Christmas: why you shouldn’t give chocolate to your dog

Dark, white or milk… Chocolate is one of the most important foods for the end of the year celebrations. You’ve probably already been tempted to give your dog a small square of chocolate. But if for you it is a pure moment of joy, this is not the case for your pet who is at risk of becoming seriously threatened.

Zoom in on the toxicity of chocolate if your favorite furry ball eats it.

“He can die from it”

While it is not new to say that chocolate is dangerous for pets, it is actually its cocoa content that is.

“It depends entirely on the amount of cocoa in the chocolate. Between 5 and 10 grams of chocolate, the dog will have symptoms. Above 10, it is all the more dangerous for the dog, because it can die”, explains Dr. Charles De Langlois, contacted by news.fr. And to add that the darker the chocolate, the greater the danger to the animal.

This toxicity linked to chocolate is explained by the fact that cocoa contains alkaloids – i.e. nitrogen-containing substances with significant pharmacological activity – theobromine and caffeine.

Same refrain as caffeine, theobromine which belongs to the group of methylxanthines stimulates the central nervous system and heart muscle. “The dog eliminates it two to three times slower than the man, which explains its greater sensitivity”, explains the veterinarian, Gabriel Mendes, contacted by news.fr.

Variable depending on dose

Depending on the dose ingested by the animal, the symptoms and level of toxicity will be different.

For Doctor De Langlois, a marker allows you to see the level of danger, “a dog of 10 kilos, taking a 100 gram tablet of dark chocolate, it will be very dangerous for him”. “Often dogs eat very sweet chocolate with a little cocoa. They will also eat the aluminum foil around it, which will give them a stomach ache”, explains the vet who practices near Rennes.

As for the symptoms, they are also variable.

Often it is digestive problems, vomiting or diarrhoea. If the dose is higher, it can lead to death.

Other symptoms may occur such as hypersalivation, hyperactivity or an increase in heart rate.

When the holidays are approaching

As the holidays approach, no one is sure about having to send their pet to the vet because he ate the entire box of chocolates. Dr. De Langlois recommends “protecting the chocolates and not leaving them lying around”.

At the site of the poison control center in Nantes, a list of products harmful to animals has been identified. In addition to chocolate, there is tobacco, essential oils, paint and even alcohol. And to add also that: nuts, fruits, milk or chicken and rabbit bones are not recommended.

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