Chocolate is Toxic to Dogs

Easter is the time to eat chocolate. It’s hard to avoid the massive Lindt bunnies and Cadbury Eggs at Woolworths here in Double Bay. However please…. Please… don’t share them with your dogs this Easter.

Chocolate comes from Cacao trees. The seeds of the cacao pod contains seeds that are used to makes chocolate. These seeds are roasted ground and pressed and then processed to create the end product.

Chocolate ingestion will often cause temporary upset stomach. It can also cause more severe abdominal pain, vomiting and pancreatitis. However it is the product in chocolate called theobromine that can cause hyperactivity, tremors, seizures and abnormal heart rhythms. These left untreated potentially can result in the death of a dog. As little as 20gm of cooking chocolate can cause serious side effects in a 10kg dog. The toxic dose of milk chocolate is 170gm.

If your pet eats chocolate then we recommend to please come to a Veterinary Hospital. We recommend we make your pet vomit if they have ingested chocolate within 1 hour and if not we provide supportive care. It can take up to 4 days for the chocolate to be out of the system.