Why Can’t Dogs Eat Chocolates
Posted on July 29th, 2010 by doggielover
Dogs are well loved pets. Pet owners unaware of the dangerous effect of some people food to animals would share whatever they are eating with the pet. A pet owner would wonder why foods that give humans a lot of benefits would be harmful to dogs. Although humans and dogs have similarities in genetics, they differ in so many ways. The inability of a dog’s system to tolerate chocolate is one of these differences. Not many pet owners are aware of the toxic effect of chocolates to their pets. Humans get a lot of benefits from chocolates. Chocolates and dogs though is a bad combination.
The substance theobromine in chocolate is the reason why this world’s most loved treat is toxic to dogs. Theobromine the chemical that is similar to caffeine is found in cocoa beans from where chocolate is derived. This chemical acts as a stimulant and has the effect of increasing the frequency of urination and affecting the central nervous system as well as the heart muscles. Unlike humans, a dog’s system does not have the ability to digest this substance. A dog that continuously ingest small amount of chocolates will eventually develop a variety of medical concerns because the dog’s inability to digest theobromine would result to an accumulation of this toxic substance.
Pet owners have this habit of sharing anything they eat with the pet thus a slice of chocolate cake or a bite of the chocolate bar will be tossed to the dog. Apparently, a dog will not show signs of poisoning if only a small amount of these kinds of chocolates are consumed. Theobromine have dangerous effects but a dog has to ingest a substantial amount of chocolates before clinical signs of poisoning will be seen. Different types of chocolates have different toxicity levels. Because white chocolates is low in theobromine content, the toxicity level is also low. Because of the low theobromine content, a dog has to consume 200 ounces of white chocolates before clinical signs of poisoning can be noticed. However, this is not so with milk chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate as it contains more of the dangerous theobromine chemical. The baking chocolate is considered to be the most dangerous among all types of chocolates. Althogh a dog owner may not give the dog baking chocolate it is still possible for the dog to ingest substantial amount because the dog’s nose would find where the chocolates are kept and would have an eating spree. The dog has to have medical attention ASAP. Find out more about what to do if your dog eats chocolate.
