Just as I was looking forward to some peace, she decided to go on a run. It’s not unusual for her to eat snacks while running around the house; after all, she has a voracious appetite. So when I got home from work last night and found that she had eaten an entire bowl of chocolate chip cookies, I wasn’t surprised.
I let her eat them because they’re healthy for dogs. Well, maybe not that healthy. I’ve nailed down the problem: Chocolate can be toxic to dogs if eaten in large quantities. A dog is eating chocolate. However, she’s an intelligent dog and won’t touch another chocolate chip cookie for as long as I live, which hopefully won’t be too much longer at this rate.
Contents
Why Is Chocolate Bad for Dogs?
Chocolate is toxic to dogs because of the caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline it contains. Chocolate poisoning in dogs is more common than you might think. Dogs will eat anything, including packing peanuts, cardboard, paper, and other things that aren’t food.
If you leave your chocolate lying around, an unsuspecting dog could eat it. According to animals texas .org, “Dogs don’t metabolize caffeine as humans do.”
What types of chocolate are harmful to dogs?
Milk chocolate has the highest amount of sugar in it and is the least harmful. Unsweetened baker’s chocolate, which is high in cocoa solids, is poisonous. (Fortunately, my dog only ate Ghirardelli bittersweet chips. Hershey’s semi-sweet chips are also high in sugar—the baking kind—and would’ve been fine.)
How Many Cookies Can Be Bad For A Dog?
One ounce of chocolate could be deadly if you have a dog under fifty pounds or a small dog. Dogs would have to eat around two pounds of chocolate to be poisoned.
Unfortunately, yes. If your dog overeats chocolate, it can kill him. If your dog eats more than an ounce of chocolate or more than 10% of his body weight, he might fall into a coma and die from heart failure.
Chocolate isn’t a good snack for dogs. Overdose from chocolate can be fatal. It can cause serious digestive problems, and it’s toxic for dogs. Chocolate is poisonous to pigs, and severe cases have been treated with a high dosage of penicillin. Too much chocolate can cause vomiting and diarrhea, which are the body’s way of eliminating the toxic chemicals in chocolate.
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea
- Convulsions
- Coma
- Heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat)
- Weakness
- Depression
- Low blood sugar
- Kidney failure
- Death
Best 5 Treatments If Your Dog Gets Sick After Eating Chocolate Chip Cookies
- If a dog is vomiting, the best thing to do is to get them a drink of water. Do not induce vomiting.
- Give them a little cream of chicken soup or beef gravy if your dog has diarrhea. This will help their digestive system.
- Getting your dog to an emergency vet is best as soon as you notice any problems. If there are less than five hours left in the day, this could be fatal for your pet unless they get treatment immediately!
- Try a mild laxative called Metoclopramide (Reglan). Put one tablet of this in your dog’s food and mix well. It may help your dog feel better. I suggest a small dose at first, but if there are no side effects, you can increase the dosage gradually as you see that your dog is getting better.
- A heart arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat) or low blood sugar indicates that your dog may need immediate care. If you notice that your dog has low blood sugar symptoms, then he needs to be checked by a vet immediately.
Final thought
Chocolate is poisonous to dogs because of the caffeine, theobromine, and theophylline it contains. Overdose from chocolate can be fatal. If your dog ate some chocolate chip cookies, call the vet immediately.
If you notice that your dog has low blood sugar symptoms, then he needs to be checked by a vet immediately. If there are less than five hours left in the day, this could be fatal for your pet unless they get treatment immediately!
