I've seen my neighbour feeding her dog chocolate and i have heard dog's are not supposed to eat it. Why is this?
2007-03-02 11:00:17 · 25 answers · asked by moral Lulabella 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
Chocolates contain theobromine, a stimulant found in the cocoa bean which is what is harmful to the animal. Theobromine is not to be confused with caffeine as it does not contain caffeine and is not as useful for a rush that a cup of coffee gives you during a late night preparation for an examination at school.
The two animals that are greatly affected by theobromine are dogs and horses. Theobromine acts as a boost in horses and as such is a banned substance in horse racing. Unlike dogs, horses can put up with a higher quantity of chocolate since it is a bigger animal.
A small piece of chocolate may not make any visible impact on dogs unless of course the animal eats something else while 'high' on chocolate. However, large doses of chocolate may make the dog’s system purge the theobromine that is damaging to the animal. Apart from crying the dog may vomit and may have diarrhea also. Other symptoms of large doses of chocolates are increased urination in the animal and muscle twitching and excessive panting.
However, the dog may not die from these symptoms. They are just warning signals. If one ignores those symptoms and does not take the animal to a vet eventually its heart may beat too fast and can give out. This is especially so in older dogs. Usually the increased heartbeat may follow the initial symptoms, when the excessive theobromine gets absorbed into the blood stream. Hopefully now you know why chocolates are not meant for dogs. It could kill the poor animal, put it in a comma, or cause seizures. Be careful!!
2007-03-02 11:17:17 · answer #1 · answered by Jessica♥sRRidgebacks 3 · 5⤊ 0⤋
As the others have said it is poisonous their digestive systems cannot cope, All my dogs have had chocolate at one time or another but it was English chocolate which has very little of the real stuff in it. Look in wikapedia for details. Best to avoid giving the dog access to it.
Captflapd my dog says he loves steak and as part of a balanced diet he wants to keep eating it. As he is 13 next week I shall give in
2007-03-02 11:10:43 · answer #2 · answered by chewystuff 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate is highly poisonous to dogs. I'm not too sure why but if my collie dog has even a chocolate button she has a fit. Best thing to do is buy doggy chocolate drops the are much cheaper and they have none of the toxins that normal chocolate has
2007-03-02 12:40:29 · answer #3 · answered by nik2bitch 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It contains a chemical called theobromine that is poisonous to all animals and even small doses can kill pets.
Humans have an unusually high tolerance to the poison as far as the amount we can eat per pound of bodyweight but if you ate about 12 pounds of chocolate(pounds in weight not money)you would get a lethal dose.
Not many people can eat that much choc though lol.
2007-03-02 16:33:26 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
My mom has a veterinary book, and it says why, but I don't remember exactly why.
One ounce of dark chocolate is deadly in little dogs, and like a pound of dark chocolate is in big dogs. The more cocoa in it the worse it is. If I ate that much at one sitting, I'd be pretty sick myself. I wouldn't give chocolate at all to little dogs, but I give my big one a chocolate chip cookie, a touch of chocolate ice cream, and a brownie once in a while.
2007-03-02 12:43:27 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate is poisonous to dogs, but usually they have to eat alot. The real danger is dark baker's chocolate. A fairly small amount can kill a dog.
Your neighbor is very irresponsible. Dogs should never eat human food.
2007-03-02 11:05:36 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The caffiene and theobromine cause problems in a dog's system. Specifically, they mess with the central nervous system, the heart, and the urinary tract. Just read the article by following the link. It tells you what happens and why. It also tells you how much of specific types of chocolates will cause a problem..
2007-03-02 11:07:11 · answer #7 · answered by Erica Lynn 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate is pure poison to a dog but it will take a long time before it takes effect and dont ever even let your dog taste chocolate it will get addicted and it will kill him
2007-03-02 11:39:33 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Depending on the breed, the chocalate can be toxic, even in small doses. They can't process the antioxidants like people can. It's just not a good idea to give any dog choccalate.
2007-03-02 11:07:35 · answer #9 · answered by Teel H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Chocolate is toxic to dogs. It has too much caffiene and can cause heart problems and other problems with the dog's nervous system.
2007-03-02 11:05:23 · answer #10 · answered by lori_beth116 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋