How much is too much chocolate?
I’d like to wish everyone a blessed Easter! Do you know what to watch out for tomorrow? That’s right, your dog getting into chocolate. Although I had my dog open a ziplock bag and eat about a dozen brownies once (and lived to tell me about it with brown lips and all), it’s still not recommended. Especially the darker the chocolate.
Now, there’s no great worry if he sneaks a little milk chocolate egg or two. For a small dog, though, this might cause a bit of diarrhea. But in most cases it’s got to be a pretty decent amount to be dangerous. Askthevet.com says on average, the amount of chocolate eaten by a dog to possibly cause a toxic reaction is in the following ranges:
~1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate
~1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate
~1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker’s chocolate.
As you can see, its a pretty large amount. But even still, if you suspect your dog has eaten chocolate, whether or not they have diarrhea, do call your vet right away. They will make recommendations to you on what to do, and watch out for.
I had a friend call me because her big 60 lb lab mix ate a quarter of a bag of kisses. I told her not to feed her her evening meal, and watch her to make sure she doesn’t get too sick. Also, if you need her to throw up, give her a little bit of hydrogen peroxide. This is what I’ve done. As for me, my long hair mini daxie Bowser ate about half of my pound of dark chocolate. He did NOT feel good that night. Luckily, he stayed away from the sugar-free gum, which is even worse.