Many of us have grown up with pets. Most of us had a dog or cat, and those of us with dogs probably heard somewhere down the road that one of the deadliest things to give a dog is chocolate. Is this really true? To answer the question in full, and help you understand better what is actually going on, we must first address what chocolate is and how our systems react to it.
Chocolate is processed from seeds of the cacao trees. These seeds contain compounds called methylxandthine. It includes many substances, but the 2 we will be focusing on are caffeine and theobromine. Both of these substances are found in chocolate, and react badly upon the systems of animals in the Canidae family. So, to save you the headache of going into taxonomy and what the key characteristics are for filing an animal in the Canidae family, i'll simply list a few examples: foxes, dingos, wolves, and domestic dogs.
The animals in this family produce natural compounds that are blocked out by theobromine and caffeine. Even though in humans it induces a type of euphora, it can cause a dog to vomit and have diarrhea in small doses, and in moderate to large amounts will cause their heart to race, their muscles to tremor, and in some cases seizure and die.
Now before you throw out all your chocolate or beat your children for leaving it in the dogs path know that on the top 4 candy holidays (valentines day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas) between 150 and 200 dogs are hospitalized due to chocolate consumption, and only 1 will die. In most cases the dogs that do lose their lives are either older with a weakened heart to begin with, or small like chahuahuas and beagles.
The danger level for chocolate can be usually determined by 3 key factors. #1. the size of the dog vs, the amount of chocolate eaten. less than four ounces has been known to take the life of dogs under 10 pounds. #2. the age of the dog. Older dogs will have weaker systems, the reaction is comparable to an elderly person using cocaine. Although the thought is funny, in reality someone over 70 is going to have a much more dangerous reaction to cocaine than a 25 year old. #3. the most important factor happens to be the amount of natural cacao in the chocolate. Unsweetened baking chocolate contains over 6 times the amount of theobromine than milk chocolates.
Though the fear of losing a dog to chocolate can sometimes be exaggerated we still need to be very careful. A handful of M&M's will most likely only cause the dog a little discomfort for awhile, or even cause them to be a bit energetic due to the heart rates, and of course poop more than we'd like them to. But we must remember that it is toxic to them no matter how you slice it. When in doubt, go to the vet. If anything they'll give the dog some charcoal to help absorb some of the toxin and send you and puppy on your way.
Chocolate is processed from seeds of the cacao trees. These seeds contain compounds called methylxandthine. It includes many substances, but the 2 we will be focusing on are caffeine and theobromine. Both of these substances are found in chocolate, and react badly upon the systems of animals in the Canidae family. So, to save you the headache of going into taxonomy and what the key characteristics are for filing an animal in the Canidae family, i'll simply list a few examples: foxes, dingos, wolves, and domestic dogs.
The animals in this family produce natural compounds that are blocked out by theobromine and caffeine. Even though in humans it induces a type of euphora, it can cause a dog to vomit and have diarrhea in small doses, and in moderate to large amounts will cause their heart to race, their muscles to tremor, and in some cases seizure and die.
Now before you throw out all your chocolate or beat your children for leaving it in the dogs path know that on the top 4 candy holidays (valentines day, Easter, Halloween, and Christmas) between 150 and 200 dogs are hospitalized due to chocolate consumption, and only 1 will die. In most cases the dogs that do lose their lives are either older with a weakened heart to begin with, or small like chahuahuas and beagles.
The danger level for chocolate can be usually determined by 3 key factors. #1. the size of the dog vs, the amount of chocolate eaten. less than four ounces has been known to take the life of dogs under 10 pounds. #2. the age of the dog. Older dogs will have weaker systems, the reaction is comparable to an elderly person using cocaine. Although the thought is funny, in reality someone over 70 is going to have a much more dangerous reaction to cocaine than a 25 year old. #3. the most important factor happens to be the amount of natural cacao in the chocolate. Unsweetened baking chocolate contains over 6 times the amount of theobromine than milk chocolates.
Though the fear of losing a dog to chocolate can sometimes be exaggerated we still need to be very careful. A handful of M&M's will most likely only cause the dog a little discomfort for awhile, or even cause them to be a bit energetic due to the heart rates, and of course poop more than we'd like them to. But we must remember that it is toxic to them no matter how you slice it. When in doubt, go to the vet. If anything they'll give the dog some charcoal to help absorb some of the toxin and send you and puppy on your way.
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