Is chocolate poisonous to dogs?

Our question this week was:

Dr. Debra – Is chocolate poisonous to dogs? I thought I heard something about it and My dog at a brownie (he is a 6-year-old lab) and I about had a heart attack. I called the local veterinary clinic and they told me not to worry. Is that right?

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Jonathon T.

Answer

Hi – thanks for your email. You wrote asking if chocolate is poisonous. Your dog previously ate one brownie. The answer is yes, chocolate is poisonous. The most poisonous is baking chocolate. Milk chocolate is less toxic. Your clinic is right in that one brownie is not going to be “toxic” do a large breed dog like a lab.

An article that might be helpful to you is Chocolate toxicity in Dogs. This article discusses the amounts of chocolate per body weight that is toxic and the different types of chocolate that can be toxic to dogs.

Best of luck!

Dr. Debra

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