Chocolate is Poisonous to Dogs

Did you know that human chocolate is poisonous to dogs?

Hopefully you have already seen our list of Foods to Avoid Feeding to Your Dog that can cause illness or sometimes even death in our four-legged friends.

At Easter time many of us will have at least one tempting chocolate Easter Egg lying around the house just waiting to be eaten. If your pet gets hold of your egg when you are not around then beware - chocolate is poisonous to dogs.

Theobromine, or chocolate, poisoning is actually one of the most commonly encountered poisonings in pet dogs.

Theobromine is found in chocolate, cocoa, cola and tea. A fatal dose of theobromine in a 10kg dog would be approx 65g of baking chocolate. Smaller amounts may not kill but can still cause serious poisoning.

To give an idea of theobromine content, milk chocolate has about 50 mg per ounce and baking chocolate has about 430 mg of theobromine per ounce.

The first signs of chocolate poisoning are vomiting, diarrhoea and nausea followed by heart problems and seizures.

• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Nausea
• Heart problems
• Seizures

If you think your dog may have chocolate poisoning you should do is get your dog to a vet straight away so that they can induce vomiting. If more than a couple of hours have passed, other treatment may be required.

Dogs do have a sweet tooth so it is your responsibility to keep all chocolate and cocoa products safely stored away so your pet cannot get to them.

What if your dog eats a small amount of chocolate or you are tempted to feed your pet just a small piece? A small amount may not have any obvious serious health effects but why risk it? Also, once your dog has a taste for chocolate they will definitely like it and may seek out more. So why show them what they are missing? For their own safety, it is best not to let your pet ever taste even a small amount of what they must not eat.

By Jenny Prevel

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