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IT CAN'T BE TRUE!! - CHOCOLATE CAN BE POISONOUS
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With Easter bunnies about to skip around the gardens you would probably be surprised to discover that chocolate can be poisonous to your dog if it is eaten in large enough quantities. Not surprisingly, the incidence of accidental chocolate exposures in pets mainly occurs around holidays, especially Easter and Christmas.

A chemical in the chocolate called theobromine is the source of the problem. Theobromine is a naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean and is in the same family group as caffeine. Dogs cannot metabolise and excrete these compounds as efficiently as human's beings. The compounds are taken up by the liver, transmitted back to the small intestine and converted back to the original methyxanthines for another trip around the body. This repeats itself a number of times, so instead of getting rid of the compounds the dog will just keep poisoning itself.

WHAT DOES THIS DO TO THE BODY?
It will have an effect on the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system. It also will have a diuretic effect which will make your dog urinate more than normal.

The signs of chocolate poisoning which your dog may show are:

    * Excitement / nervousness / trembling / your dog may jump when touched
    * Vomiting and diarrhoea
    * Excessive thirst / excessive urination
    * Muscle spasms
    * Fast breathing

And in rarer cases:

    * Seizures
    * Coma
    * Death

The fortunate thing is that most dogs, after consuming huge amounts of chocolate, will vomit which reduce sthe amount of poison in the stomach available to act on the body and will decrease the toxicity. However you should always consult your vet even if your dog does vomit.

The health and the age of your dog will have an effect on how toxic the chocolate will be. If your dog is older and not in tip top shape the reaction to a plate of chocolate will be different to a young healthy dog of a similar weight. Small dogs can be poisoned from smaller amounts of theobromine than large dogs.

The different forms of chocolate and its by-products contain different amounts of theobromine.

HOW MUCH IS ENOUGH?
The quantity of chocolate that must be eaten before toxic symptoms appear is different for each dog. What could be lethal for one dog, may be no problem for another, but generally speaking the advice is avoid any chocolate not specifically designed to be fed to dogs & be especially careful with darker/ more expensive chocolate as this is more likely to be toxic. DO NOT WAIT FOR SYMPTOMS TO BEGIN CONTACT YOUR VETERINARY SURGEON IMMEDIATELY!

TREATMENT
There is no specific antidote for Thiobromine poisoning. Chocolate poisoning is an emergency. Treatment will be supportive therapy of presenting symptoms and may include the following

    * IV fluids – to prevent dehydration from vomiting, diarrhoea and / or increased urination, and to “flush” the Thiobromine out of the system.
    * Emetics – these are medicines, which will make your dog vomit. This may only be used within a certain timeframe of the chocolate being eaten.
    * Anti-seizure medications – for dogs which are having seizures and / or muscle tremors. This may include anaesthetising your dog until the fits have stopped.
    * Cardiac Drugs – these will be used for patients who are showing an irregular heart rate or rhythm.