Does your dog look at you pleadingly every time you eat something sweet?
If you care about your pet's health, you should not give in to its pleas. Dogs should not eat food intended for people.
Human food often contains substances that can cause harm to a dog and even lead to its death, as is the case with chocolate.
In this article, you will learn why dogs should never eat chocolate.
Why dogs can't have chocolate
Cocoa is a source of two alkaloids: theobromine and, to a lesser extent, caffeine. Both are potent neurotoxins, especially theobromine.
The amount of this ingredient varies between different types of chocolate: the higher the cocoa content, the more theobromine the chocolate contains. The key factor is whether the dog ate white, milk, dark, powdered chocolate or cocoa.
For example, 30 grams of milk chocolate contains about 44–56 mg of theobromine, while 30 grams of dark chocolate contains a whopping 134 mg of theobromine.
Theobromine is also found in the following foods:
• cocoa powder;
• tea;
• coffee;
• yerba mate;
• cola.
It is unlikely that a dog will eat cocoa powder, but a piece of chocolate left unattended on the table can become dangerous prey for him. So why can this ordinary and completely safe for humans product become deadly for a dog?
Humans have no problem digesting and absorbing the theobromine contained in chocolate, so the owner may think that it is also a safe product for a pet. But in fact, dogs digest the compounds contained in chocolate very slowly, so they easily accumulate in their bodies.
The deadly threat to a dog is not only in eating a large amount of chocolate at one time, but also in consuming it in small quantities on a regular basis: over time, toxic concentrations of theobromine accumulate in the animal's body.
When a dog consumes chocolate, it causes overstimulation of the central nervous system and cardiovascular system.
After eating chocolate, the dog becomes overly excited, it may experience convulsions and cardiac arrhythmia, which is extremely dangerous for its health and life.
Lethal doses of theobromine for dogs are 90–250 mg/kg body weight.
Treatment is necessary after the animal has consumed more than 20 mg/kg of body weight – in other words, even small amounts of chocolate lead to a life-threatening situation.
Symptoms of poisoning
Clinical signs of chocolate poisoning in dogs usually appear within 24 hours, most often within 4 hours, of consuming chocolate. They can last up to 72 hours.
Since theobromine is not eliminated from the dog's body for a long time, it can lead to heart muscle disease much later than the day of poisoning (up to 8 months).
The most common symptoms of chocolate poisoning in dogs include:
• pressure drops;
• cardiac arrhythmia;
• painful abdomen;
• unsteady gait and difficulty maintaining balance;
• shortness of breath with rapid breathing;
• increased water consumption and frequent urination;
• vomiting and diarrhea;
• salivation;
• anxiety, agitation and hyperactivity;
• seizures;
• weakness;
• coma.
In addition, fever and dehydration may occur. Excessive urination and vomiting cause hypokalemia (low potassium levels in the blood).
In severe cases of chocolate poisoning, muscle stiffness, bloody urine, and decreased body temperature are observed. Theobromine poisoning can lead to kidney failure and death.
What to do if a dog ate chocolate
If a dog has eaten chocolate, the most important thing is a quick human reaction. You need to get to the vet within two hours after the dog has eaten chocolate. Then you can have time to induce vomiting in the animal to remove the harmful substance from the digestive system and prevent its toxic effects.
This will protect your pet from the dangerous consequences of eating chocolate. If it is too late to induce vomiting, your veterinarian will treat it symptomatically using appropriate pharmacological agents depending on the dog's symptoms and condition.
Remember that by giving your dog human food, you are putting it at risk. If your dog lives in an apartment, you should hide all food products in a place inaccessible to it.
The basis of a dog's diet should be complete prepared food, which is the safest and most useful food for it.
Balanced food prepared by specialists provides the dog with all the necessary nutrients.
If you want to please your four-legged friend with a treat, you can treat him with snacks prepared especially for dogs. Treats should be given in reasonable quantities - a maximum of 10% of the daily energy requirement.
Previously we talked about the noisiest dog breeds .
Expert: Julia Tychino
