GreddyGirl wrote:Yeah, but isnt there chocolate on the inside too, plus there were a few capuchino chocolates too!
Chocolate toxicity
Q: A veterinarian sent me a e-mail two days ago telling me that my for
dosages Chocolate toxcity were incorrect. Would you please tell me what dosage is acurate.
Thank you. Dr G
A: Dr. G
The LD50 -- dose at which 1/2 of the dogs exposed to a substance will die
--- is about 100mg/kg for chocolate. The dose that causes signs of
toxicity, such as excitement, increased urination, muscle tremors and rapid
heart rate may occur at a lower dosage.
The other problem with dogs eating chocolate is that a lot of formulations
of chocolate are high in fat and dogs often get enteritis or pancreatitis
following ingestion of a lot of milk chocolate.
Your dosages of 44mg theobromine/oz for milk chocolate, 150mg/oz for
semi-sweet chocolate and 390 mg/oz for baking chocolate match the dosages
that I have seen published. Using a dose of 100mg/kg as the toxic dose the
toxic dosages per pound of body weight for dogs work out to be roughly:
1 ounce per pound of body weight (2 ounces per kg of body weight) for milk
chocolate.
1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight ( 1 ounce per 1.5 kg body weight) for
semi-sweet chocolate
1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight ( 1 ounce per 4 kg) for baker's chocolate.
So the dosages I am familiar with match what you have included in your
email for death by chocolate. Toxic signs may occur at lower dosages. The
best estimate that I have seen for this is that clinical signs may develop
in some pets with dosages as low as 10% of the LD50 dose.
I have been practicing for 20 years and I do not recall having a patient
die from ingestion of chocolate but I have seen some very excited dogs and
I have seen some dogs that probably would have died from the secondary
enteritis without treatment.
I have talked to veterinarians who feel that they have seen dogs that died
from heart problems, pancreatitis or other complications following
chocolate ingestion even though the dogs ate less than the theoretical
toxic dose.
I think that the chances of causing a toxicity with milk chocolate are very
very low and I don't think it is a big deal if my clients share their M&Ms
with their pets but semi-sweet chocolate morsels and baker's chocolate
should be put where pets and small children aren't likely to find and
ingest them.
I hope this is the information you were looking for.
Mike Richards, DVM
mnp13 wrote:Not to disagree with Debby but....
I'd make them puke before I worried about the amount they ate.
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