Many people mistakenly believe that dogs are allergic to chocolate. The correct thing to say is that chocolate is toxic to dogs. Chocolate contains theobromine, which causes the toxic reaction.
In general it takes a large amount of chocolate to reach a toxic level and it also depends on what type of chocolate your dog eats.
Theobromine levels:
Milk chocolate: 44 mg per oz.
Semisweet chocolate: 150mg per oz.
Baker's chocolate 390mg per oz.
While we don’t know for certain what the exact toxicity level is, in general it is believed to be about 100 mg/kg. So if we use that amount, for the toxic dose for a 50 pound dog, it is roughly:
50 ounces of milk chocolate
17 ounces of semi sweet chocolate
5.5 ounces of Baker’s chocolate
Clinical Signs of chocolate toxicity
Some common signs that you’ll see will be excitability, increased heart rate, the dog will appear restless, there may be increased urination or muscle tremors, and vomiting and diarrhea might start.
Treatment
If you think your dog ate some chocolate you should contact your veterinarian right away. Depending on how much chocolate and what type your dog has eaten your veterinarian might instruct you to do a few different things.
They might ask you just to observe the dog for now if your dog has eaten a small amount, or they might ask you to induce vomiting if your dog has eaten a larger amount.
If your veterinarian is concerned, they might ask you to bring the dog in so they can observe the dog more closely and maybe administer activated charcoal to absorb the toxin.
Remember the next time that someone tells you that dogs are allergic to chocolate, correct them say that it is toxic for them.
