Chocolate

Dr. Carpino and her dog Katie Animal & Bird

Medical Center of Temple

Dr. Mary Carpino

(254) 899-8800

"Where we treat your pet like our own"

Dr.Carpino & her dog Katie

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Chocolate

Think of chocolate for your pet as a major overdose of caffeine. It affects the heart, blood, nervous system, gastrointestinal system. Everything goes into overdrive and your pet's body can't handle it. The heart races, vomiting, and horrible diarrhea will result. Depending upon the amount of chocolate, it can very easily be life threatening. As soon as you know your pet got into any chocolate, you must bring your pet in to be checked.

Why is chocolate toxic to your pets and not us?

We are able to metabolize the toxic substances in chocolate. Your pet cannot.

How much is too much?

A one ounce chocolate bar contains enough theobromine to be toxic to a 10 lb dog. What if it is chocolate flavored brownies, or cream-filled candies? Those are hard to determine if your pet has gotten enough to be certain how much is safe or how much is too much - so the rule is to assume your dog ate too much. Besides the chocolate issue, candies may be too hard on your pet's digestive system and result in a severe gastroenteritis or pancreatitis.

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