Building up a chocolate tolerance?

**applesmom** · 02-28-2007, 12:18 AM

Originally Posted by Flatcoatluver

What kind of licensed vet would say that? It makes no sense! It's like asking us to drink antifreeze or taking meds, and gradually having a larger intake everyday.

Sorry, we were typing at the same time!

**Flatcoatluver** · 02-28-2007, 12:32 AM

Originally Posted by applesmom

Sorry, we were typing at the same time!

We both thought antifreeze at the same time? What are the changes of that!

**Canis-Lupess** · 02-28-2007, 09:50 AM

Sheesh, what a stupid thing to say.

The only reason humans can deal with chocolate and not dogs or cats, if they were interested in it, is because our bodies can expell the stimulants before it does harm to us. Dogs and cats aren't able to do this, it stays in their systems a lot longer and so can do the damage. Eating a bit of chocolate each day isn't going to change that.

The best thing for people to do is keep all cocoa and chocolate meant for people well out of reach of their pets. It isn't difficult really to keep stuff like that in an upper cupboard where a pet can't get to it.

**sumbirdy** · 02-28-2007, 03:17 PM

Originally Posted by Canis-Lupess

Sheesh, what a stupid thing to say.

The only reason humans can deal with chocolate and not dogs or cats, if they were interested in it, is because our bodies can expell the stimulants before it does harm to us. Dogs and cats aren't able to do this, it stays in their systems a lot longer and so can do the damage. Eating a bit of chocolate each day isn't going to change that.

The best thing for people to do is keep all cocoa and chocolate meant for people well out of reach of their pets. It isn't difficult really to keep stuff like that in an upper cupboard where a pet can't get to it.

I thought they were allergic to something in it...

**carole** · 02-28-2007, 04:10 PM

Dark chocolate can indeed be fatal to dogs, milk chocolate can be tolerated without any serious adverse effects, but honestly i think that vet is missing a few marbles up top myself, a very strange thing to tell someone to do, sure hope he told her not the dark chocolate.

**Canis-Lupess** · 02-28-2007, 04:20 PM

It is ths stimulant theobromine that is toxic to dogs. Basically, it affects the heart, causing it to speed up or beat irregularly. This is what can make the dog ill or even die if it causes the heart to stop. Exercise can bring this on.

If the human body didn't expell it faster, the same would probably happen to us too.

Milk chocolate is still dangerous to a degree but a dog can eat more of that than dark chocolate to be affected by theobromine poisoning.
I have heard of dogs get ill or even die just from eating some milk chocolate too.
I read about two english bulldogs who died within minutes of each other half an hour after being fed a piece of sponge cake with a bit of chocolate on top. They were champion showdogs too. The owner had several more and was a breeder but, feeding their dogs crap like that, they weren't very responsible with regards to diet and every dog owner should know about the dangers of chocolate but some people refuse to believe it because they always fed their dog chocolate and it didn't do anything to it yet.....

The owner of the bulldogs stated how the male dog that died had been fed a bar of chocolate every evening all of his life, he was 7, and it had never done anything to him before. What idiot feeds their dogs a bar of chocolate every day?

**Taz_Zoee** · 02-28-2007, 05:21 PM

I sure hope this vet is not telling her to do this just to get her business when the dogs get sick.

And a dog ate a chocolate bar EVERY night for 7 years and lived THAT long?

That was luck!!!

Crazy!!!