It’s well known that dogs do not tolerate chocolate very well. They cannot process the theobromine in chocolate; it’s a chemical that is somewhat similar to caffeine. If they ingest chocolate, they could develop chocolate poisoning. However, as with most things, the dosage makes the poison. Therefore, small amounts of theobromine likely won’t hurt your dog too much. You should keep in mind that the darker the chocolate, the more theobromine. Therefore, darker chocolate is more dangerous for your dog. Baker’s chocolate, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, and high cacao chocolate are more dangerous than milk chocolate or white chocolate. If you suspect your dog has ingested chocolate, you should call pet health experts right away.
Dosage Makes the Danger
You should always get in touch with pet health experts in Timonium, MD if you think something has gone wrong. However, there are some general rules of thumb. Milk chocolate is not particularly high in theobromine. Your dog will need to ingest about .5 ounces of milk chocolate per pound of body weight to sustain chocolate poisoning. That means a 20-pound dog would need to ingest about 20 ounces of milk chocolate.
For dark chocolate or semi-sweet baker’s chocolate, your dog needs to ingest about.13 ounces per pound of body weight. You can browse our website to find experts to help you figure out how much chocolate has been ingested.
Cats and Chocolate
Cats also do not process chocolate very well; however, pet health experts say that cats very rarely eat chocolate. Since they’re largely carnivorous, they don’t eat things other than meat very often. Also, they’re typically too discerning to eat chocolate. However, it can happen. Since they’re so small, very small amounts of chocolate can be very dangerous. Call an expert as soon as you think your cat has ingested chocolate.
Getting your pet taken care of quickly gives them the best option of being okay.
