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Is Chocolate Really Bad for Dogs?

by Finy (follow)

For more recipes by Finy, check out my website: www.finysfood.blogspot.com.au/

Pet Care (148) Food & Treats (22) Dogs (165) Health (40) Questions (39) Feeding (28) Pet Health (15)

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We are always been told that chocolate is poisonous for dogs. I am wondering where does this comes from?

My whippet, Dash, used to jump on benches before he became blind. Now he walks around the house very slowly, and has sores all over his legs and nose where he bumps into things outside.

Anyway, back to chocolate! One day a friend brought me a big box of Lindt assorted chocolates.

She left and I went outside to say goodbye to her.

The next day I suddenly realised that my box of chocolates was not there! To my horror, I went outside and found the remains of the box, which had been sealed, and NO chocolates.

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Dash had eaten them all -it was a public holiday and I didnt know what to do.

So I did nothing.

And to my surprise, nothing happened! The mystery of what happened to the wrappers is still not explained as each chocolate was wrapped in a wrapper and I did not find these.

Some months later, my son was coming to stay from another State. I bought him a chocolate cake from a trendy baker, and put it in the pantry. I picked my son up from the airport, went to make coffee and in my pantry was a whole lot of crumbs on the floor.

This is the chocolate cake my dog ate the whole lot of

Once again Dash had jumped up and obviously pulled down the cake and eaten the whole lot.

Photo: saraegoodman.blogspot.com

This time I was furious but did not worry quite so much.

All this leads me to, why do they say chocolate is poisonous to dogs?

For a small dog he has eaten a lot of chocolate in one go, and was not in the slightest sick, nor did he have diarrhea .

Photo: woodeyerather.wordpress.com

When I was a child, we also gave our dogs cooked bones and we never had a problem with this either.

Why are all these new "ideas", about what we should and shouldn't do to dogs, popping up?

How proven are they -if a dog can eat a whole box of chocolates and not get sick, how can chocolate be poisonous to dogs?

The offending innocent looking dog

Have you had any experience with chocolate affecting your dogs or puppies? Share them with us here.

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Top Answers

Your dog is lucky because chocolate is very bad for dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, which is toxic to dogs because they cannot metabolise it as fast as humans. If they ingest too much it can be lethal. I am a sponsor for Dogs' Trust, and receive their magazine. I have read letters from bereft dog owners, whose dogs have died after eating chocolate. It can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, internal bleeding, seizures, and heart attacks.

This all depends on the dose. Dark chocolate is the real killer because it contains much higher amounts or theobromine. I'm guessing your chocolates were mostly milk and white, and they probably contained fillings, reducing the amount of pure chocolate/theobromine. Your cake, will again have had diluted amounts with eggs, flour, butter, and sugar being the main ingredients.

These are in no way good for your dog, just like lots of butter and sugar are not good for us, but it won't have the same effect as dark chocolate.

by Bryony Harrison

This the first time hearing that chocolate is not good for dogs, this wierd ...
and thank you for the article... really good work

by Dalida luna

It all depends on the cocoa percentage of the chocolate, if it's dark chocolate then it will be more toxic to pets.
How do I know this? I'm a vet nurse and have seen chocolate poisoning many times, not because of the normal milk chocolate but dark chocolate with high cocoa percentage so yes chocolate is toxic to pets.

by Maria

I think the Lindt box had dark chocolates in it, and also the cake was from an organic baker and probably used cacao which is dark?

Thanks for your reply -I would not intentionally give a dog chocolate and am more careful now that this has happened.

by Finy

chocolate will not make them sick straight away, if given often can cause problems

by norio

When I was younger and didn't know any different, I gave my small terrier an Easter egg. The next day he experienced vomiting and diarrhoea. I didn't connect the two. I think the fact that your dog is larger and more active might have saved it. Smaller or more sedentary dogs may be less able to process it as well. Either way, I'd be very diligent about keeping anything like this out of the dog's reach.

by Colleen P Moyne (Colmo)

Most chocolate out there is not the real deal. As far as i know, it's the pure dark chocolate that can cause most harm. It all depends on how much theobromine the chocolate contains and how much the dog ingested.

by myfbj

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