Good Question

Good Question: Can Chocolate Kill Dogs?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) ― Are you counting on getting chocolates for Valentine's Day? I am, but I admit I'm a bit of a butterfingers, and my dog sometimes snaps up what hits the floor.

So, how bad is that? Tonight's Good Question is: How does chocolate really affect dogs?

Dr. Michael Yackey, a veterinarian, confirms the worst is possible.

"It can be fatal," he said. "Chocolate can kill dogs. The more you eat of it, the higher the concentration chocolate, the riskier it's going to be."

So how do you know if your dog has had too much?

"You're going to feel a little lousy, bloated, might increase your thirst, might be a little hyperactive," Michael said, "to twitching and actually having seizures, to having respiratory problems or cardiac arrhythmias, these can be fatal."

But what is it that's toxic to dogs in chocolate?

"Caffeine is the most well known, but theobromine is the other well known ingredient."

And it doesn't take much of the stuff. The lethal dose of the toxic compounds called methylxanthines is at 45 - 90 mg/lb.

Different types of chocolate contain the following amounts of methylxanthines:

Type                                      mg methylxanthines/ounce
Cacao Bean                                  400-1500
Baking Chocolate                          450
Semi-Sweet Chocolate                   260
Milk Chocolate                              60
Hot Chocolate                               12
White Chocolate                            1

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