Dogs and Chocolate
Death by Chocolate

The verdict is out... A simple act of kindness, can kill your beloved dog.
Dogs and Chocolate do not go together unlike the proverbial burger and chips.

Unfortunately dogs love sweet things just like us humans.  We, however, won't have an early death from eating chocolate.  The trick here is not to let your innocent friend get the taste of chocolate as it is an addictive flavour and, now we know, can also be deadly. 

Your toddler may easily feed your beloved pet his birthday cake, not a good idea for your dog's waistline, but it won't kill him as the chocolate that causes the big problem is not present in large quantities in cakes or cookies. But the habit is formed, do not spoil your dog. You would probably be more concerned about the added weight your little dog love may incur, this is very important to their general health, as it could also lead to diabetic conditions, but the short term affect of possible death is much more critical.

Just as you would not allow your pet near deadly substances such as rat poison nor should you allow your dog any treat containing chocolate. Christmas presents, lying innocently under the Christmas tree, and happily snacked on by an inquisitive dog,  is one of the most reported incidents of dogs and chocolate... needing emergency treatment.

Small dog breeds, are notoriously around their human companions, thereby, usually expecting treats on a fairly regular basis.  They would have possibly have no problem  getting onto the dinner table and helping themselves to whatever nice tasting treat is left lying around.  If you love your beloved dog, you will take this very message very seriously. This may seem the least innocent of all dog treats but the ingredients Theobromine  and caffiene can cause havoc in your dogs physiology.

All types of dogs are susceptible to this very natural but potentially deadly substance.  A larger dog would have to ingest more of the delicious chocolate to cause serious harm, and by the same token small dog breeds may very easily overdose on minute quantities of  the deadly Theobromine ingredient which is heavily disguised in the seemingly innocent chocolate.

The darker the chocolate the more deadly, but that does mean that a milk or white chocolate is permissible.  It is simply safer to ensure that the tempting chocolate is kept out of harms way. 

Symptoms generally are:

• Excitement or trembling
• Diarrhoea
• Vomiting
• Seizures
• Lack of co-ordination
• Rarely, Coma

Should you suspect that your pet has consumed any quantity of chocolate, DO NOT WAIT FOR ANY SYMPTOMS, get to the vet as soon as possible.  Induced vomiting will be required or other medical treatments which your vet can administer.  

In extreme cases and should you not be able to get to your vet quickly, you can use Hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting.  Mix three percent hydrogen peroxide to water (in other words 3 oz for every 10 oz of water.   You need to get this down your dogs throat every 10 - 12 minutes. 2 tea spoons for a small dog breeds, up to 4 tablespoons for a large dog breed.  Continue this until your little angel has vomited.  Ideally though you should get veterinarian assistance as this truly is life or death when your dog displays any of the above symptoms.