Easter is a great holiday to spend with friends and family, and the family dog! While we love chocolate at Easter, we have to remember that it is poisonous to dogs. Eating chocolate can lead to theobromine poisoning in dogs. Dark chocolate is much more deadly than milk chocolate due to it's higher coco content. Mild cases of theobromine poisoning cause vomiting and diarrhea while severe cases can lead to seizures, rapid heart rate, hyperactivity, respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. While there is no need to freak out if your dog eats a tiny bit of chocolate, if they eat over 100 milligrams of theobromine per kilogram body weight it could kill them. The amount of theobromine in chocolate varies depending on the type, the worst being high cocoa and bakers chocolate. If you aren't sure how much your dog has eaten, take them to the vet.
Here are some tips for keeping your dog safe over Easter:
1) If you are having an Easter Egg Hunt which involves leaving chocolate around keep your dog inside during the hunt and make sure ALL of the chocolate is picked up before letting him/her out.
2) Where possible try to use milk or white chocolate, if you dog eats milk chocolate they may still have to go to the vets but the consequences will be much milder.
3) Any dark chocolate you do have at Easter do not use in an egg hunt, leaving chocolate on the floor or hidden in bushes is asking for a dog to eat it.
If you dog does eat chocolate, keep calm and call your vet. In most cases, especially in big dogs, it's not a big deal because most of the chocolate that humans eat is fairly low in cocoa content. Your dog will most likely have a stomach ache unless they have eaten a LOT of dark chocolate. Always best to be safe, keep chocolate out of reach, and if in doubt call you vet.
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