Chocolate

[horse_1987]

All of the "dog people" I talk to say chocolate kills dogs If this is true how?

[Karen]

From "The Straight Dope": "Chocolate is the third most common cause of poisoning in dogs. Certain chemicals in chocolate, notably caffeine and theobromine, can cause erratic heartbeat and in large enough doses can kill your pup."

I know a dog who has eaten chocolate (brownies) and lived, but he was very very sick, and threw up a lot, even after he had rid his digestive system of any of the brownies. His owners got lucky in that they caiught him in the act, before he could finish the whole plate of brownies, which is probably the only reason their pup is around today.

[RachelJ]

Onions are also toxic to dogs. One lady fed her dog left-over liver and onions and the dog got critically ill.

[ownerof3dogs]

Felice ate a 2 pound chocolate Easter bunny when I first got her. It didn't kill her or make her sick. I heard that only cooking chocolate kills

[Daisy's Mom]

I keep chocolate away from Daisy as good as I can but she's a little sneak... once she stole a whole bag of Oreos from some workers building a house across our field and ate the whole box! I freaked out but I guess Oreos don't have very much real chocolate in them because she was fine She has also stolen a few bites of chocolate cake abd every time we have been lucky... but I watched an Emergency Vets show once - great show on Animal Planet!! - and a big beautiful golden retriever died from eating chocolate It was so sad! Don't let your doggie eat chocolate!

[trihok]

ya..don't ever let ur doggie eat anything that contain chocolate. my friend doggie die after eating chocolate cookie.

[AdoreMyDogs]

I have been told milk chocolate is the least most toxic to dogs and bittersweet is the most dangerous, lethal and deadly to dogs. I am not sure if that is true but I do trust the source it came from. There's a higher concentration of the deadly "stuff" in the bittersweet then there is in the milk.

I took Graham to the salon with me to get my haircut last week (they love him to pieces there) and I was letting him visit with a little boy in the salon and the boy (without my noticing) gave him a few licks of the hot cocoa he had in a cup. He got my attention by saying, "hey, Graham likes hot cocoa" I think that was Graham's first taste of chocolate and I was glad he did not get very much before I came running over telling him to NEVER give any dog chocolate and that it's very bad for them. I told that little kid that it's bad to give a dog unhealthy food on a regular basis, but told him how much worse chocolate is then anything. Thankfully Graham did not get sick, but I think he only got a few licks of it.

Since I worked at a vet for so long I did see alot of dogs poisoned. I remember this poor golden ret. pup that nearly killed itself by eating chocolate, it was in the vet on IV fluids for several days because it's kidneys were just shot. Then it finally went home, much thinner and still weak, but ALIVE...a week later the poor pup with eating problems, ate it's flea collar and, again, nearly killed itself. The pup was only about 12 weeks old. I bet those poor owners have their work cut out for them with that lil pup!

[b10OML]

I believe that dogs have co-existed with humans for such a long time that they are able to eat anything that we can eat.

For sure some human food is not good for dogs. And I think dogs can eat chocolate although they shouldn't.

I know some writers (eg AdoreMyDogs) have provided evidence as to how dangerous chocolate is. However as a child, I used to share giant Easter-eggs and all sorts with my dogs and they were fine.

I am not saying chocolate is good for dogs. I am sure it is very bad for them. I just don't think it's dangerous.

Incidently, before modern treatments for worms, people used to feed their dogs onions.

[tatsxxx11]

"Adore" is correct. The darker the chocolate, the more toxic. The lighter choc.'s have more cocoa fat and less theobromine. White choc. is all cocoa fat, and so is the least toxic. I know many who have in the past, out of ignorance, fed their dogs choc. with no ill effects. However....WHY take such a risk?? So many other treats for them to enjoy!

[Karen]

b10OML, it IS dangerous. Yes, the milk chocolate that you fed your dog may have had little ill effect, but unless you know the actual chocoalte content, and how much of the "poisonous" stuff is in it, you should NOT take the chance! If I remeber correctly, much of the "chocolate" kids got in their easter baskets is either milk chocolate or "chocolate flavored" if you read the label correctly, but you should NEVER take the chance with your dog's life. I wouldn't let someone I loved eat something that maybe just has a "little" poison in it, would you? Chocolate can and has killed dogs, and will continue to do so, much to the horror of their owners. Their digestive system IS different than ours, no matter how much they live with us, and become "human" in our eyes, they are still canines biologically.

[BoxerLover]

Horse_1987, look at your dog grooming post.

[diandra]

I am thinking that, perhaps the bigger the dead the better they may be able to digest it.

[b10OML]

Ok you guys may be right. In the provet sight (sorry I can't drag the heart icon or remember how I found it) it says :
Just like us, dogs and some cats find chocolate highly palatable but it is important to avoid giving too much. There are some minor problems that can result from too much chocolate :

Chocolate is high in calories so it can contribute to the development of obesity
Dogs fed chocolate regularly are predisposed to develop tooth decay (caries) because of the high sugar content
Too much chocolate can reduce the animals appetite for it's normal ration
Chocolate contains the chemical theobromine - which is toxic, and potentially lethal to dogs and cats. One reason for this is that dogs are unable to clear theobromine from their bodies as quickly as humans can.
The signs of chocolate poisoning due to the theobromine toxicity include :

Increased urine production (diuresis)

Diarrhoea

Vomiting

Lethargy

Depression

Muscle tremors

Death

The official LD50 (a measure of the toxicity of a product) of theobromine in dogs is 240-500 mg/kg body weight of the animal. But there is a report of a dog dying after eating only 114 mg/kg body weight.

Milk chocolate contains about 1.5mg theobromine per gram, and unsweetened baking chocolate contains upto 15mg per gram. So potentially toxic levels can be reached in a 10kg dog by eating only 2.2oz (63grams) of unsweetened cooking chocolate, or 23.5 oz (1.5lb or 670 grams) of milk chocolate.

[*BaSim*]

One Time my neighbors dog had gotton into a bag of reses peanut butter cups an the dog was fine .... my dog gets chocolate chip cookies

[tatsxxx11]

diandra.. Did you mean "the bigger the DOG" in your last post??

BaSim...I'm sure there are other "cookies" that your dog would like as well as one's containing chocolate!! WHY take such a needless risk???? Each cookie alone may not be immediately harmful. However, if theobromine is not readily digestable or quickly broken down by dogs, there could be a toxic reaction from a cumulative effect over a period of time. Please consider another treat! I FREAKED the other day because one of my dog's got into trash with a LOT of onions. (Not nearly as toxic as chocolate) I'm sure you love your dog to pieces and like myself, would do anything to make sure I kept my dog as healthy as possible!