Chocolate is certainly one of the preferred foods for many of us who have a sweet tooth, so why is chocolate bad for dogs?
Basically, it comes down to two of the main ingredients which can be found in chocolate, caffeine, and theobromine.
These two ingredients alone can have a devastating effect on your beloved dog’s health if consumed. Of course, there are many different factors involved from the size of your pal and to the amount ingested. To learn more please read on.
At perfectpuppypal.com, we are not qualified veterinarians or animal nutritionists. The information that we provide is general and educational information only and is not a substitute for professional advice.
Chocolate contains toxic substances
As mentioned above the two toxic substances found in chocolate that could prove to be extremely harmful to your friend’s health are caffeine and theobromine. Let’s take a look at why these substances are fine for us as humans to consume but for our four-legged friends can have serious health consequences.
Caffeine is a stimulant that is found in some of the most popular human beverages especially coffee, tea, or soda. In all honesty, caffeine is not a fantastic substance for us to ingest regularly, and in moderation the harmful side effects are limited. But for our much smaller pets only the smallest amount of caffeine can cause their heart to race beyond control, additionally, they can become jittery and agitated.
Theobromine which is similar to caffeine in chemical structure can be highly toxic for dogs. Your four-legged friend’s body does not have the ability to metabolise or break down theobromine as we can.
Theobromine can affect your pal’s kidneys, heart, guts, and central nervous system and if consumed in larger quantities has the possibility to become fatal.
Depending on the amount consumed it can take as little as 30-60 minutes for your furry friend to start showing symptoms, these include hyperactivity, restlessness, vomiting (sometimes with blood), tremors, and even seizures.
Dogs size
Of course, your best friend’s size can determine if the effects of consuming chocolate can have a detrimental effect on their health. The smaller the dog, then the smaller amount ingested can be dangerous for the health of your pup.
Imagine if an 80-kilo Doberman was to ingest just a chunk or two of your favourite chocolate bar, then they normally wouldn’t show any adverse effects at all, but if the same amount was eaten by your 3 kilo Chihuahua then it could potentially be a totally different story altogether.
Different types of chocolate
Chocolate comes in many shapes and forms and if you are unaware also comes in many different grades or types. Some of us prefer the purer dark chocolate while many are big fans of the lighter milk chocolate variety.
For your pooch the consumption of any type of chocolate is ill-advised but more specifically the darker types, these darker versions contain significantly higher amounts of substances which are toxic and extremely difficult to break down for your pup.
How much consumed
There are many different calculations out there that experts use to determine whether your pal has eaten too much chocolate or not.
It is said that theobromine levels of about 100 milligrams consumed per kilo of your dog’s weight could prove to be very toxic to your pal’s health. This means, for example, if your pal weighs in at about 15 kilograms then the consumption of just 1500 milligrams of theobromine which can be present in a 250g bar of dark chocolate could be fatal.
What to do if your dog has gotten into the easter egg stash!
If you have woken up in the morning and found that a substantial or just a little part of your favourite chocolate stash has mysteriously gone missing overnight which your furry friend could have had access to then monitor them immediately.
If you think that Fido was the one who has done the damage to your favourite treat then I recommend a swift trip to the vets even if no side effects are seen immediately.
Preventative measures
I find it best to try to keep anything chocolate-related well out of reach of your four-legged friend’s grasp. Dogs will always do their best to try to eat anything and everything they can get their chompers into. So, when storing what we would call everyday essentials in your home be sure to keep them out of your best pal’s reach.
As always if you have had any experience with your furry friend having had problems after eating some chocolate and would like to share what you went through then please feel free to leave a comment below.