"My dog ate some chocolate, what do I do?" is one of the most common pet poison center calls 

Bottom line...the degree of toxicity for your dog is based on the type of chocolate and body weight.

First, why is chocolate bad for dogs? The danger lies in the caffeine/theobromine. Chocolate is made from cocoa, and cocoa beans contain a lot of caffeine in a chemical compound called theobromine. The problem is dogs absorb, or metabolize, theobromine much slower than humans do.

Have you ever drunk way too much coffee, or an energy drink (or two) and your heart raced? The same dose of caffeine that affects us for a 30 minutes or so and gives us an uncomfortable buzz can be held in our dog's system for almost 24 hours and be potentially lethal. The concentrated theobromine makes their hearts race for hours and can cause death.

Variables to consider are your dog's size and the type and amount of chocolate eaten.

Above we have Tili, our Leonberger/Great Pyrenees cross who is almost 165 pounds and Larkan (11 pounds) and Cinnabar (13 pounds), our smooth Brussels Griffon dogs. The difference is in amount of chocolate consumed for toxic levels in Larkan or Cinnabar and Tili is dramatic.

Think of it this way, our toy and small dogs are comparable to an infant and large to giant breed dogs an adult human. What would make an infant very sick may not affect an adult.

Here is a quick, rough comparison of chocolates:

• Milk chocolate - 44 mg of theobromine per oz.
• Semisweet chocolate - 150mg of theobromine per oz./oz.
• Baker’s chocolate - 390mg of theobromine per oz.
• Pure Healthy/Specialty chocolate even more!

Toxic Dosage By Body Weight & Chocolate Type

Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:

• 1 ounce per 9 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
• 1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
• 1 ounce per 1 pounds of body weight for Baking (or high-end gourmet) chocolate.

For example;

A 10-15 pound dog (like Larkan or Cinnabar) could show symptoms of severe chocolate toxicity after eating as little as ONE OUNCE of ANY chocolate (except milk chocolate), due to their small size

BOOKMARK THESE DOG POISON CALCULATORS

Merck Vet Manuals &PET MD 

Our advise is to use the chocolate toxicity calculators to find out how much of the types of chocolate you have in your home are toxic for all of the dogs in your household. Print or write this info out and keep somewhere accessible to everyone in the household.

Clinical Signs of Chocolate Overdose Dogs May Show

• Hyper-excitability (frantic)
• Hyper-irritability (snap or biting)
• Heart rate is faster
• Restlessness
• Frequent urination
• Muscle twitching
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea

If you know or think your dog ate any type of chocolate, follow these steps.

• Find out what type of chocolate they ate; milk chocolate, semisweet, baking, gourmet)
• If possible, determine how much chocolate they actually ate
• Know your dog's approximate weight
• Call your veterinarian if you have any questions or doubts about toxicity levels your dog consumed
• Follow vet’s directions exactly (do you induce vomiting, wait and see if they exhibit and signs of distress or immediately leave for the vet's office)
• If in ANY doubt head to the vet with your dog and continue calling as you go (I know we aren't supposed to drive and talk on the phone, but this is an emergency)
• If possible, have someone go with you so they can drive, while you attend to your dog or vice versa.