The holidays are here. In the ER tonight we have had lots of phone calls and patients coming in from consuming large doses of chocolate. Chocolate is very yummy for us and for animals but why is it toxic to them and not us? .
Well lets start with what chocolate actually is first; This lovely treat is derived from Theobroma cacao which are roasted seeds of theobromine/caffeine. Theobromine is a large portion of chocolate and luckily human digestive systems are able to break this substance down much more efficiently than dogs. Half life is the duration of action from a drug or substance in which half of its affects subside. In other words if a human takes drug A, after 2 hours this drug will be "half" digested and excreted therefore the affects will have subsided. The half life of chocolate in a human is about 7 hours, in a dog this doubles plus to 17 hours. This means a dog will remain affected from the theobromine for this time and could have symptoms such as increased heart rate, vomiting, diarrhea, increased body temperature, rigidity, seizures, and advanced such as cardiac failure, and coma. Baking chocolate is the most toxic because it contains more caffeine and theobromine than milk chocolate and semi-sweet.
The holidays are great times to share with family friends but the Vet isn't usually a planned way to spend Christmas. As much as we would love to see your pets, we also want them healthy, happy and that includes being with their owners on holidays. Keep chocolate away from your animals and have a safe and happy holiday. Merry Christmas bloggers.
How do I know how much is too much? Will my cat eat it too? Are there any other holiday dangers I should be concerned about?
ReplyDeleteTHanks so much for reading!! It takes about 2 ounces per 5lbs of dog to develop a toxicity for milk chocolate. Dark chocolate and bakers chocolate are worse and much smaller amounts can cause toxicity. Cats usually are much smarter however if its available and they have a sweet tooth :), they also may ingest it so I would keep it from them too. The list goes on many plants cause toxicities, ribbons and other Christmas type decorations can lead to foreign bodies and obstructions, for more check out the link below. :)
ReplyDeletehttp://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/common_household_dangers_pets.html