Health Issues

Chocolate

Probably all of us are aware that chocolate is not good for our dogs. I wonder if you might find the following informative and useful, though hopefully not too depressing.

Chocolate seems an innocent enough substance but its dark secret is the chemical Theo bromine which occurs naturally in the cocoa bean. This is a similar chemical to caffeine. The darker the chocolate or cocoa powder, the more Theo bromine it contains. Dogs are more sensitive to Theo bromine than their owners are.

Theo bromine is a stimulant and irritant which affects each system of the body. When swallowed, it irritates the lining of the digestive system. may cause vomiting and diarrhoea. The heart muscle reacts by beating faster. This makes the blood pressure rise and increases the risk of heart failure. The kidneys are affected and the delicate electrolyte balance is upset, causing more urine to be produced. In turn, there is an increase in thirst and drinking. The muscles start to twitch causing restlessness and convulsions. The dog is likely to be in great distress!
There is no known antidote to Theo bromine poisoning. If caught early enough, the stomach can be pumped to remove the contents, but once Theo bromine is in the system, treatment is aimed at relieving the symptoms. It becomes less likely that the dog will survive once systemic symptoms are obvious. Although to brighten this bleak picture there are reports of dogs surviving after being very ill.

The recorded lethal dose of Theo bromine for dogs is approximately 150 mg per kilogram bodyweight. This means a dog weighing 15 -20 kg (i.e., the average Pon) could die after eating 120-160g of dark chocolate or cocoa, (a large bar). Chocolate treats produced especially for dogs have had the Theo bromine taken out and are perfectly safe.

Most children prefer the milder milk chocolate which, if given in small pieces, will not usually present any problems. The main danger time is when a dog helps itself to the large quantities of chocolate found in households for special occasions - Christmas, Easter and birthdays - these are the times to be very careful. Once a dog has got the taste for chocolate it will go to extraordinary lengths to sniff it out. So it is best not to encourage our dogs to develop a taste for chocolate.

Other hazardous products are cocoa bean mulches, obtainable from your garden centres; these may contain high concentrations of Theo bromine and may cause poisoning in dogs. Several fatal poisonings in dogs from ingestion of the cocoa bean mulches have been reported to the Veterinary Poisons Information Service – in fact more fatal results from consumption of these mulches than from chocolates in the home.

While it seems sad that dogs cannot enjoy a bar of chocolate, it is better to be safe than sorry, so keep the chocolates out of their reach – or better still eat them yourself.

Approximate lethal amount for Jack Russell Terrier Labrador

White Chocolate 55 kg +(!) 277 kg +(!)

Milk Chocolate 227g 1.1kg

Plain Chocolate inc. cooking choc. 32g 156g

Cocoa Powder 19g 96g

Cocoa shell mulches 17g 83g

My thanks to the following sites

http://www.bva-awf.org.uk

http://www.darwinvets.plus.com/topical/chocPoison.htm

http://www.parkvets.com/petsandvets-chocolate.html

www.k9community.co.uk

www.robharvey.com

Prepared by Jim Sibley