Why can’t dogs eat chocolate (Why can’t dogs eat chocolate?)

Dogs can’t eat chocolate, because chocolate is toxic to dogs, but many dogs who eat small amounts of chocolate are not ill reaction. This is because of the doses that are poisonous to dogs.

The ingredients in chocolate that are toxic to dogs are theobromine and caffeine. The two compounds are nearly identical in structure and belong to a class of chemicals called methylxanthines.

Part of the reason methylxanthines are so dangerous to dogs is that they are very poor at metabolizing ketones and theobromine.

A dog’s blood serum levels of glucocorticoids will peak within 30-60 minutes after eating chocolate, then half of the ingested dose can be eliminated within 4.5 hours, and then reach normal after 10 hours levels, and finally eliminate half of the remaining*** 17.5 hours after consuming chocolate. Of course, if the dose exceeds the standard, then the dog will die within 30-60 minutes.

Action of methylxanthines

Methylxanthines are a drug for humans that counteract the activation of adenosine receptors – it is these adenosine The body makes us feel sleepy and reduces physical activity. Methylxanthines inhibit these feelings of drowsiness, thereby playing a therapeutic role, so many people drink coffee to refresh themselves and eat chocolate to refresh them.

So how harmful are methylxanthines to dogs?

These patented effects work equally well on dogs. After dogs eat theobromine and ketones, they will feel nauseous, even vomiting, rapid heartbeat, diarrhea, and mania. If they ingest too much methylxanthines, they can suffer from seizures, tremors, and even die.

How much chocolate is safe for dogs to eat?

It all depends on your dog.

Minor effects of theobromine intoxication can be seen at doses of 20 mg/kg according to the ASPCA. However, severe physical symptoms start at about 40 mg/kg and seizures can start at 60 mg/kg. The median lethal dose (LD50) is the toxic dose required to kill half of the sample population.

This is a common method for measuring lethal doses of substances in toxicology studies. For theobromine, the LD50 is 100-200 mg/kg.

Please note that all dosages are based on dog weight. If you have a nearly 200-pound Tibetan Mastiff in your family, a Mofu chocolate bar may be a good snack for it, but the same size chocolate can make a Chihuahua fight Mengpo Landlord within an hour.

Of course, in addition to the weight of the dog, the type of chocolate affects the toxicity of chocolate.

The same volume of pure chocolate and milk chocolate, the content of theobromine and alcohol will definitely not be the same.

But whether it isWhat kind of chocolate, please don’t let the dog see it!

If your dog eats chocolate without any problems, it just means that the ingested dose is not enough for it to show symptoms and die, not to say that chocolate is not harmful to dogs.

The Department of Pharmacology at the University of Vermont School of Medicine has shown that long-term administration of low doses of theobromine to dogs causes cardiomyopathy (a chronic muscle disease that leads to decreased heart function and early death).