Chocolate and the danger to dogs

Easter is a time to celebrate, with all the fun of the feast and there will be chocolate eggs a plenty. And with every scrumptious egg being unwrapped, there will be a pooch or a puss with a 'Me too, please' expression on its face.

Now, on occasion, you have to be cruel to be kind, and this is such an occasion. Chocolate and pets are not a good combination. Now a small piece may not cause any damage, but some impatient pets will plan a seek-and-destroy mission and will discover the stash of Easter eggs. That's where problems will start.

Large amounts of chocolate can be dangerous for pets. Chocolate contains theobromine, a compound that is a cardiac stimulant and a diuretic.

If your dog eats too much chocolate, it could become over-excited and hyperactive. Due to the diuretic effect, it may pass large volumes of urine and it will be unusually thirsty. Vomiting and diarrhoea are also common but it is the effect of theobromine on your dog's heart that is the most dangerous.

Theobromine will either increase your dog's heart rate or may cause the heart to beat irregularly. Death is quite possible, especially if your dog exercises after the binge.

It is possible for a pet to eat a large quantity of chocolate and not show the effect for some hours afterwards. Death can occur within 24 hours.

Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. A 10-kilogram dog can be seriously affected if it eats a quarter of a 250gm packet of cocoa powder or half of a 250gm block of cooking chocolate. These forms of chocolate contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate.

Semi-sweet chocolate and dark chocolate are the next most dangerous forms, with milk chocolate being the least dangerous. A dog needs to eat more than a 250gm block of milk chocolate to be affected. Obviously, the smaller the dog, the less it needs to eat.

The good news is that there are many other ways to help your pet celebrate Easter that don't rely on chocolate and that are a lot more fun for Pooch and Puss.

Use a toilet roll core as an Easter bon-bon. For dogs, fill the core with sensible food treats, fold the ends over and wrap it in colourful paper. Let Pooch do the unwrapping because for dogs, that most of the fun.

Cats are a bit more restrained in their gluttony so rather than wrapping the bon-bon, fold just one end over and place some flavoursome treats inside. Allow the furry paw to explore the toiler roll core.

email me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for a healthy treats recipe.

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