Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs

Small animal veterinarians are seeing increasing number of dogs with chocolate toxicity as more of us are eating the ‘healthier’ dark chocolate. Unfortunately your dog only needs to eat 1/3 as much dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate to become seriously ill.

In this article, I will show you why chocolate is toxic, the types and amounts that will cause poisoning, the symptoms of toxicity, and what you can do if your pet consumes chocolate:

The toxic components in chocolate are caffeine and theobromine.

The theobromine is found in high concentrations in chocolate, and causes most of the clinical signs in dogs. Theobromine affects your dog’s intestinal system, nervous system (brain), cardiovascular system (heart and lungs), and the kidneys.

The symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs are based upon the amount of chocolate eaten, the type of chocolate, and the time since it was ingested.

The most common sign after your dogs eat chocolate are gastro-intestinal, meaning stomach upset, bloating, vomiting and diarrhea. Not uncommonly you may see hyperactivity, restlessness, elevated heart rate and increased drinking and urinating. The most serious signs are when the nervous system is affected; these may show up as tremors, seizures, increased breathing rate, high body temperature ( hyperthermia) and coma.

The toxic and potentially fatal dose of chocolate is 60 mg/kg–so a 10 lb dog only needs to consume 300 mg of chocolate. Clinical Signs can be seen as low as 20 mg/kg-=meaning a small 10 lb dog only needs to consume 100 mg to have problems. Severe signs are seen at 40 mg/kg–or consuming 200 mg of chocolate.

Let’s look at how much theobromine is in certain types of chocolate, then we can best know if you need to be concerned about chocolate poisoning in your dog if he has eaten some. A 5 oz milk chocolate bar contains 250 mg of theobromine, a dark chocolate bar contains 600 mg. Unsweetened baking chocolate contains 400 mg theobromine per square, Semisweet chocolate chips (30 chips), 250 mg. Dry cocoa powder contains 700 mg of theobromine per ounce.

A poodle weighing 10 lbs can be fatally poisoned by as little as one milk chocolate bar containing 250 mg of theobromine. A 75 lb larger breed dog, such as a Golden Retriever, would need to eat to eat 8 milk chocolate bars to become seriously ill. On the other hand, the dark chocolate and baker’s chocolate are far more toxic; the 75 lb Golden retriever only needs to consume 3 of the dark chocolate bars to be fatally poisoned.

If your dog eats any amount of chocolate, the first thing is to figure out how much has been consumed. Then, based on the type of chocolate, determine if your pet has eaten a potentially toxic amount. If the dose of chocolate is 20 mg per kg of theobromine or higher, you should be seeing your veterinarian and inducing vomiting, or doing this at home. So this means that if your 10 lb (5 kg) poodle eats a milk chocolate bar, then induce vomiting as he has eaten more than 200 mg of theobromine. I have calculated this dose by multiplying the poodle’s weight of 5 kg times the toxic dose amount of 20 mg/kg giving a level of 200 mg.

The method I prefer to induce vomiting is by giving (3 percent) hydrogen peroxide at 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight. If your pet doesn’t vomit in 10 minutes, repeat again. I advise to never do more than 2 treatments of peroxide. You can also try salt: dilute 1 teaspoon of salt in a tablespoon of water per every 10 lbs of body weight. If you are unable to induce vomiting, if your dog is showing any serious signs such as tremors, seizures, excessive vomiting, diarrhea, or you are at all unsure please see your veterinarian.

You can now see how even a small amount of chocolate can cause serious problems to your dog. As a responsible dog owner, you should be aware of the types of chocolate, and the amounts of chocolate to cause poisoning in your dog. You should be able to recognize the symptoms of chocolate toxicity, and know how to induce vomiting if your dog is to eat toxic levels of chocolate.”

Small animal veterinarians are seeing increasing number of dogs with chocolate toxicity as more of us are eating the ‘healthier’ dark chocolate. Unfortunately your dog only needs to eat 1/3 as much dark chocolate as opposed to milk chocolate to become seriously ill.

In this article, I will show you why chocolate is toxic, the types and amounts that will cause poisoning, the symptoms of toxicity, and what you can do if your pet consumes chocolate:

The toxic components in chocolate are caffeine and theobromine.

The theobromine is found in high concentrations in chocolate, and causes most of the clinical signs in dogs. Theobromine affects your dog’s intestinal system, nervous system (brain), cardiovascular system (heart and lungs), and the kidneys.

The symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs are based upon the amount of chocolate eaten, the type of chocolate, and the time since it was ingested.

The most common sign after your dogs eat chocolate are gastro-intestinal, meaning stomach upset, bloating, vomiting and diarrhea. Not uncommonly you may see hyperactivity, restlessness, elevated heart rate and increased drinking and urinating. The most serious signs are when the nervous system is affected; these may show up as tremors, seizures, increased breathing rate, high body temperature ( hyperthermia) and coma.

The toxic and potentially fatal dose of chocolate is 60 mg/kg–so a 10 lb dog only needs to consume 300 mg of chocolate. Clinical Signs can be seen as low as 20 mg/kg-=meaning a small 10 lb dog only needs to consume 100 mg to have problems. Severe signs are seen at 40 mg/kg–or consuming 200 mg of chocolate.

Let’s look at how much theobromine is in certain types of chocolate, then we can best know if you need to be concerned about chocolate poisoning in your dog if he has eaten some. A 5 oz milk chocolate bar contains 250 mg of theobromine, a dark chocolate bar contains 600 mg. Unsweetened baking chocolate contains 400 mg theobromine per square, Semisweet chocolate chips (30 chips), 250 mg. Dry cocoa powder contains 700 mg of theobromine per ounce.

A poodle weighing 10 lbs can be fatally poisoned by as little as one milk chocolate bar containing 250 mg of theobromine. A 75 lb larger breed dog, such as a Golden Retriever, would need to eat to eat 8 milk chocolate bars to become seriously ill. On the other hand, the dark chocolate and baker’s chocolate are far more toxic; the 75 lb Golden retriever only needs to consume 3 of the dark chocolate bars to be fatally poisoned.

If your dog eats any amount of chocolate, the first thing is to figure out how much has been consumed. Then, based on the type of chocolate, determine if your pet has eaten a potentially toxic amount. If the dose of chocolate is 20 mg per kg of theobromine or higher, you should be seeing your veterinarian and inducing vomiting, or doing this at home. So this means that if your 10 lb (5 kg) poodle eats a milk chocolate bar, then induce vomiting as he has eaten more than 200 mg of theobromine. I have calculated this dose by multiplying the poodle’s weight of 5 kg times the toxic dose amount of 20 mg/kg giving a level of 200 mg.

The method I prefer to induce vomiting is by giving (3 percent) hydrogen peroxide at 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight. If your pet doesn’t vomit in 10 minutes, repeat again. I advise to never do more than 2 treatments of peroxide. You can also try salt: dilute 1 teaspoon of salt in a tablespoon of water per every 10 lbs of body weight. If you are unable to induce vomiting, if your dog is showing any serious signs such as tremors, seizures, excessive vomiting, diarrhea, or you are at all unsure please see your veterinarian.

You can now see how even a small amount of chocolate can cause serious problems to your dog. As a responsible dog owner, you should be aware of the types of chocolate, and the amounts of chocolate to cause poisoning in your dog. You should be able to recognize the symptoms of chocolate toxicity, and know how to induce vomiting if your dog is to eat toxic levels of chocolate.”