Dogs have long been a very close friend of humans. Therefore, it is not too strange for us to share food with these four-legged friends.
However, you should remember that your love for your pet should come from an understanding of them. Only by doing so can you help them grow truly healthy and be with you for a long time.
Arranged alongside garlic, onions, avocado, raw salmon, animal liver, bacon, grapes (both raisins and fresh grapes), etc., chocolate is one of the foods that can bring an unexpected death for your dog.
[tcb-script async=”” src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js”][/tcb-script][tcb-script] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[/tcb-script]
It sounds ridiculous, but it’s true and many dog owners have paid a heavy price for their understanding.
Do not believe it?
This is why my article will give you information on “how much chocolate does it take to kill a dog”.
Why does chocolate harm the dog’s body?
Again, these are completely proven scientific knowledge. Read and try to understand because of your dog’s health.
The composition to create a delicious chocolate bar is determined mainly by cocoa powder. This means that any chocolate, including milk chocolate, is more or less cocoa powder.
This is what affects and harms the dog’s health, more specifically theobromine – a white powder extracted from cocoa beans. It is found in chocolate as well as many other foods.
For example, tea and cola seeds. This compound is classified as a xanthine alkaloid, and also contains theophylline and caffeine. So you can understand theobromine is a stimulant.
After using chocolate, while the tongue is still swaying in the sweet and bitter taste that is subtly blended, theobromine directly affects the nervous system, heart muscle, and blood pressure.
The functioning of these systems is motivated to operate many times more than usual capacity.
And the higher the level of chocolate consumed, the faster and more intense the physiological reactions will take place.
People can easily control these reactions and what we both see is just a little more exciting and focused than usual.
However, your dog is not like that. Too much chocolate makes them unable to control the increase in the pace of activity of the internal organ system.
This leads to chocolate poisoning or theobromine poisoning in dogs, and the symptoms often include vomiting, urination several times, and other digestive-related symptoms.
Some are hyperactive than a normal, aimless exercise in uncomfortable spirit, frustration, muscle twitching, or even seizures. More dangerous, when the heart rate increases erratically, the dog’s body does not adapt in time and death will come suddenly.
Vomiting is one of the common symptoms o theobromine poisoning- Image source : westonanimal.com
[tcb-script async=”” src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js”][/tcb-script][tcb-script] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[/tcb-script]
What is the limit for chocolate consumption in dogs?
Chocolate can be dangerous for dogs but that is when it exceeds the dog’s absorption limit.
However, there is no general convention for how much chocolate they eat that will cause your hairy friend to have health problems.
Scientists have either researched and shown that the amount of chocolate that can kill your dog depends on the type of dog you are raising, their weight as well as the type of chocolate you plan to feed them.
Here is the table you can refer to
Source: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/336644140867269440/
So, how much chocolate will kill a dog?
With white chocolate, your dog’s dangerous weight will be 200 ounces per pound.
Milk chocolate is usually the least harmful type of dog health because according to the formula of most manufacturers, the amount of butter and dry milk will prevail to give the user the sweetness as well. such as increased storage capacity.
Less cocoa powder gives your dog more opportunity to enjoy this type of chocolate.
With milk chocolate and baked chocolate, only 0.8 to 1 ounce will put your dog on alert with mild symptoms such as vomiting, frequent urination, and hyperactivity.
Compared to dark chocolate, this is the most dangerous type of chocolate that your dog will have to be extremely wary of. Produced with an extremely “cacao” content of cocoa powder, it makes it a killer for a four-legged friend. Just 0.3 ounces per pound of body weight can kill a dog. And what you need to do is keep them out of sight of your dog.
Besides, depending on the amount of cocoa powder in the product, the dog’s body will set different limits before falling into theobromine poisoning. And you can access the following link to get the most accurate calculation: https://ourpetshealth.com/info/how-poisonous-is-chocolate. (Dog chocolate calculator has been arranged automatically in the article. Enter your dog’s weight and let the system calculate each chocolate type).
What to do if your dog eats chocolate
When your dog eats chocolate, theobromine very quickly gets into the bloodstream and you are almost completely powerless to do anything else.
That said, what to do if your dog eats chocolate?
However, there are still home remedies that help reduce the speed of this so you can manage and take your dog to the veterinary clinic.
First of all, you have to be calm because not all chocolate has the same speed of impact on your dog’s body.
However, if you do not personally see your dog has eaten chocolate, it will be difficult to determine if the symptoms are caused by them.
ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) says symptoms do not necessarily occur right away. They can begin to appear up to 4 hours after the dog eats.
The first step in treating a dog to eat chocolate is to find out how much it has eaten. If your dog only eats a small amount of milk chocolate, there is probably no need for veterinary intervention.
[tcb-script async=”” src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js”][/tcb-script][tcb-script] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[/tcb-script]
On the contrary, if they have eaten quite a lot of cupcakes or dark chocolate, you should contact your vet for treatment.
The immediate treatment for theobromine poisoning in dogs is to induce vomiting within 2 hours after eating the chocolate.
In addition to poking the dog’s throat directly, Hydrogen peroxide (3%) is a common solution for you in this emergency.
Give your dog 1 to 2 teaspoons of water every 15 minutes until they vomit. Besides, Ipecac syrup can also be used; however, with this substance, you only use 1 time with 2 to 3 teaspoons.
After that, you need to prevent the remaining toxins from seeping into the blood. Activated charcoal powder mixed with water will help prevent this quickly.
You should note that the solution should take place as quickly as possible because there is no antidote for theobromine poisoning.
And all of the above solutions are just a preparation for quickly bringing your chocolate-loving dog to the doctor- Image source: clinicaveterinarianuevevidas
And of course, right after that you and your dog need to see a veterinarian for further medical treatment.
Conclusion
The sweet, delicious chocolate can also be something that will endanger your beloved dog’s life.
And that is how much chocolate can kill a dog.
Hope the above information will help you. If you have any other comments, please give us your feedback.
You May Also Like
[tcb-script async=”” src=”https://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js”][/tcb-script][tcb-script] (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[/tcb-script]
