Barking Wednesday ~ Easter Warning

Thanks for joining me for Barking Wednesday. Each week I will be posting info about my favorite guy ~ Kingers and his friends. All kinds of stuff ~ products ~ homemade treat recipes ~ info I have learned over the years. Info I think is helpful in making sure that every dog lives a fantastic life.

Today topic is Be Careful at Easter!

Chocolate is a serious health issue for your dog..

Chocolate can be very toxic to dogs and cats. Even a small amount can cause serious health issues.  A overdose of chocolate can increase your dog's heart rate and constriction their arteries. Eating chocolate can also cause your dog to have diarrhea, vomiting, restlessness, and increased urination, and can eventually cause increased heartbeat and seizures. 

It is extremely important to act fast and treat your dog for chocolate poisoning. Seizures, coma, and even death can occur if your dog  is not treated within four to six hours after ingestion.

Here are the facts!

• Baking chocolate is the worst chocolate for dogs 1 oz per 10 pounds of dog - 6 oz of baking chocolate can be deadly - That is not much considering a standard baking chocolate bar is 4 oz - enough to kill a 40 pound dog.  SCAREY!!!
• Semi-Sweet - 3 oz per pound of dog - 60 pound dog = 18 oz of Semi-sweet chocolate 
• Milk Chocolate - 7 oz per pound of dog = 42 oz of Milk Chocolate
• White Chocolate is the least dangerous - 90 ozs per pound, and finally White Chocolate.

Please remember that ALL chocolate is bad! 

• Semi-sweet chocolate/instant cocoa. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when ⅓ ounce per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe signs occur when 1 ounce per pound of body weight is eaten. A 10-pound cat or dog would only need to ingest 3 ounces of either semi-sweet chocolate or instant cocoa to cause toxicity.

• Milk chocolate. Mild signs of toxicity can occur when 0.7 ounces per pound of body weight is ingested. Severe signs occur with 2 ounces per pound of body weight. A 10-pound cat or dog would need to ingest 7 ounces of milk chocolate to cause toxicity.

• White chocolate. This has the lowest form of toxicity because it contains the least amount of theobromine. Mild signs can occur with the ingestion of 45 ounces per pound of body weight. Severe toxicity occurs when 90 ounces per pound of body weight are ingested. This means that a 10-pound cat or dog would need to ingest 27 pounds of white chocolate to cause a severe problem. Of course, it’s unlikely for such a thing to happen, but you never know.

If your dog happens to get into the chocolate- contact your VET immediately!