Chocolate, cocoa and caffeine contains an ingredient called THEOBROMINE which is highly toxic to dogs. Dark chocolate contains more theobromine than lighter chocolate but even a small amount of either is highly risky.
The exact chemicals that cause poisoning in these substances are called METHYLXANTHINES. Dogs cannot metabolize and excrete these as efficiently as humans.
Not Once, Not Twice. But Many Times Over.
Where the human body can deal with these chemicals in 4 to 6 hours, the dog's body takes 36 hours to flush them away.
When they are in the dog's body, the chemicals within coffee and chocolate are reabsorbed many times, and each time they have a more severe detrimental effect on the dog. In short, these chemicals do not poison a dog once or twice but many times before the body can remove them.
What's The Lethal Dose of Chocolate?
The lethal dose of milk chocolate for a dog is approximately 56g per kilogram of bodyweight. Thus, for a 5kg dog, the lethal dose would be 280g.
Symptoms of Methylxanthine Poisoning include:
• Vomiting
• Hyperactivity
• Restlessness
• Hypersensitivity to Touch
• Rapid Heartbeat and Breathing Rate
• Loss of Control of Leg Muscles
• Muscle Tremor
• Seizures
• General Weakness
• Coma
Without treatment, the dog will die.
Keep your chocolates and coffee away from your pets. In the unfortunate event that your dog ingests chocolate or coffee, bring them immediately to the vet for emergency treatment.
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