Whats wrong with dogs eating chocolate?

Question

Some one told me that if dogs eat chocolate they'll die. Is this true, or just some myth?

Answer 1

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

Answer 2

This is not a myth
a dog's metabolism is not like that of a human -- and the acids that are in a dog's stomach are of a type that when chocolate enters the stomach-- the combination of the dog's stomach acids and the chocolate creates a toxic enzime that --- if enough of it is ingested WILL kill them--- usually though--- this would take a very large amount---and the common thing here is that the dog gets extremely ill --- I do not know--- but have read and heard that this has also got a kind of accummulative effect and that the toxic enzime can take some while to pass out of their system !!

So, best thing here is to keep the chocolate away from SPOT !!!

Answer 3

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive.html This is the best answer I seen about dogs that eat chocolate I had a dog that lived to be 17 and ate chocolate kisses a whole plate (bag Full) not on purpose may I say we left and it was on the table. She got up there and ate it. But was fine that was when she was about 3. I would not feed my dog chocolate but if they have a reaction especially smaller dogs take them to the vet.

Answer 4

The risky ingredients in chocolate are caffeine and theobromine. If ingested, they can cause rapid heartbeat, hyperactivity, diarrhea, vomiting, tremors, increased urination, and even seizures. Many times there aren't any visible effects of chocolate ingestions for hours. But if you KNOW your dog ate chocolate, take him to the vet since death can occur within 24 hours. Here are some guidelines to how much chocolate can be harmful for your dog:
Milk Chocolate - 1 ounce per pound of body weight
Semi-Sweet Chocolate - 1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight
Baker's Chocolate - 1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight

Answer 5

it depends on what kind of chocolate what kind of dog and how much they eat. A good rule of thumb is to just not give the dog chocolate. Chocolate is toxic to dogs there is a chemical called therobromine in chocolate that can make them very sick and possibly die its is absorbed through the intestines and can cause liver damage and kidney failure and death Milk chocolate has the least then dark and finally bakers chocolate has the most.

Answer 6

They won't die unless you give them a lot. The reason you can't give them chocolate is because there is coca bean, kind of like an alcohol (not the alcohol that you're thinking of), but it's an ingredient in chocolate that dogs stomachs can't handle. That why they'll usually get sick when you feed it to them. Even though milk chocolate and dark chocolate aren't recommended for them, if you feel compelled to feed your dog chocolate, feed them white chocolate. White chocolate doesn't have the cocoa bean in it to make them sick. Hope this helps.

Answer 7

Its bad because the dogs don't digest the chocolate it just balls up and builds up in their system and that is not good for them. Although if they get into some it won't hurt them. I learned this from our vet, when our two dogs ate a box of valentines chocolate. It won't kill then in small amounts but large ones can be dangerous due to them not digesting it.

Answer 8

It's poisonous to them. I had a friend that accidentally dropped an M&M and her Chihuahua ate it. The poor thing died a couple hours later. I think that it wires them up and gives them a heart attack. But, you should never feed your dog chocolate. I have heard of some people giving their dogs chocolate and nothing happened. But, they were bigger dogs and I don't think that affects bigger dogs as much as the smaller breeds.

Answer 9

It's actually the cocoa in the chocolate - that's why dark chocolate is even worse for them! So don't only keep him away from chocolate - but also anything that contains a lot of cocoa. However they can eat a bit - A BIT! Although i wouldn't advise you to feed it to them on purpose.

Answer 10

Yup it's true, I saw a Good Morning America show that said if your dog eats a chocolate bar or something, you're supposed to make them throw up immediatly.

Answer 11

It's a poison to dogs, because it contains theobromine..

Cocoa and chocolate products may be toxic or lethal to dogs and other domestic animals such as horses because these animals metabolize theobromine more slowly than humans. The heart, central nervous system, and kidneys are affected. Early signs of theobromine poisoning in dogs include nausea and vomiting, restlessness, diarrhea, muscle tremors, and increased urination or incontinence. The treatment at this stage is to induce vomiting. Cardiac arrhythmias and seizures are symptoms of more advanced poisoning.

Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine. In general, theobromine levels are higher in dark chocolates (approximately 10 g/kg) than in milk chocolates (1-5 g/kg). Higher quality chocolate tends to contain more theobromine than lower quality chocolate. Cocoa beans naturally contain approximately 300-1200 mg/ounce theobromine (note how variable this is!).