Chocolate

[tryamartimmy]

So I have a question for you....

Have any of your dogs ever eaten chocolate? Have any of them actually died from it- you've seen it first hand?

The only reason I'm asking is that I think my in-laws have a freak for a dog. It's been given chocolate (crunchies, bikkies, cake, cadbury pieces - everything!) for its entire life and is still going strong at 16 years.

The other night, my other half offered a piece of chocolate from his icecream cone to my pooch and I really have to feel sorry for him- I pretty much smacked it out of his hand and started yelling. In hindsight, I can understand why he didn't think anything of it, having had a dog that can stomach chocolate without a fuss and all, but I certainly don't want to tempt fate with MY dog.

Aside from that, I really don't want her to be eating 'human' food like that.

What experiences have other DOLers had with this? Do you get the same reaction as I did?

Did I over-react?

[B-Q]

i think it can be poisonous, but not sure it whate doses.

our dogs have copped their fair share of chocolate (just this easter mac got into all the easter eggs and had a good feast) but she was fine.

my mums ex took great delight in feeding most of our good human food to the dogs, once he fed them nearly 2L of choclate milk in a day. I was pretty angry because of how long it took me to talk mum into buying it and how bad i guessed it was for them, i go out to have some and these a dribble left in the bottom.

when we have like MnM's or soemthing they dogs tend to get a couple, not one problem yet but i wouldn't go giving it to them all the time.

Edited July 3, 2007 by busterlove

[Griffo]

my idiot step father gave his maltese chocolate and the poor think was squealing in pain for the next day, i mean squealing like he had been hit or stepped on or something and vomiting everywhere. it was awful. needless to say he is NOT going to do that again. If you know something has the potential to hurt your dog then why risk it. i know i wouldnt.

[Dogs4Fun]

Yes it can be poisonous to all dogs, but it is all about the dose.

Dark chocolate is much more toxic than milk chocolate.

As an example, estimated toxic doses on the web are:

7 g dark chocolate per kilogram of dog (eg 35 g for a 5 kg dog, 140 g for a 20 kg dog)

60 g milk chocolate per kilogram of dog (eg 300 g for a 5 kg dog, 1200 g for a 20 kg dog).

In our house we play safe and ensure ALL chocolate is safely consumed by the humans as soon as possible :rolleyes:

[tryamartimmy]

Haha. Now I feel like a right grot for jumping down OH's throat. Hehe.

[helen]

My dog got into some chocolates in a zipped up bag before a tracking trial and ate them, luckily with no ill effects

Someone did say to me though that the toxins from chocolates stay in their system forever and build up every time they have more chocolates.

[Kavik]

My old crossbreed girl Belle is a guts and a notorious food stealer. She has stolen chocolates and cakes occasionally (and has a nasty habit of getting into the bin). She never had any problems resulting from this, though now (she is 17) if she gets into the bin she vomits afterwards, she didn't used to do that when younger (just looked like a tub :rolleyes: )

[ellz]

Chocolate contains a chemical called Theobromine which can be fatal to dogs.

It isn't necessarily matter how much a dog gets, or how often a dog gets it. Like humans, some can tolerate it, some can't and like humans, it does build up in the system so a dog which is fine for years may suddenly reach their individual "limit" and have problems.

It CAN be very nasty and painful for your dog.

Personally, I don't allow ANY of my dogs to be fed human chocolate of any kind for any reason. If they steal any, they are encouraged to vomit. There are many doggy chocolate substitutes available.

Edited July 3, 2007 by ellz

[helen]

Thanks Ellz. Unfortunately in my case our track was last for the day so he had been in the car for some time and I have no idea how long ago he had eaten them, he was fast asleep when I went to take him out for a toilet break, if he ever gets into any again I will definately make him vomit. Will make sure any chocolate rewards are kept outside of the car from now on.

[sandgrubber]

As noted in a previous post, some 'chocolate', particularly cheapo varieties, doesn't contain much chocolate at all . . . the dangers are in eating large portions or small portions of dark stuff.

I do wish they wouldn't make those dog chocolate drop treats, though. It gives people the wrong idea.

[honeychild]

My maltese x has on occasion nicked chocolate from the table etc. We've always worried and panicked at first but nothing has come of it. Its not like id ever feed it to her on purpose but when she has had it by accident she has been ok. Shes only small too so just lucky i guess.