Although chocolate is a tasty treat for humans, there are many reasons why you should never give your dog chocolate. Chocolate contains a compound called theobromine that dogs can’t metabolize and it acts like poison.
However, it’s important to understand a bit more about how chocolate can affect the health of your pet dog.
Chocolate poisoning in dogs
According to research published in the medical journal BMJ, chocolate takes about 18 hours to be metabolized in the liver. During this time, toxins build up in the liver that can poison your dog.
Chocolate can affect your dog’s central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and breathing. The worst kind of chocolate you can feed a dog is dark chocolate because it contains the highest quantity of theobromine.[1]
According to researchers, even a small 3.5-oz (100g) piece of dark chocolate is enough to have a fatal effect on a 22-pound (10kg) dog.
Signs of chocolate poisoning
What are the tell-tale signs that your pooch has consumed chocolate? Symptoms that your dog has chocolate poisoning usually happen within 2 hours of ingesting chocolate and can include any of the following:
- Vomiting and possibly vomiting blood in extreme cases
- Irritability or hyperactivity
- Excessive panting
- Muscle twitching
- Seizures
Is It True That You Can’t Give a Dog Any Chocolate at All?
Usually, a small amount of chocolate won’t cause any lasting harm to a large dog. It’s also good to know that different types of chocolate contain different levels of theobromine.
Dark chocolate contains that highest levels of theobromine and should never be given to a dog. There can be as much as 20 mg per gram of chocolate. Milk chocolate contains about 2 mg/g and white chocolate only contains about 0.1 mg/g.
However, to look after your dog’s health, you should always err on the side of caution and never feed chocolate to your dog. If you discover that your pet dog has eaten chocolate behind your back, you should call your local veterinarian immediately.
It’s also important to remember that mulch you spread on your garden can contain cocoa shells that also have high levels of theobromine. So, you should avoid putting that in your garden if you have dogs at home.
Source: [1] BMJ. 2005 Sep 17; 331(7517): 633.