Suppose you are eating chocolate sitting on the couch, and your pup is expecting a small part of the chocolate as a treat. As a dog-parent, you might be wondering to know the answer for “can dogs have chocolates? Then this article may be beneficial for you and your canine.
If you ask a dog owner what food they never feed their dogs, chocolate would be the answer. Chocolate is not suitable for your dog and has many reasons behind it.
But it’s not like that always, as people say! It depends upon the quantity of chocolates at a time and the dog’s weight. There are examples where dogs are just cool after eating chocolate, and their owner didn’t notice anything weird in their pal’s behaviour.
Then what should you do? What is the answer for ‘can dogs have chocolate?’
Before getting straight to the answer, we will describe the rationale behind the chocolate eating habits of dogs.
Components that are bad in chocolates are theobromine and caffeine. Because of these two components, chocolates become a terrible thing for your dog. You might be a big fan of chocolates, but a dog’s digestion system is not suitable for it. The slowness with which animals absorb methylxanthines, particularly theobromine, is part of what makes them so deadly.
These things slow down the process of digestion of your dog. It takes almost 17 hours to digest chocolate molecules properly. So, can dogs have chocolate? No!
The concentration of Theobromine and Caffeine vary from product to product. You may find some chocolates contain more caffeine than other brands. The more caffeine and theobromine present in chocolate, the more difficult it is to digest! Hence, the darker the chocolate, the more toxic it is for dogs.
Side effects of chocolate
Can dogs have chocolate? In short, no. But if your pup consumes some accidentally, you might notice some common problems that may occur after having chocolates; those are
- Diarrhoea
- Your dog may have a breathing problem.
- Abnormal heartbeat.
- Urinating frequently.
- Swelling
- Skin irritation
- Bellyache.
These are the symptoms you may notice if your furry pal goes through difficulties. You may find several examples on the internet of dogs who died after having chocolates. Excessive amounts of methylxanthines are dangerous to your pal.
It is not only toxic but a life-threatening cause for older dogs, as older dogs often go through heart disease and breathing problems.
How much chocolate can kill a dog?
Chocolates can be deadly for dogs. The seriousness of chocolate poisoning depends upon its darkness and quantity. Baked chocolate and dark chocolates are rich ih theobromine. If you are frantically googling ‘how much chocolate can kill a dog?’, you must know some facts. Per ounce, dark chocolate contains 56% of theobromine.
An ounce of milk chocolate contains 45% of caffeine. Caffeine is another toxin for your dog. It takes a lot of time to digest, hence causing problems like stomach ache and bloating.
However, consuming a little bit of chocolate is not fatal, but sugar and caffeine in it makes chocolate an unhealthy treat for your dog. Sometimes your dog may have pancreatitis after having a bite of chocolate.
A 50-pound dog can feel sick after having just 1 ounce of baker chocolate or fall ill after having 9 ounces of milk chocolate. This is an approximate idea to keep away serious issues.
Precautions to take if your dog eats chocolate
The first and foremost thing we would like you to do is call your veterinarian. And consult with him. According to his advice, take the precautions of the aftermath. It is always good to consult with your veterinarian in an emergency.
Depending on the quantity of chocolate your dog has consumed, your vet may induce vomiting. Usually, they give activated charcoal in these cases to bring out excessive toxins from the body. Sometimes they provide IV fluid to reduce the risk of chocolate poisoning.
If you find your veterinarian is not available, you can get help from the internet. There are many websites where you will have the option to consult with a Veterinarian online. Some websites are there to help you when you need to provide details of your dog’s age, weight, height and the chocolate that your dog has consumed.
Prevent your dog from eating Chocolates
Can dogs have chocolate? It is always suggested not to feed your dog chocolate as a treat. Although giving a small bite of milk chocolate to a big dog will not cause anything wrong.
However, you are suggested to keep chocolate far away from your pal so that it will not eat chocolate on its own.
There are several ways to keep your dogs away from chocolates. Read these ideas that will save your dog from the risk of having chocolates.
Keep away chocolates from your dog
The simplest way to prevent any dangerous situation that may occur when your dog eats chocolates is to keep this creamy chocolate away from the reach of your dog.
Keep chocolates on a high shelf where your dog cannot reach, or you can keep chocolates in a closed-door kitchen.
On occasions like Christmas, Easter, New year, when you get so many chocolates as gifts, that time is very risky as you do not care about these presents. When you eat chocolates, you may throw chocolate wrappers into bins. Make sure you don’t keep those bins near your furry pal’s reach.
“Leave it” technique
This technique is advantageous to train your dog not to have random things. You may wonder while walking on the road; your dog always tries to eat whatever comes in front. It happens with everybody.
Train your dog “Leave it” technique. It is effortless to teach. And your dog will have the memory. In this technique, you need to command “leave it” when you see your dog trying to eat something randomly on the road or even on the floor.
Once you train this technique in your dog, it will remember for the future, so in this way, your dog can avoid the dire consequences of having chocolate.
Can dogs have chocolate ice cream?
If you have this question in your mind, then the answer is, no. It is simple. Chocolate ice cream is made of chocolate even though they are not very high in caffeine and theobromine. So, chocolate ice cream is not all suitable for dogs. Ice creams also have added sugar and fat, which are unhealthy for dogs. Ice creams contain a large amount of cream and milk. As most of the dogs are generally lactose intolerant, ice creams as treats are not good for them. So, if you still have the question, ‘can dogs have chocolate ice cream’, the simple answer is, no.
And it takes so many procedures to prepare chocolate ice cream. The whole process makes it a complex food that is not easy to digest. Your furry pal may not be habituated with this kind of complex food.
Can dogs have chocolate rich in cocoa?
No! This is the absolute answer for those who have the above question. As we discussed already, chocolate is not a great treat for your dog. The more the cocoa content, the darker the chocolate is. Dark chocolate is more dangerous because it has more theobromine in it.
Humans can quickly metabolize theobromine but not dogs! It slows down their metabolism and leads to many diseases.
A small amount of chocolate is good, but too many doses may cause fatal issues to your dog.
Always consult a veterinarian and feed your dog anything you want.
