Boxer dog no chocolateHealthy dark chocolate, like the kind made by Xocai, has a lot more flavanoids, high levels of antioxidants, has a high ORAC score and, unfortunately for dogs, has a lot of Theobromine.

In case you haven't heard, chocolate is bad for dogs. Actually it's the Theobromine in chocolate that's bad for them. In fact, it can kill your dog!

In many cases, with most candy chocolate that Americans have in their homes, it takes quite a bit of chocolate to get enough theobromine to give your dog a problem. It all depends on the dog, of course, and the chocolate. On average milk chocolate has about 44 mg of theobromine per ounce. Semi sweet chocolate contains 150 mg per oz. Baker's dark chocolate has about 390 mg per oz. And healthy dark chocolate upwards from that.

Using that as a guide a toxic dose of chocolate for a dog will be 1 ounce per one pound of dog weight for milk chocolate, one ounce per 3 pounds of dog weight for semi-sweet chocolate, one ounce per nine pounds of dog weight for baker's chocolate and healthy dark chocolate? Well let's just say it is NOT healthy for dogs at all.

Dogs tend to like the smell of chocolate and can develop a taste for it. So NEVER give your dog any chocolate. Always keep chocolate out of your dog's reach.

Things that can happen:
A small amount of milk chocolate may give a medium sized dog only a digestive problem. But theobromine is a Xanthine. Xanthines affect the nervous system, cardiovascular system and peripheral nerves.

The first signs of poisoning are vomiting and diarrhea, increased urination, lethargy and depression, and muscle tremors. This can progress to cardiac arrhythmias and seizures leading to death.  Though most symptoms will begin to appear within two hours it can take as long as twenty four hours for symptoms to appear and up to three days for recovery.  As theobromine metabolizes slowly in dogs symptoms may be slow in appearing- do NOT be fooled into thinking everything is ok.  Early attention and treatment can make the difference in saving your companion’s life.

Theo bromine does not completely leave the dogs system, as do some foods, my research informs me that Theo Bromine has a half life of 17.5 hours. This means that half of it has gone in 17.5 hours; in 35 hours another half of the half that was remaining will have gone. We can go on and on forever and ever getting less and less, to be silly about it, it never gets to zero!

 If you discover your pet has ingested chocolate DO NOT wait for symptoms to appear but phone your veterinarian- poisoning is an EMERGENCY.

 If discovered within two hours of ingestion vomiting can be induced to eliminate the poison.  If it has been  longer than two hours your pet may need more intensive treatment including a activated charcoal treatment, iv fluids, and careful monitoring.  In addition to contacting your own veterinarian you can phone the National
Animal Poison Information Center at 1-888-252-7387.  Though there is a fee for this consultation, they will provide you with a case number which your doctor can use to access information on how to help your pet.  (It
can be helpful to phone this center while on your way to your veterinarian as a resource for your doctor).

This is a serious matter for your dog. While this dark chocolate may be healthy for you, for your dog it could be the end of his life! Be careful.