What happens to a dog that eats chocolate

While dogs might love the delicious sweet taste of chocolate as much as humans, it’s important to remember that chocolate is poisonous to dogs and could make them very unwell. So no matter how much your dog begs for a piece of chocolate, remember dogs and chocolate don’t mix.

Here are the reasons why chocolate is bad for dogs:

• Chocolate contains an ingredient called theobromine (a bit like caffeine), which is toxic to dogs. Dogs aren’t able to break down, or metabolise, theobromine like humans can.
• Theobromine mainly affects a dog’s guts, heart, central nervous system and kidneys.
• Darker, purer varieties of chocolate tend to have the highest levels of theobromine but it’s also found in milk chocolate.
• Symptoms of dog chocolate poisoning include vomiting (which may include blood), diarrhoea, restlessness and hyperactivity, rapid breathing, muscle tension, incoordination, increased heart rate and seizures.
• The effect and signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs depend on the amount eaten and the size of the breed.

Urgent treatment may be needed if your dog has eaten chocolate so please contact your vet as soon as possible for advice or, out of hours, your nearest Vets Now pet emergency clinic immediately. Our chocolate toxicity calculator is a useful guide to help you find out if your dog has eaten a toxic dose.

Take note of your dog’s weight, the type of chocolate and how much chocolate they’ve eaten and when they ate it. Take the wrapper to the vet if you can. This information will help the vet to work out whether your dog has eaten a toxic amount of chocolate and how to treat them.

Chocolate poisoning mainly affects the heart, central nervous system and kidneys. Symptoms of dogs eating chocolate usually occur between four and 24 hours after your dog has eaten chocolate.

The effect and signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs depends on the amount eaten and the size of the breed. For example, a Labrador-sized dog that’s eaten 200g of milk chocolate is likely to have a stomach upset such as vomiting and diarrhoea. At 500g, it’s likely that cardiovascular problems and increased heart rate will be seen. Eating 750g may result in seizures.

It can be hard to tell exactly how much chocolate your dog has eaten and the amount of caffeine and theobromine will vary due to growing conditions, cocoa bean sources and variety. It’s always best to err on the side of caution and contact your vet for advice if you’re concerned.

Our advice is not to give your dog any chocolate, but if they have managed to eat some you need to know how heavy your dog is. Then try to work out whether they have swallowed a toxic dose. Our chocolate calculator can help you.

It depends on the type of chocolate and the size of the dog but, as a rule, toxic effects in dogs occur at theobromine doses of 20 milligrams per kilogram of weight, with severe signs at 40-50 mg/kg and seizures at 60 mg/kg.

Owners whose dogs have eaten 3.5g of dark chocolate for every 1kg they weigh, or 14g of milk chocolate for every kg they weigh, should consult their vet.

Although chocolate can make dogs ill, it’s rarely fatal. According to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service, out of 1,000 dog chocolate toxicity cases it recorded on its database, only five dogs died. Concerns have been raised, however, that many dog chocolate toxicity cases go unreported.

Dry cocoa powder contains up to 26mg of theobromine per gram so is highly toxic to dogs. If you have a dog weighing 10kg, as little as a few grams of cocoa powder could potentially result in your dog suffering seizures.

Popular versions of drinking chocolate tend to have similar, or lower, levels of theobromine to milk chocolate. That means a 10kg dog would need to ingest up to 130g of drinking chocolate to suffer toxic effects.

It’s believed there may be some sort of genetic susceptibility to theobromine poisoning in certain dogs. While some do not show any clinical signs after eating chocolate, others develop severe signs such as seizures and irregular heart rhythms.

The toxic chemical in chocolate, theobromine, has been used in human medicine as a heart stimulant and a muscle relaxant. It’s also a diuretic, which means it makes you go to the toilet. On top of that it dilates blood vessels and can lead to potentially lethal over-stimulation of the heart. Dogs don’t process theobromine well and it can cause sickness, diarrhoea and kidney problems.

If your dog has eaten a potentially dangerous amount of chocolate it’s likely he will start showing symptoms between four and 24 hours after ingestion. The most typical symptoms are sickness and diarrhoea, which may contain blood, as well as restlessness and hyperactivity, rapid breathing, muscle tension, incoordination, increased heart rate and seizures.

If you discover your dog ate chocolate try to work out what type it was, how much they ate and when they ate it. Our chocolate toxicity calculator can help with this. Dark chocolate, baker’s chocolate and cocoa powder is typically the most toxic. If your dog has eaten a potentially toxic amount you should call your vet or, out of hours, your nearest Vets Now.

It’s highly unlikely your dog will suffer poisoning from eating white chocolate, as it’s unlikely to contain enough toxic theobromine. This is the case for all white chocolate products, including those which claim to contain cocoa solids. But bear in mind white chocolate is high in fat, buttermilk and sugar so may cause a stomach upset.

A good quality 500g bar of dark chocolate can contain as much as 4000 mg of theobromine. That’s more than enough to kill a 30kg dog such as a Labrador. But even lower quality grades of dark chocolate are dangerous to dogs. For example, a 500g bar with 45 to 59% cacao solids can contain up to 2500mg of theobromine.

Never resort to home remedies to treat dogs for chocolate poisoning. Instead, find out how much they’ve eaten, what type of chocolate it was, and what weight your dog is. This way you can work out whether the dose is toxic enough to warrant urgent veterinary treatment.

Call your vet for advice or, out of hours, your nearest Vets Now. It will help your vet if you can tell them how much chocolate your dog ate, what type it was — wrappers can be very helpful — and when your dog ate it. This will enable them to work out whether your dog has eaten a toxic dose and what treatment they’re likely to need.

In short, no. Chocolate cake contains a number of ingredients that are bad for dogs — including cocoa powder and sugar. Cocoa powder, in particular, is particularly toxic as it contains high levels of theobromine.

Chocolate ice cream can contain theobromine. It is also full of unhealthy ingredients such as sugar and fat which are bad for dogs. In addition, most dogs are lactose intolerant, so drinking foods high in milk or cream may result in a stomach upset or, even worse, severe clinical signs.

There is no antidote to theobromine. In most cases, your vet will make your dog vomit.  They may wash out the stomach and feed activated charcoal which will absorb any theobromine left in the intestine. Other treatments will depend on the signs your dog is showing.

They may also need intravenous fluids (a drip), medication to control heart rate, blood pressure and seizure activity. With prompt intervention and treatment, the prognosis for a poisoned dog is usually good — even in those who have eaten large amounts.