The active ingredient in chocolate, and the substance that is potentially harmful to dogs, is theobromine. The LD50 - dose at which one-half of the dogs exposed to a substance will die - is about 50 mg of theobromine per pound of the dog’s body weight. Yet even a lower dosage can cause vomiting, excitement, increased urination, muscle tremors, and rapid heart rate. The concentration of theobromine varies with the type of chocolate. Milk chocolate has 44 mg theobromine per ounce. Semi-sweet chocolate has 150 mg per ounce. Baking chocolate has 390 mg per ounce. Therefore, for a 10 pound dog, the toxic dose of baking chocolate would be only one ounce, but the dog would have to eat almost 3 ounces of semi-sweet or 10 ounces of milk chocolate to get the same dose of theobromine.

The fat in chocolate can also be harmful, and dogs often get enteritis or pancreatitis following excessive ingestion of milk chocolate. Diarrhea may also occur, requiring rehydration. If accidental chocolate ingestion occurs, a veterinarian should be consulted.

If your dog begs for chocolate, our compounding pharmacy has a special non-toxic chocolate flavoring that we can combine with needed medications, and it truly “ helps the medicine go down”!