Chocolate?

[d9f1c7]

Is it poisonous to dogs or is that an urban myth? My OH gave me a rollocking the other day for giving the dog a bit of chocolate claiming it is poisonous but I have my doubts as dogs tend to have cast iron guts. So if it is poisonous what is it that is in chocolate that is bad? thanks

[B00]

It's bad, very bad for them.

http://www.vetrica.co...e/dog/chocolate.shtml

Don't do it again!

[RATTER15]

Do not feed chocolate to dogs, it isnt a myth!!!

[d9f1c7]

Thank you I won't do it again. I assume the Doggy chocolate in the shops is safe is it?

[Jumbo747]

Seriously, don't give chocolate to a dog, nor let a dog FIND any chocolate (subtle difference!)

[Ratty2E]

Yes it is and so are lots of other things http://www.dogs.info/...ommon-poisons-to-dogs . Some dogs may appear to be able to eat everything and anything but you really don't want to find out the hard way that they can't.

[albaqwerty]

The Doggy Chocs are fine. Specially made for the pooches.

[d9f1c7]

Thank you all, I'm going to get some proper doggy chocs today!

[Ann]

Dog chocs are fine - I worked at the manufacturers and they are especially formulated.

[RATTER15]

We treat ours with sweet potato, cooked and dried into chips, they love it and its cheap and healthy. A winner all round. :))

[B00]

Mind you, despite my dire warning, my dog found and ate 3 boxes of Thorntons a few Christmas's ago, and apart from spending the night honking up was fine, which is more than can be said for my temper at the time!

[madmaggot]

The higher the cocoa solids % the more dangerous it is d9.
The key is not to let your dog forage if you can help it; not so easy with a lab or similar greedy dog I know!
I assumed that acorns must be ok because pigs eat them by the tonne so was really shocked when I checked with my vet and was told that they are toxic to dogs. My dog used to play and chew them as we had an oak tree on the boundary of our house and the garden was full of them.

[Kiki-frog]

The RSPCA always have a campaign around Easter and Christmas about not giving dogs chocolate. I didn't know about acorns, though. Apparently grapes are really bad for them too. For animals that a natural scavengers, it's a bit of a design flaw really.

[rockyracoon]

I'm lucky with my dog, he doesn't like chocolate thankfully, although he loves grapes, when my son was small they used to share a bagfull until I found out how bad they were for dogs. I have to keep them out of the way as he'll probably pinch them.

[Mattk]

Chocs are bad for them but they need to eat large amounts over a number of years to do serious harm but its easiest to simply just avoid.

[ladybird49]

http://www.vetstreet....facebook%3Bpetpoisons

[Sqad]

\\\\ So if it is poisonous what is it that is in chocolate that is bad? \\\\

Theobromine.

[Bbbananas]

Give it to cats instead ;-)

[wildwood]

RE SQAD's THEOBROMINE, EVEN A LITTLE BIT CAN BE BAD.

This is COPIED FROM WIKIPEDIA.....

Animals that metabolize bromine more slowly, such as dogs, can succumb to theobromine poisoning from as little as 50 grams of chocolate for a smaller dog and 400 grams for an average-sized dog. The same risk is reported for cats as well, although cats are less likely to ingest sweet food, having no sweet taste receptors. Complications include digestive issues, dehydration, excitability, and a slow heart rate. Later stages of theobromine poisoning include epileptic-like seizures and death. If caught early on, theobromine poisoning is treatable. Although not usual, the effects of theobromine poisoning, as stated, can become fatal.

The toxicity for (pet) birds is not known, but it is typically assumed that it is toxic to birds.

[woofgang]

"Chocs are bad for them but they need to eat large amounts over a number of years to do serious harm but its easiest to simply just avoid."

Mattk this is not true, typically dogs find a stash of chocolate, steal it and collapse" The plainer the chocolate, the less it takes per kg bodyweight of the dog.

[seadogg]

Just in case your dog eats dark (high theobromine) chocs, have some soda crystals in the house. Gently dampen some, roll it into balls about 20cm diameter
and, with the aid of a mate, tilt the dog's head and put some down his throat.

Then stand back and watch it all vomited back. You may have saved the dog's life.