatal for a 5 lb chihuahua.
2007-02-09 02:54:03 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, never give your dog chocolate or any other sweets. If your dog did eat some chocolate, how much did they eat, a lot or not very much? If the dog starts throwing up, sleeping a lot or not very active, I would defin. worry.
2007-02-09 07:47:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes, it could. Milk chocolate is not so dangerous, but dark chocolate is. Depends on how much a dog eats of it (size of the dog and the amount eaten), it can be dangerous and even fatal.
2007-02-08 21:24:20 · answer #6 · answered by tamara_cyan 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate can definitely kill dogs, or anything else with any caffeine (even a little). It is because dogs have a different metabolism than us, so a lot of foods that we can eat and we're fine with, dogs can't.
2007-02-08 21:58:46 · answer #7 · answered by julia 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes chocolate can kill dogs. Some dogs can handle it better than others. My grandma's dogs eat chocolate all the time. On the other hand my friends dog got into a chocolate cake and it died.
2007-02-08 21:25:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 2⤋
yes, chocolate can kill your dog, but only if it eats a lot of it.
2007-02-08 22:59:31 · answer #9 · answered by Maddie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes it can kill the dog, the most deadly kind is dark chocolate...hope it was not dark chocolate :S
2007-02-08 21:24:09 · answer #10 · answered by Bob R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋