Chocolate is widely enjoyed and a favorite with almost everyone, regarded as a yummy treat to people of any age. Though it may be a great treat for us, it is a big no-no for your dogs. Chocolate is said to be toxic for your dogs. Chocolates are not toxic for humans because the way we digest theobromine (the chemical component in chocolate) is much better than dogs and the half life of theobromine in a dog is 17.5 hours which is a long period. The toxic compound, theobromine becomes toxic if consumed between 100 to 150 milligrams per kilogram of the body weight. But there are other factors linked to it like the weight of the dog, the chocolate concentration and so on. Milk chocolate contains approximately 44 milligrams of theobromine per oz, semi sweet chocolate contains about 150 milligrams of theobromine per oz, baker’s chocolate contains 390 milligrams per oz and dry cocoa powder with 800 milligrams per oz. If you have to calculate the toxic dose as 100 milligrams per kilogram, for milk chocolate it will be 1 ounce per 1 pound body weight. So in case of semisweet chocolate, it will amount to 1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight and for baker’s chocolate; it will be 1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight.
Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are forms of chocolate that are most toxic as they contain theobromine ten times more than what it is in milk chocolate. The chocolate in milk chocolate is diluted and thus, will take larger amounts of consumption to get toxic for your dog and even if your dog licks a small portion of the icing on a chocolate cake, it can cause him to fall ill. There is no harm in feeding your dog milk chocolate once in a while as a treat, but this is not advisable for the simple reason that it could create a problem if the dog develops a liking towards it as they have a tendancy to get a sweet tooth. It may not always be easy to keep foods away or secure enough to prevent your dog from getting to them and it could move on to eat more concentrated forms of chocolates. Your dog may show signs of nervousness, vomiting, diarrhea, an increased amount of thirst, frequent urination in some cases, muscle spasms or seizures if toxicated by consuming chocolate. Your dog may suffer from diarrhea 12 to 24 hours after eating milk chocolate and steps should be taken to ensure that your dog does not get dehydrated. In case of severe symptoms, rush your pet to the clinic immediately.