Chocolate contains theobromine, a naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean. While the amounts necessary to poison your dog vary by type of chocolate, it's the theobromine that causes the danger to pets.
Check out my handy choco-chart, based on toxicity information from Dog Owner's Digest. I've started you off with some weights and amounts – print this out, calculate your pup's weight, fill in the blanks, and store in a safe place.
| Type of chocolate | 1 pound dog | 10 pound dog | 20 pound dog | 40 pound dog | ______ pound dog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Chocolate | 200 ounces | 125 pounds | 250 pounds | 500 pounds | ______ pounds |
| Milk Chocolate | 1 ounce | 1/2 pound | 1 pound | 2 pounds | ______ pounds |
| Sweet Cocoa | 0.3 ounces | 1/6 pound | 1/3 pound | 2/3 pound | ______ pounds |
| Baking Chocolate | 0.1 ounces | 1 ounces | 2 ounces | 4 ounces | ______ ounces |
The average chocolate candy bar contains 2 to 3 ounces. Dark chocolate falls closest to the baking chocolate estimations whereas semi-sweet chocolate falls in between milk chocolate and sweet cocoa.
Morgan
Lee
Rick Owens
i've always wondered... does this apply to cats, too?
1Good to have, just in case.
2Wow, very interesting.
3Good to know. My dogs are both around 60 pounds and I always freak out if they go anywhere near chocolate thinking that even the smallest piece is going to be poisonous. I guess I've been over reacting.
4I had a cocker named Teddy once ate an entire chocolate EMMY statue...full scale. He was fine. Not so fine once when he found a Hash Brownie (I didn't know!) in a friends back pack when we went camping...
he was stoned for day's. That dog was the ultimate bag stealing thief who loved
chocolate.
5So what does this show? How much it takes to kill them?
6It is just meant to give doggy owners some context if (by accident) a dog gets into some chocolate that he shouldn't – if this does happen to your pet, however, please bring him to a vet anyway just to make sure he's okay. It's better to be safe than sorry...
7.... oh, and kitty shouldn't have chocolate either! But, don't worry, that just means more chocolate for you!
8very interesting - thanks for the information
9once my dog ate a whole chocolate bunnY! i felt soo bad for him! he knew he did something wrong and on top of that he puked for hours and hours it made him so so so siCK!! that i didn't even get mad at him i just tried my best to comfort him...but i guess it was my fault i was cleanin my room and put it in the garbage and didn't put the garbage where he couldn't eat it.. awe
i miss him so much!
10My dog growing up once ate an entire box of Fannie May Turtles.
She would eat one, vomit, then repeat. It was a great scene to come home to.
11My lab once ate 6 king size Hershey's bars, in one sitting. It scared us, but she didn't even get a tummy ache.
She also ate 11 packs of Trident gum one time, wrappers & all. There were all of these pink lumps & multi colored Trident wrappers in the yard for a few days after that, if you know what I mean.
There were many other instances. That dog would eat anything she could get her mouth around! You could not leave anything on the counter top, including purses (mints & gum).
12good to know
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