Chocolate Poisoning
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Chocolate Poisoning

Chocolate Poisoning

I was told my neighbour’s dog had died of chocolate poisoning. Can this be true?

Yes it can. Chocolate contains an alkaloid called Theobromine. This is a drug which is used as a diuretic, heart stimulant, vaso dilator, and also smooth muscle relaxant but it can be poisonous in excess.


Not necessarily. Toxic doses are reported at around 100 mg/kg and fatalities at around 200 mg/kg. The amount of theobromine in chocolate depends on the type of chocolate.

Cooking chocolate and good quality dark chocolate contains between 15-20 mg/g whereas popular milk chocolate only contains about 1.5 mg/g.

Thus a small Chihuahua only weighing say a couple of kilos would have to eat less than 2 oz of good chocolate to potentially show signs of poisoning. Even a dog the size of Weimeraner could die if it ate say a couple of 200g bars of good quality or cooking chocolate.

What are the signs of chocolate poisoning?


What should I do?


How soon do the signs occur?


What is the treatment?

This obviously depends on the clinical signs and the amount that may have been ingested. If the dog is presented to us early enough, simple emetics to make the dog sick may be all that are necessary. If there is doubt, we will administer activated charcoal which limits the absorption of the active principle, theobromine, from the gut. The charcoal may be repeated every four hours for 24-36 hours since one of the problems with theobromine is that it circulates in the bloodstream and can exercise its effects over a relatively long period. This effect has been shown to be shortened by repeated charcoal administration. In addition we will admit the dog and fluid therapy will be administered for at least 24 hours. Even if showing no signs it is essential that the dog is kept under close observation for at least 24 hours to check if there is any heart abnormality.




