Dog is considered to be man’s best friend. Chocolate on the other hand, is a symbol of love. In case, you accidentally combine both of them, dog and the chocolate, it might be fatal for your dog. Dogs are very much sensitive to chocolate, in fact chocolate is toxic for dogs. Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine also known as xantheose, is a bitter alkaloid of cacao plant. Its chemical formula is C7H8N4O2. It is a primary alkaloid in cocoa and chocolate.
The reason for chocolate being fatal for dogs is that dogs are among the animals that metabolize theobromine slowly. The quantities that can be fatal are 50 grams of chocolate for a small dog and 400 grams of chocolate for a larger one. Theobromine poisoning in dogs is treatable if it is caught early, if not, it can lead to death of the dog due to cardiac arrest. Symptoms that your dog might show are; hyperactivity, muscle twitching, restlessness, vomiting, heart palpitations, fits, bleeding, increased urination and excessive panting.
It depends on the chocolate that dogs eat. Milk chocolate won’t kill the dog if taken in higher quantity as compared to baker’s chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate. Cats are also reported to have been poisoned by chocolate but the rate is not as high as in case of dogs.
