Chocolate Toxicity

Chocolate may be America's favorite flavor.  We like chocolate candy, ice cream, chocolate drinks, chocolate cakes, just about anything with that flavor. We may want to share our favorite treat with an eager pet but it is best to think twice and reach for the dog biscuits instead.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CHOCOLATE

Everyone who has ever eaten candy knows there are many types of chocolate.  

• Chocolate Liquor is the liquid that results from grinding the hulled cacao beans.
   
• Cocoa Butter is the fat that is extracted from the chocolate liquor.
   
• Cocoa Powder is the solid that remains after the cocoa butter is removed from the chocolate liquor. 
   
• Unsweetened Chocolate is chocolate liquor that is 50-60% cocoa butter
   
• Semisweet Chocolate is chocolate liquor that is 35% chocolate liquor (the rest being sugar, vanilla, or lecithin).
   
• Milk chocolate is chocolate that is at least 10% chocolate liquor, the rest being milk solids, vanilla or lecithin.

WHY IS CHOCOLATE BAD?

Sometimes we eat chocolate plain. Sometimes we eat it baked into cakes, mixed into ice cream etc. The first problem with these sweets is the fat.  A sudden high fat meal (such as demolishing a bag of chocolate bars left accessible at Halloween time) can create a lethal metabolic disease called "pancreatitis."  Vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain are just the beginning of this disaster. Remember, in the case of pancreatitis, it is the fat that causes the problem more than the chocolate itself.

The fat and sugar in the chocolate can create an unpleasant but temporary upset stomach. This is what happens in most chocolate ingestion cases.

Chocolate is, however, directly toxic because of the theobromine. The more chocolate liquor, the more theobromine is present. This makes baking chocolate the worst, followed by semisweet and dark chocolate, followed by milk chocolate, followed by chocolate flavored cakes or cookies. Theobromine causes:

• Vomiting
   
• Diarrhea
   
• Hyperactivity
   
• Tremors
   
• Seizures
   
• Racing heart rhythm progressing to abnormal rhythms
   
• Death in severe cases

Toxic doses of theobromine are 9mg per pound of dog for mild signs up top 18 mg per pound of dog for severe signs. Milk chocolate contains 44mg/ounce of theobromine while semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/ounce, and baking chocolate contains 390 mg/ounce.

It takes nearly 4 days for the effects of chocolate to work its way out of a dog's system. If the chocolate was only just eaten it may be possible to induce vomiting; otherwise, hospitalization and support are needed until the chocolate has worked its way out of the system.