What to Do If Your Dog Eats Chocolate
Never feed your dog chocolates, it will kill him! I wonder how many dog owners are aware of this fact. We love our dogs and it is a common practice to share whatever we are eating with our pets. A dog that has tasted one bite of the chocolate truffle or have munched a few pieces of M&Ms will develop a taste for chocolates. The big problem is that chocolates contain Theobromine, a Xanthine compound that is similar to caffeine. This stimulant has severe effects that can lead to the death of the dog. Dogs can eat chocolates and, like humans, dogs have sweet tooth too. The only problem is that canines do not have the ability to digest Theobromine. Once ingested, this chemical will have severe effects on the body of the dog.
The amount of chocolate that will produce a toxic effect depends on the body weight of the dog and on the kind of chocolate consumed. One hundred to one hundred fifty milligrams is enough to cause poisoning. Simply explained, this means that it would only need to eat ten ounces of purer chocolates as found in Bakers chocolate and in unsweetened chocolate to poison a twenty pound dog. Purer chocolates contain higher dosage of Theobromine.
So what would you do if you noticed that the pooch has consumed every tiny bit of the chocolate candy bar left open on the center table? Do not procrastinate and wait for the symptoms to appear though signs of toxicity appear very quickly. Take the dog to a veterinary facility right away. A severely poisoned dog, if left untreated could have seizure, arrhythmia, and goes into coma, stop breathing and die in a matter of minutes.
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