With the Easter Bunny about to hop into most of our homes, I thought it was a good time to remind pet owners about the dangers in giving your pet chocolates.
Keep in mind , the worst thing a chocolate egg can do to most of us is add an inch or two to our waist, but to a dog or cat, it can make them very sick and poison them. Chocolate contains a chemical called Theobromine and pets have a real problem trying to metabolize it. It begins to builds up in their system and at times can cause the pet to go into cardiac arrest.
Those Easter candy baskets the bunny brings look just as good to our family pets, so use caution when leaving any chocolate candy around.
I did some research to see just how much chocolate it would take to cause your pet serious problems and it seems the amount of chocolate it takes to make your dog sick depends on the kind of chocolate they have eaten and the dogs weight
White chocolate has the least amount of stimulants, but baking chocolate, milk chocolate or coca beans themselves have the highest sources that can lead to toxic poison in your pets. Here is a breakdown straight from the vet
White Chocolate – a 20lb dog would need to eat 55 pounds of white chocolate to cause nervous system troubles. That’s a lot of candy!
Milk Chocolate – a 20lb dog would only have to eat one pound of milk chocolate to have the toxic effect. Hide your candy bars, milk chocolate eggs and other chocolate treats from your pets.
Semi Sweet Chocolate – 20lb dog would only need to eat 6 ounces of this before they would become very sick. Dark Chocolate lovers beware!
Even though your pet might not eat those amounts, and might just of ran off with a few Hershey’s Kisses or even a little piece of your candy bar, the high fat content in those candies may cause vomiting and diarrhea. The effects of chocolate consumed by a pet can last 12 to 72 hours.
Let’s keep Easter sweet and safe! Keep your candy treats away from your pets, there are many great tasting made in the USA pets treats available today for their Easter Baskets
