What is chocolate toxicity?
• Chocolate toxicity (poisoning) is caused by excessive intake of the methylxanthine alkaloids in chocolate, coffee, tea and caffeinated sodas. The active ingredient in chocolate is theobromine. The poisoning affects many organ systems and animals of all ages are susceptible. • Poisoning is common in dogs because of their habit of rapid consumption, particularly puppies and young dogs as they may be more likely to ingest large amounts of unusual foods. Although dogs are the most susceptible, the toxin has been known to affect or kill cats, birds, rodents and reptiles as well. • Toxic dosages for dogs : • Below is a list of potentially dangerous doses of chocolate. Please note that these are approximate amounts only. Every animal has varying levels of sensitivity to theobromine. Caffeine will enhance the toxicity of theobromine. Some brands of chocolate have more caffeine than others (example: Nestle’s milk chocolate has 19 mg caffeine per oz versus Hershey’s milk chocolate has 8 mg caf
