Contrary to what most people think, dogs are surprisingly fragile creatures and don’t have stomachs of steel. They’re prone to food allergies, indigestion, and many other intestinal issues. In addition to having to watch out for what you feed your dog for fear of allergies or sickness, there are also a number of foods that are toxic to dogs.
In terms of toxicity, chocolate is one of the deadliest things you can feed your dog. Unfortunately, most pet owners don’t even realize that chocolate is dangerous for dogs. While most people don’t deliberately feed chocolate to their dogs, it’s possible that they aren’t paying as much attention as they should be and your dog steals some from you. No matter how it happened, it’s important to act quickly if your dog ingests chocolate.
Why is Chocolate Toxic to Dogs?
Signs That Your Dog is Suffering From Chocolate Toxicity
What to Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate
How to Prevent Your Dog From Eating Chocolate
Why is Chocolate Toxic to Dogs?
There’s no doubt that chocolate is toxic to dogs. However, to fully understand the danger, it’s important to know why chocolate is deadly for dogs.
The main reason that chocolate can be toxic to dogs is because of two things - caffeine and theobromine. While small doses of these two things aren’t deadly to dogs, larger doses can be. Caffeine and theobromine, while being poisonous to dogs, aren’t actually toxic materials. Instead, it’s because dogs can’t process these materials that makes them deadly.
Humans, on the other hand, have no trouble processing caffeine and theobromine. We can process them without a second thought and with no inconvenience to our bodies. Dogs, however, are unable to process them as quickly, which means they stay in their systems longer and wreak havoc.
Essentially, caffeine and theobromine act as stimulants to speed up your dog’s heart rate and put it into overdrive. Their elevated heart rate until the chocolate leaves their system is sometimes enough to cause a heart attack or sudden cardiac arrest.
Are Certain Kinds of Chocolate Worse for Dogs?
The toxicity of different kinds of chocolate depends on the amount of caffeine and theobromine it contains. As a general rule, dark chocolate has a higher concentration of these ingredients. Here’s a list of different chocolates and their level of toxicity.
- Cacao powder or chocolate bars - deadliest
- Unsweetened bakers chocolate - second
- Semisweet chocolate - third
- Dark chocolate - fourth
- Milk chocolate - fifth
- White chocolate - least deadly
It’s important to read the nutritional facts label on your chocolate to see what the concentration of caffeine and theobromine is. In general, you should never let your dog eat any kind of chocolate, but some are certainly worse than others.
How Much Chocolate Does My Dog Have to Eat to be in Danger?
Once again, the deadliness of chocolate depends on the concentration of caffeine and theobromine, as well as the size of the dog eating it. The smaller the dog is, the more aggressively these ingredients attack its nervous and respiratory system.
In general, the equivalent of a small Hershey bar can be deadly to small dogs weighing less than 20 pounds. For medium-sized dogs, two and a half chocolate bars can be deadly, and for large dogs, three or four chocolate bars puts them in the danger zone.
If your dog ate chocolate, here’s a handy calculator so that you can calculate how deadly the chocolate is that your dog ate.
Signs That Your Dog is Suffering From Chocolate Toxicity
If your dog ate chocolate, it will start to show symptoms within several hours. The symptoms will worsen from hours six to twelve and will be at their worst at around the 20 to 24 hour mark. The symptoms can last up to three days depending on how much chocolate your dog ate. Here are some of the signs to watch out for to indicate chocolate poisoning.
- Nausea
- Diarrhea
- Vomiting
- Intestinal pain
- Excessive urination
- Rapid heartbeat
- Tremors
- Seizures
Remember, your dog will be experiencing symptoms of indigestion and cardiac arrest simultaneously. Watch out for any signs or symptoms related to those issues.
What to Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate
If your dog eats chocolate, the very first thing you should do is contact your local vet. Tell them that your dog ate chocolate and information pertinent to the situation. If you don’t have access to your local vet or if it’s after hours, you should contact the Animal Poison Control Center’s hotline that’s available 24/7/365. Their number is (855) 764-7661.
If you can’t get a hold of any medical professionals but you know your dog ate chocolate, the best thing you can do is get them to vomit. If they haven’t had time to process the chocolate, they will puke it up when you incite them to vomit.
How to Make Your Dog Throw Up
The only safe method to make a dog vomit at home is by using hydrogen peroxide, but you must have guidance from a professional vet because too much can be harmful.
The best course of action, however, is always to get your dog to the veterinarian as quickly as possible.
How to Prevent Your Dog From Eating Chocolate
No matter how hard you try, you’ll never be able to keep a constant eye on your dog. You’ll have to sleep and go to work sometimes, which means your dog will be unsupervised during various parts of the day. So, if you want to ensure your dogs are protected from the chocolate in your home, here are some tips and tricks.
- Store your chocolate in sealed containers that are dog-proof.
- Store all your chocolate in high cabinets out of reach of dogs.
- NEVER leave chocolate laying around unsupervised.
- Store all baked goods that contain chocolate, such as brownies and cookies, on a high shelf in dog-proof containers.
As long as you make sure your dog never has access to chocolate, you won’t have to worry about them eating it.
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