Chocolate is one of the most common causes of dog poisoning, and it may lead to the death of your companion. So let’s start with a bold and clear statement: dogs should never eat chocolate, be it white, milk or dark.
Can dogs eat chocolate? The short answer is no, dogs cannot eat any chocolate because of the theobromine found in cocoa.
Just one chunk of chocolate is not going to be a big deal. A single square of chocolate usually does not have a significant amount of theobromine to cause harm to your dog; nevertheless, for those who have a small dog, your error margin is thin so you must remain mindful at all times.
What dog owners forget to do that causes a lot of hazards is to tell their children chocolate is toxic and can be lethal for their dogs. Too many kids just hand out chocolate chips or treats and do not realize this is the cause of tremendous risks.
Why Is Chocolate Bad For Dogs?
The poisonous compound of chocolate is theobromine. We, as human beings, effortlessly metabolize theobromine, but dogs and canines break it down it considerably more slowly, letting it accumulate to noxious levels in their system.
A larger dog may eat a little more chocolate when compared with a smaller dog before going through ill effects. Yet often a somewhat tiny amount of chocolate will give your pet an upset stomach resulting in vomiting or diarrhea.
What Happens After a Dog Ate Chocolate?
First of all, if you think your dog ate chocolate, never wait for warning signs since they may take 6 to 10 hours to show and the dangerous sickness usually starts before these signs are visible to us.
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Most likely, your dog will poo and vomit on his own. Otherwise, your vet may decide to have you give him/her some hydrogen peroxide to make him/her throw up. This is to cleanse the internals.
However, as soon as you realize that your dog just ingested a lot of chocolate, call your vet and explain the situation. Have the list of ingredients of this particular chocolate in case your veterinary practice needs more information.
Common symptoms observed after theobromine ingestion include extreme thirst, pacing, panting, and even shaking. With larger amounts, theobromine can produce muscle tremors, seizures, an irregular heartbeat, internal bleeding, or a heart attack. The onset of theobromine poisoning is usually marked by severe hyperactivity.
What’s Worse: Dark, Milk, or White Chocolate?
Dogs and chocolate do not mix well but some chocolates are worse than others for your pooch. As we established above, theobromine is the culprit for this incompatibility between chocolate and dogs.
Now let’s dig deeper. Theobromine is essentially found in cocoa which makes chocolates with a higher quantity of theobromine the worse ones for dogs.
Can Dogs Eat Dark Chocolate? — Most certainly not since dark chocolate holds the highest amount of theobromine which makes it extremely toxic for dogs!
Can Dogs Eat Milk Chocolate? — With less cocoa, milk chocolate is slightly less harmful than its darker cousin but still has enough to provoke serious hazards for our dogs.
Can Dogs Eat White Chocolate? — No, dogs can’t but this is the least harmful version of all chocolates for our dogs. Although white chocolate should not be handed over to dogs, make sure you inform your vet the chocolate was white in case of emergency: it may reassure him.
Again, make sure no chocolate of any kind is given to your dog but the darker, the baddest. So no, dogs cannot eat chocolate and yes, some chocolates are worse than others for canines.