My Dog Ate Chocolate and He Was Fine, so What’s the Big Deal?

If you ask a frump owner what dogs can not eat, they ’ ll number some foods like onions, garlic, rhubarb, grapes and chocolate. ( As an aside, if they say grains, don ’ t listen to them. ) Dogs ‘ inability to safely consume chocolate is coarse cognition, but thanks to their proclivity for eating anything they can get their mouths on, many dogs are however treated for ingesting chocolate every year .

however, there are besides many, many dogs who eat chocolate ( with or without their owner ’ randomness cognition ) who are absolutely all right, no discussion necessary. If chocolate is then bad for dogs, why are these candy-consuming canines fine ?
Because, as with all things, the drug makes the poison.

Reading: My Dog Ate Chocolate and He Was Fine, so What’s the Big Deal?

The components of chocolate that are toxic to dogs are theobromine and caffeine. These two chemicals are, structurally, about identical, and both belong to to a group of chemicals called methylxanthines .
separate of what makes methylxanthines so dangerous to animals is how slowly they process them, in finical, theobromine. While dogs reach flower serum ( the non-cell separate of blood ) levels of caffeine after 30-60 minutes and eliminate half of an absorb dose in 4.5 hours, they don ’ metric ton reach bill serum levels of theobromine until after 10 hours and take 17.5 hours to eliminate half of it .
While they ’ re in the blood, methylxanthines have a few effects. chiefly, they inhibit the activation of adenosine receptors. These receptors are generally creditworthy for making us feel sleepy, and decreasing the bodily process of our bodies. Methylxanthines inhibit these sleepy feelings and act as stimulants .

Click here to read about grapefruit’s effects on theobromine metabolism

The enzyme responsible for metabolizing theobromine is a member of the cytochrome P450 family. If you’ve heard of these enzymes its likely because you take a medication that is similarly affected by them (such as Viagra, Cialis, Erythromycin, Xanax and many others) and you’ve been warned to stay away from grapefruit juice. This is due to compounds in grapefruit interfering with the P450 enzymes. Without properly functioning enzymes, medications aren’t broken down as they should be, and overdoses can occur. These compounds aren’t exclusive to grapefruits: they’re also found in pomelos, bitter oranges and Seville oranges that are used to make marmalade. Luckily dogs don’t often consume the fruits that harbour these compounds, however, if Marmaduke ever eats a jar of marmalade as well as some chocolate, he would be in serious trouble.
so, what does this mean for your andiron who ate a cocoa barricade ? It means they will feel nauseated and credibly vomit, they ’ ll have a high heart rate, diarrhea, show signs of hyperactivity and, if they consumed a eminent drug of methylxanthines, tremors, seizures and possibly death .
What precisely is a high venereal disease of methylxanthines however depends on your pawl .
According to the ASPCA meek effects of theobromine poison can be seen at a acid of 20 mg/kg. severe signs begin at about 40 mg/kg and seizures can begin at 60 mg/kg. A median deadly dose ( LD50 ) is the dose of a toxin required to kill half of a sample population. It ’ s a coarse way of measuring a deadly drug of a substance in toxicological research, and for theobromine, the LD50 is 100-200 mg/kg .
notification that because all of these doses are given per kilogram of dog, what ’ s a low dose of theobromine for a german Shepard could be an exceptionally large dose for a chihuahua .
To illustrate my item, allow me to introduce three dogs. First, we have Baci, a 5-year-old, 7-kg Maltipoo. She ’ mho considered a little chase by all reasonable metrics .

future meet Chanelle, a 10-year-old Golden Retriever who is solidly medium-sized at 25 kilogram .

last, we have Jupiter, a 5-year-old Malamute/German Shepherd cross who is quite large at 50 kilogram .

I ’ ve run some numbers to see how each of these dogs would fair if they ate the lapp amounts of cocoa. You can see my results in the graph below and can replicate my calculations well using one of the on-line chocolate perniciousness calculators .

( green = < 20 mg/kg, chicken = 20-40 mg/kg, crimson = 40-60 mg/kg, black = > 60 mg/kg )

so, we can see that while Jupiter will probably be finely if he scarfs down 1/3 cup of cocoa powderize ( the measure in your average recipe for brownies ), Chanelle would likely be brainsick, and Baci would be facing seizures and possibly death .
It ’ randomness easy to see, when you start playing with the numbers, how therefore many dogs can eat chocolate-containing foods and be wholly finely. Chanelle could well consume ½ cup of chocolate methamphetamine cream, or a cocoa pudding cup, or a chocolate cupcake and not even show the slightest sign of being nauseated !

What about mulch made from cocoa bean shells?

In recent years cocoa-bean-based mulch has gained popularity as an attractive alternative to traditional mulch. It can be good for your garden, contributing nutrients and preventing weed growth, but it can be really bad for your dog. With up to 32 mg of theobromine per gram, cocoa bean mulch can be a more potent source of theobromine than even pure unsweetened baking chocolate. If you can’t guarantee that a dog won’t munch on your mulch, you’re better off sticking to the traditional mulches, which come with the bonus of being much cheaper!
even if your frump doesn ’ thymine get brainsick from eating modest amounts of chocolate however, it ’ s still best that they avoid it. One cogitation found that duplicate theobromine exposure led to the development of cardiomyopathy ( a chronic disease of the center brawn that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood ) in dogs .

There may also be a genetic component to dogs’ ability to metabolize theobromine

Dogs with a particular variant in their CYP1A2 gene (the variant is 1117C>T) lack the ability to properly metabolize and break down some substances, including lidocaine, naproxen and theobromine. This has important implications in their veterinary treatment and could explain why some dogs get sick after eating very little chocolate.
so, what should you do if you suspect your andiron has eaten chocolate ? You have a few options. You can check an on-line calculator ( like this matchless ) to see if your dog is likely to exhibit symptoms or call animal poison control ( 1-888-426-4435 in Canada and the U.S. ). Keeping in mind that such resources are not substitutes for veterinarian care, you should monitor your dog close no matter what they say, looking for symptoms like a fast heart rate, vomiting or tremors .
If your andiron ate an nameless amount of chocolate ; is exhibiting symptoms ; is meaning ( theobromine can cross the placenta and affect the puppy ) ; or has other health complications, you should take them to a vet right away. Symptoms may not develop until astir to two hours after consumption, but veterinarian anti-chocolate treatments are most effective if performed vitamin a soon as potential after consumption .
And what precisely do they do to cure a frump of theobromine poisoning ? Gastric decontamination. The first footprint is to empty the stomach ( if the consumption was late enough ). This is often done with a drug called apomorphine which is administered through the eye so that it is cursorily absorbed .
following, a veteran will administer activated charcoal, a finely powdered corporeal capable of binding a diverseness of drugs and chemicals. Activated charcoal is most effective if given immediately after consumption of the toxin and is normally given by mixing it with wet chase food ( beware : it will turn your pawl ’ sulfur dope black ). In some cases, repeat administrations of charcoal are necessity, but in others, precisely one dose will do it .
Beyond these steps, a theobromine-poisoned frank will merely be given medicines to manage their specific symptoms, such as Diazepam for seizures or hyperexcitability, beta blockers for high heart rate, Atropine for depleted heart rate or others .
Before you go: a note on cats
As it turns out, cats are actually more susceptible to theobromine poisoning than dogs, but we don ’ thyroxine always hear about a cat getting disgusted from eating chocolate. Why is that ?
chiefly because cats don ’ t eat equally randomly as dogs. Dogs are known for corrode just about anything they can find ( including joint buttocks, a rehearse that places them at risk for cannabis poison ), whereas cats tend to be finical eaters. In part this is explained by the fact that cats lack the ability to taste glucose .
If all cocoa tasted like 100 % iniquity chocolate, you likely wouldn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate eat much of it either .
Take-home message:
• Chocolate is poisonous to dogs largely because of its theobromine subject, which dogs are unable to metabolize effectively.
•The sum of cocoa a dog can eat without showing symptoms varies drastically with their burden
• If your frank eats chocolate, you should monitor them close and seek veterinarian attention if they show any symptoms, or if they are very young, pregnant or have other health concerns .
special thanks to Rachel Malkani MSc. CDBC and veterinary PhD campaigner, and to Henry for inspiring this article by, as you may guess, eating chocolate.