Why is giving chocolate to your dog bad?

Question

i dont do it, but i was just curious.

Answer 1

Unfortunately for dogs chocolate tastes really, really good, but chocolate is not really poisonous, not like cyanide. That doesn't change the fact that it can kill your dog. It is theobromine that is harmful to dogs, if you can find chocolate without it you'll have the happiest dog in town. Theobromine is a stimulant found in the coca plant. People often get theobromine confused with caffeine, while they have similar effects, eating a piece of chocolate will not give a human the rush a cup of coffee does. Chocolate will still give a sugar rush, but don't eat it if you're up late studying for an exam.


Dogs and horses are greatly affected by theobromine. Chocolate is a banned substance in horse racing because of the boost it will give to the horse. Of course a horse can still eat too much of it, like a dog, but they're significantly bigger animals and it would take much more chocolate.


Your dogs system will try to purge itself of the theobromine if it gets enough of it. One tiny piece won't cause any significant damage, unless your dog eats a shoe while 'high' on chocolate. You'll notice if they've had too much. Aside from the dog crying it will be vomiting and have diarrhea. If you notice these symptoms you should have your animal checked out immediately. Your dog will probably not die from these symptoms, they are just warning signs. The concern comes from the dog's heart, especially if it is an older dog. The dogs heart my beat too fast and just give out, that's the real danger. An increased heart rate will probably come after the vomiting and diarrhea, when more theobromine has had a chance to be absorbed into the blood steam. Other signs to watch for are increased urination (another method the body will use to purge itself of something), muscle twitching, and excessive panting. Chocolate could kill your dog, cause seizures or put it in a coma, so be careful.

Answer 2

Giving Dogs Chocolate

Answer 3

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Answer 4

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Hi, Yes it is bad to allow a dog to eat chocolate because chocolate is poison to dogs.

Answer 5

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RE:
Why is giving chocolate to your dog bad?
i dont do it, but i was just curious.

Answer 6

I must admit, our dogs eat chocolate all the time! We've caught our St. Bernard eating an unattended chocolate cake left on the counter one time. She never had any problems after that, other than begging for more food. Our Golden Retriever, who is nearly 9 yrs old, has eaten chocolate since she was a puppy. Neither of our dogs have a problem with it. I'm beginning to think they have iron stomaches. However, they also got into a bag of fireworks one year, and ate a whole pack of firecrackers! No digestive problems there, either!

While I most DEFINITELY would not advise anyone to feed their dogs chocolate without their vets' consent (and I'm not I know of a vet who would give their consent), our dogs obviously have no problem with chocolate.

Answer 7

Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic. When affected by an overdose of chocolate, a dog can become excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhea are also common. The effect of theobromine on the heart is the most dangerous effect. Theobromine will either increase the dog’s heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially with exercise. Symptoms of chocolate poisoning include: vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, hyperactivity, irregular heartbeat and seizures.

Larger quantities of chocolate can poison or even kill a medium or large dog. An ounce or two of chocolate may not seem like much but it can be lethal to a small dog that weighs 10 lbs. or less. After their dog has eaten a large quantity of chocolate, many pet owners assume their pet is unaffected. However, the signs of sickness may not be seen for several hours, with death following within twenty-four hours.

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 8

The active ingredient in chocolate is theobromine, and it's poisonous to dogs. There's more of it in dark chocolate than milk chocolate. A crumb of milk chocolate and a lick or two of chocolate ice cream isn't much of a problem, but a whole Hershey's bar or a half pint of chocolate Hagen-Daz will make your dog very very sick.

The smaller the dog, the more dangerous it is.

Answer 9

I'm glad you don't feed your dog chocolate. Chocolate can harm the dog in two ways:

First, the stimulant in the chocolate can cause the dog's heart rate to increase to dangerous levels.

Second, the sugar can cause a reaction similar to a diabetic coma.

Earlier this year, my Chihuahua died from accidental chocolate poisoning, despite great veterinary care from a veterinary specialty hospital. His brain swelled, which can cause permanent brain damage.

We miss him a lot. Even though it was a terrible accident, I still feel terrible about it. If his death can serve as a warning to other dog owners, I'll feel better.

Please, make sure that your dog doesn't get into chocolate.

Answer 10

Chocolate contains a naturally-occuring chemical called Theobromine. It is toxic to dogs.