Call your vet immediately.

LookOut wrote on 2/3/05 9:29 AM:

Hello,

I have read in the news group that chocolate is toxic to dogs. Is this
true. My son had left 1 1/2 chocolate bars on the table and while we were
out, the dogs ate them. Even unwrapped them. Should I take her to the vet?
If not, is there something I should watch for?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

On Thu, 3 Feb 2005 09:29:07 -0500, "LookOut" wrote:

Hello,

I have read in the news group that chocolate is toxic to dogs. Is this
true. My son had left 1 1/2 chocolate bars on the table and while we were
out, the dogs ate them. Even unwrapped them. Should I take her to the vet?
If not, is there something I should watch for?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

From: http://science.howstuffworks.com/question348.htm

It turns out that, for dogs, a chemical in chocolate called theobromine
is the source of the problem. Theobromine, similar to caffeine, is toxic
to a dog when it ingests between 100 and 150 milligrams per kilogram of
body weight.

Different types of chocolate contain different amounts of theobromine:
It would take 20 ounces of milk chocolate to kill a 20-pound dog, but
only 2 ounces of baker's chocolate or 6 ounces of semisweet chocolate.
It is not that hard for a dog to get into something like an Easter
basket full of chocolate eggs and bunnies and gobble up a pound or two
of chocolate. If the dog is small, that could be deadly.

From: http://science.howstuffworks.com/fra...arent=question
348.htm&url=http://www.netpetmagazine.com/articles/choc.tox.html

Chocolate - active ingredient = theobromine:

The half life in the dog is 17.5 hours
The Toxic dose in the dog is 100-150 mg/kg.
A kilogram (kg) = 2.2 lbs.
A milligram(mg) = 1/1000 of a gram

So for a 50 lb dog a toxic dose would be roughly 2.2 grams (2200 mg) of
pure chocolate.

However the concentration of theobromine varies with the formulation of
the chocolate so:

Milk chocolate has 44mg/oz (154mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb dog - 50
oz of milk chocolate.

Semisweet chocolate has 150 mg/oz (528mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb
dog - 15 oz of semisweet chocolate

Baking chocolate 390mg/oz (1365 mg/100gm): toxic dose for 50 lb dog - 5
oz of baking chocolate

Thus a dog eating one oz of baking chocolate would have to eat almost 3
oz of semisweet or 10 oz of milk chocolate to get the same dose of
theobromine.

The theobromine in candies consisting of chocolate that is coated over
some other substance - as in filled candies and chocolate coated dried
fruits, etc will be more dilute than that in pure chocolate bars and
solid chocolate candies.

Your dogs are probably not in any danger--this time.

Whatever it takes.

I have read in the news group that chocolate is toxic to dogs. Is this
true. My son had left 1 1/2 chocolate bars on the table and while we were
out, the dogs ate them. Even unwrapped them. Should I take her to the
vet? If not, is there something I should watch for?

Depends on the size of the dogs. If they are of the small variety, then you
should call the vet and get heir advice. Inducing to vomit is what they may
recommend if not come in to the office altogether. A larger dog *may* suffer
no more than a tummy ache from the unusal richness of the chocolate.

The chemical in chocolate that is toxic is greatly "watered down" in milk
chocolate, less so in dark chocolates and is in its most concentrated form
in bakers chocoate. When in doubt call the vets. Get your peace of mind.

-Sharon