Chocolate, The Great Poison For Dogs
Among the least recommended foods for our pets is chocolate. This is due to a molecule contained in this food called theobromine. It is not a slight risk. Experts say that a dog that ingests a high dose of cocoa can even die.
Theobromine, that substance that contains cocoa that is harmful to dogs, is not added in an artificial way, but is inherent in cocoa itself. How does our pet eliminate it? Its elimination is not easy, it can remain in the dog’s body for up to 3 days, and its molecules, toxic for him, up to 17 hours on average.
Differences with humans
We can ask ourselves what happens in the case of people, of children who consume so much chocolate? Why is theobromine unaffected?
Well, the answer is that humans can metabolize the theobromine in chocolate in a relatively short period of time. Our body soon gets rid of its molecules. However, our pet cannot destroy the toxicity of this substance quickly enough so that it is not harmful.
Another substance in chocolate that is also harmful to our dog is caffeine. However, the caffeine concentration in chocolate is not high.
The amount of theobromine a product contains will depend on many factors. Among them, the quality of the cocoa and the percentage of sugars, cocoa, butter and cocoa fat, etc. For example, white chocolate, which has more cocoa butter than cocoa mass, contains virtually no theobromine.
We can, based on the above, come to the conclusion that, the purer the chocolate and of better quality, the more percentage of cocoa mass it contains, and, therefore, the more proportion of theobromine it can contribute. As the purity of the cocoa percentage increases, the danger to the dog also increases.
The size of the dog
Since not all dogs are similar in size, their body also determines how much chocolate they can safely ingest, and how much theobromine begins to be harmful. According to this, a small puppy can withstand much less theobromine than a large one, and the risk is greater.
Following this ratio and equivalence between the theobromine in chocolate and the size of our pet, a puppy dog that weighs not a kilo will have problems even if he takes a very small amount of chocolate.
In case your dog has accidentally drank chocolate, the best idea is to take him to the vet. Among the solutions that the specialist will recommend is inducing vomiting or perhaps performing a gastric lavage at the time.
Effects of excessive chocolate intake in our dog
Among the first symptoms of chocolate poisoning are vomiting and diarrhea. The theobromine in chocolate can cause a dog’s heart to beat up to twice as much as normal, and the animal can be seen running around itself desperately searching for its tail.
When consulting the veterinarian, we must provide as much information as possible about the characteristics of the chocolate in question and the amount that our dog has ingested. In this way, the expert will choose the best solution, either with measures to apply them at home, or requesting the transfer to the clinic.
If a small amount of chocolate has been ingested, the effects will only be diarrhea and stomach upset. The normal thing is that vomiting is provoked if the animal ingested the chocolate during the last hour and it still does not present neurological symptoms (tremors).
It is also not always advisable to induce vomiting, secondary effects and complications may arise in this operation.
We must know that not everything that is good for humans is also suitable for dogs. Pet owners tend to share everything we eat with our dog, thinking that it will sweeten it just like us. Surely it will be so, and you may even like it, but we must not ignore the serious consequences of this action.
Even the lives of our puppies are at stake. Never give chocolate to a dog, least of all a puppy.
