Toxic Chocolate

We have all heard people say it….Don’t give chocolate to dogs!  Did you ever wonder why?  What does make chocolate so bad for your dog?  And how much is too much?

Just like their owners, dogs love chocolate.  They would eat an entire box if you gave it to them.  BUT WAIT!  IT IS TOXIC!

The actual toxic ingredient in chocolate is theobromine.  Like caffeine, theobromine is a methylxanine.  In high doses, methylxanines adversely affect your dog’s body by causing vomiting, hypertension, cardiac stimulation, and CNS stimulation.

There are significant variations in the amount of theobromine found in different forms of chocolate.  Unsweetened baker’s chocolate is high in theobromine, but milk chocolate is relatively dilute.

Here are the Theobromine Levels in Chocolates:

Dry Cocoa Powder  800mg/ounce
Un-sweet Baker’s Chocolate400mg/ounce
Semi-sweet/Dark Chocolate 150mg/ounce
Milk Chocolate         44mg/ounce


In most documents, the reported toxic dose for chocolate is considered to be 100mg/kg of body weight.  However, there have been reports of dogs getting sick on chocolate at dosages as small as 20mg/kg of body weight.

What does all this mean? 

Well, putting it into perspective….If you had a 50 lb dog…..

      50lb/2.2 = 22.7 kg of wt 

To be toxic at 100mg/kg (Now we do the math)......

22.7kg * 100mg/kg = 2272 mg of Theobromine would need to be ingested

This is equivalent to...

      Dry Cocoa Powder             2272mg/800mg/oz = 2.8 oz
      Un-sweet Baker’s Chocolate            272mg/400mg/oz = 5.6 oz
      Semi-sweet Chocolate              2272mg/150mg/oz = 15.1 oz
      Milk Chocolate                    2272mg/44mg/oz =51.6 oz


As you can see that is a lot of milk chocolate.  Assuming your dog could actually eat 51 ounces of anything is a lot.  However, remember that some dogs have been affected at much smaller amounts.  In that case, your 50 lb dog would still need to eat 10.3 ounces of milk chocolate.

The real chocolate dangers begin with smaller dogs and semi-sweet or un-sweet chocolate.  These are the typical scenarios in which serious illness and sometimes death can occur.

Now you know...  one Hershey's Kiss probably isn’t going to hurt your dog, but what is the point in starting bad habits!  Offer your pet something good for him instead!



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Chocolate Lover's Trivia:  In 1973, Swedish confectionery salesman Roland Ohisson was buried in a coffin made entirely of chocolate.
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