How Does Chocolate Affect a Dog?

Dogs Crave Chocolate

Dogs love chocolate. In fact, if you give a dog a tiny amount of chocolate, he will immediately want more, and this could be deadly for him. Chocolate is addictive to dogs, but worse chocolate, in large amounts, can be fatal to dogs. This is because chocolate contains something called Theobromine. Humans are able to digest Theobromine easily, but dogs cannot.

Theobromine occurs naturally in the cocoa bean and is a stimulant. It stimulates the nervous system, heart muscle, and increases urination. Different chocolates have different amounts of Theobromine, but on average, the darker the chocolate, the more amount of Theobromine it probably contains.

Seizures

A dog who has eaten toxic amounts of chocolate will start to vomit, have diarrhea, or exhibit hyperactive behavior within a few hours. As time goes on, the dog will start to become even more restless. The heart will experience arrhythmia and the dog's muscles will twitch. The dog will urinate more, pant heavily and start to tremble. If the dog does not get treatment soon, he may experience seizures leading to a coma and eventual death.

Treatment

If you think that your dog may be suffering the ill effects of eating too much chocolate (the ASPCA considers 100mg to 200mg of chocolate per 2lbs of dog to be dangerous), then call your vet immediately. Your vet will probably start an IV in your dog to fight dehydration from his vomiting and also to try to flush out the Theobromine.

Your vet will also induce vomiting to help get rid of the toxin, if the dog is not vomiting already and if the chocolate has been injected within the last four hours. If it has been longer than four hours, the vet will probably give the dog activated charcoal. Anti-seizure and cardiac medications might also be given. With the medical care available today, chocolate is not usually fatal in dogs.

Resources

• More about how chocolate affects dogs from Dog Owner's Digest