Many dog owners now know that chocolate is not healthy for their dog - and if a chocolate muffin is stolen, it's easy to panic.
Veterinary practice felmo has therefore answered 5 questions about chocolate for dogs in an easy-to-understand manner so that you can get through the holidays safely with your four-legged friend.
1 – Will my dog die from chocolate?
No, he doesn't die immediately because he ate something with chocolate in it. It all depends on how big he is and how much of it he has eaten. Small dogs are more at risk than large dogs of suffering from symptoms of poisoning. So the dose makes the poison. In addition, two dogs of the same size can react differently to chocolate, just as people react differently to caffeine or alcohol.
With a small amount of chocolate, the dog may not show any symptoms. That means you don't have to worry. However, that doesn't mean that your dog can eat small amounts of chocolate every now and then. Chronic illnesses can occur if small amounts are consumed multiple times. The heart of the four-legged friend is usually affected. This is why chocolate should not be given to pets, even in small quantities!
2 – Why is chocolate poisonous to dogs?
The cocoa in chocolate contains a substance that is toxic to dogs. This substance is called “theobromine”. Theobromine is very similar to caffeine and also has a stimulating effect on the organism. Humans have an enzyme that can break down theobromine. We therefore enjoy the pleasant effects of chocolate without causing poisoning. However, this enzyme does not exist in the dog's body, which is why theobromine is very difficult to break down.
A high intake of the substance leads to circulatory problems and other symptoms of poisoning such as diarrhea and vomiting. The substance theobromine is only contained in cocoa in chocolate. That's why dark chocolate is much more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate, on the other hand, is largely harmless in terms of the theobromine content, because where there is no cocoa, there is no theobromine.
3 – How much chocolate can my dog tolerate?
Veterinarian felmo's infographic shows a formula that you can use to calculate how much theobromine your dog has absorbed.
To do this, you need to know how much chocolate your dog has eaten and what the theobromine content of the chocolate is. The theobromine content is not stated on the packaging of the chocolate, but the cocoa content is. And with the cocoa content you can then use the theobromine content agents.

As you can see in the infographic, white chocolate has almost no theobromine because it does not contain cocoa. And the higher the cocoa content in the chocolate, the higher the theobromine content. You then divide the amount of chocolate and the theobromine content by your four-legged friend's body weight. So you put the theobromine you ingest in relation to your four-legged friend's body, because the dose ingested makes the poison: even a small dose can be dangerous for a small dog. With a large dog, however, you don't have to worry too much about a small amount and just keep an eye on him.
4 – When do I need to go to the vet?
In any case, you should keep a close eye on your dog after he has eaten chocolate. If your dog shows signs of poisoning such as diarrhea, vomiting, heavy panting, extreme thirst, or even cramps, you should go to the vet or call a veterinarian. Because this means that the theobromine dose was too high for your dog. If you have a small dog, you should definitely use the formula to calculate how much theobromine your dog has consumed. For example, if your dog has eaten half a bar of dark chocolate, this is already very dangerous for him and you should call a vet.
But it's not just the theobromine in chocolate that's dangerous! Dogs don't carefully unwrap chocolate before eating it. So try to find out how much packaging your dog has eaten. Depending on how large this amount is, this can also be dangerous for your dog.
5 – How can I protect my pet from poisoning?
Store chocolate somewhere out of his reach. If you have children who like to give your four-legged friend a snack, explain to them how dangerous chocolate can be for their pet. Especially if you leave your dog alone, chocolate should be out of his reach. And if you do notice symptoms in your dog, you should go to a veterinarian or animal clinic as quickly as possible.
Source: My dog ate chocolate, what do I do now?
Related to the topic of snow gastritis when dogs eat too much snow?
If you enjoyed this post and value the importance of well-founded information, become part of the exclusive Mimikama Club! Support our work and help us promote awareness and combat misinformation. As a club member you receive:
📬 Special Weekly Newsletter: Get exclusive content straight to your inbox.
🎥 Exclusive video* “Fact Checker Basic Course”: Learn from Andre Wolf how to recognize and combat misinformation.
📅 Early access to in-depth articles and fact checks: always be one step ahead.
📄 Bonus articles, just for you: Discover content you won't find anywhere else.
📝 Participation in webinars and workshops : Join us live or watch the recordings.
✔️ Quality exchange: Discuss safely in our comment function without trolls and bots.
Join us and become part of a community that stands for truth and clarity. Together we can make the world a little better!
* In this special course, Andre Wolf will teach you how to recognize and effectively combat misinformation. After completing the video, you have the opportunity to join our research team and actively participate in the education - an opportunity that is exclusively reserved for our club members!
Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )

