Chocolate toxicity info CVC
Chocolate toxicity info CVC
Pets are commonly exposed to chocolate particularly around holidays such as Easter, Halloween and Christmas.
Chocolate and cocoa products found in lollies, cakes, cookies, brownies, and baking products are highly attractive to pets. They contain toxic compounds referred to as methylxanthines such as theobromine and caffeine that can cause severe illness. The amounts of toxic compounds vary greatly between products with dark chocolate, baking chocolate, and cocoa powder holding the highest concentrations.
Toxic doses of theobromine*
Mild illness | 20mg/kg |
Moderate to serious | 40mg/kg |
Lethal | 100-200mg/kg |
*Pets can respond differently to chocolate doses and the type of chocolate ingested, with some dogs more sensitive than others.
Levels of theobromine
Cocoa contains 20-30mg/g of theobromine |
Baking chocolate or dark chocolate contains 6-16mg/g of theobromine |
Milk chocolate contains 2mg/g of theobromine |
White chocolate contains 0.1mg/g of theobromine |
You will need to know:
To get the mg/kg dose of chocolate:
Examples
Milk chocolate toxicity 15kg dog Ingests 85g milk chocolate bar Milk chocolate concentration is 2mg/g |
85 x 2 = 170 mg 170/15 = 11.33 mg/kg You would expect a dose of < 20mg/kg should only cause mild tummy upset in most dogs |
Dark chocolate toxicity 15kg dog Ingests 85g dark chocolate bar Dark chocolate concentration is approximately 16mg/g |
85 x 16 = 1,360 mg 1,360/15 = 90.66 mg/kg You would expect a dose above 40mg/kg to cause serious illness in most dogs. |
Estimated doses of chocolate toxicity**
Size of dog | Milk Chocolate | Dark or Baking Chocolate |
Small dogs | 60-600g | 7-70g |
Medium dogs | 900g-1.5kg | 100-200g |
Large dogs | 2kg+ | 200-500g |
**The amount of theobromine and caffeine will differ between chocolate brands. Always call your veterinary practice and advise them of the amount of chocolate ingested. They will be able to accurately calculate the dose that your pet has been exposed to.
Common signs of chocolate toxicity:
Clinical signs usually occur within 6-12 hours of eating the chocolate and can persist for 72 hours in severe cases.
The half-life of theobromine is 17.5 hours and caffeine is 4.5 hours, which means that it takes that amount of time for half of it to be excreted out of the body.
Your veterinarian will determine the amount of theobromine and caffeine ingested. So, it is important to recall the type and amount of chocolate your pet has ingested. Chocolate ingestion can be a serious problem that requires urgent veterinary attention.
Treatment may include:
Depending on the level of toxic compounds ingested, most pets will make a full recovery with aggressive veterinary treatment.
Tips to help prevent chocolate toxicity:
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