Chocolate

[rotnhouse]

I have always been told that chocolate is very toxic to dogs. I was just at Petsmart and noticed that they have the racks at the checkout aisles stocked with all sorts of chocolate candy, all at doggy level. I asked the cashier, and she informed me that actually, only baking chocolate is toxic to dogs. Is that true?

[mmilard]

That is what I have heard as well. That baking chocolate is bad for them. Would like to know the same thing.

[Judi W]

She is fairly correct. The element that is toxic is barely present if at all in regular milk chocolate and I don't think is present in carob.

[moondog]

Not exactly, but sort of....

It's the theobromine found in chocolate, cocoa beans, cocoa bean hulls, cola, and tea, is responsible for the poisoning effect in dogs. Dogs are unable to metabolize this element quickly enough to prevent poisoning. The lethal dose of this agent is determined by weight and falls roughly into the category of 250-500 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. This equates to approximately 2/3 to 1 1/3 oz bakers chocolate for every 2.2 pounds though signs of poisoning begin to appear at a much lower ingestion levels.

THEOBROMINE content per ounce of chocolate (by type):
MILK CHOCOLATE 44-66 milligrams per ounce
UNSWEETENED BAKING CHOCOLATE 450 milligrams per ounce
CACAO MEAL 300-900 milligrams per ounce
CACAO BEANS 300-1200 milligrams per ounce
HOT CHOCOLATE 13 milligrams per ounce

A Rottweiler would have to eat quite a bit of chocolate to suffer any ill effects.

[rotnhouse]

I knew I could count on you guys! Thanks!

[MontanaRott]

Thanks Patty, not that I plan to start feeding the dogs chocolate, but seeing it broken down like that, sure will save hitting the panic button, should one of them get a piece.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Thank you for posting that Patty. It's good to know how much a dog would need to injest before it became a problem. Julius has so far not gotten into any chocolate, but like Shirley said, if he does I would be as freaked out.


Brooke

[StephanieandToby]

I'm glad I'm not a dog because I don't think I could live without eating chocolate!!In fact, I'm eating some right now...and Toby's not getting ANY! I also heard that it was the dark chocolate that was worse for dogs but I wouldn't feed my dog anything that has sugar in it anyways...!

[moondog]

The more pure the chocolate, the more theobromine it contains....hence the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is. The dogs that are most at risk are the little guys that don't weigh much. If you think about it, you use 1-2 oz of baker's chocolate to make an whole batch of brownies, so that's 450-900mg of theobromine. My dog is 43kg, so the lethal dose for her would be from 10,750-21,500mg of theobromine. She would have to eat almost TWENTY-FOUR trays of brownies to receive a lethal dose. Candy contains a more concentrated amount of chocolate, so the numbers wouldn't be that exaggerated, but the example illustrates how large a volume of chocolate it takes for a dog to consume a lethal dose. My dog still isn't getting any!

[MARYDVM]

The chocolate in a bag of candy won't kill your dog, but I can guarantee you will see some effects. The GI disturbance can be pretty impressive - especially when little bits of foil wrappers are shooting out both ends.

[RottiMomCT]

Funny you mention the bits of foil shooting out both ends...hubby tells me of a cocker spaniel they had a long time ago that ate an entire bag of hershey kisses in the pretty pastel easter foil...he laughs now telling us of the very pretty poops the poor dog left on the lawn.

No ill effects other than vomit and diarrhea...she lived to be about 14!!

Ben has gotten a bite of brownie on a very very rare occassion when I make brownie sundaes...he gets mostly ice cream but there is always a little bite of brownie in there for him as well...spoiled dog!

[rotnhouse]

Originally Posted by MARYDVM

The chocolate in a bag of candy won't kill your dog, but I can guarantee you will see some effects. The GI disturbance can be pretty impressive

Then considering the reason for my question, it seems irresponsible for Petsmart to put chocolate candies in the checkout lanes in easy reach of dogs of ALL sizes. Sure, they might not die, but I'll bet the owner of that little teacup poodle will raise quite a fuss when FiFi has

little bits of foil wrappers are shooting out both ends.

[mmgy]

Originally Posted by RottiMomCT

a cocker spaniel they had a long time ago that ate an entire bag of hershey kisses in the pretty pastel easter foil... !

Been there, done that. Except it was red, green, and gold Reese's cup Christmas wrappers. Made it a snap to find his poop for the next few days, but Jake (our "chocolate" lab) was on a sugar high till New Year's.

Jake actually ate two bags, so we dosed hydrogen peroxide till he threw up a good portion. Then he took Pepto Bismol for a couple of days. Once the sugar effect passed, he still felt rough for a day or two.

I'd really worry about that with smaller dogs........I don't think Petsmart ought to have chocolate candy in their stores period. The risk is too great.

[chivas]

Chivas loved chocolate and got 1 hershey's kiss weekly. I could leave chocolate out and she wouldnt touch it, she knew she was getting her kiss soon!!!

[frontierrots]

My friend's 30" 120lb Rott mix ate 60 oz of chocolate chips yesterday (he took them off the TOP of the cupboard supposedly well out of dog reach, as in over 5' off the ground, )

She fed him some peroxide to make him puke (which he did all night long) and charcoal. He lived through the night but it was touch and go. Vomit and diarrhea all night long.

He won't eat anything at all not even bread and finally has solid poop but he is very clingy and under the weather today

This dog steals things from waay high up. Tall Gates are going up as soon as possible to keep him out of the kitchen