Chocolate Toxicity in Dogs

Chocolate is toxic to dogs. Many foods contain small amounts of chocolate and are unlikely to be a problem. Baking chocolate and Semi-sweet morsels (chocolate chips) have the potential to cause serious illness if ingested. Refer to the  following chart for toxic levels based on the dog's body weight. Theobromine is the active ingredient in chocolate.    

Signs of toxicity include:                                                                                                                                                                                                                          

• Vomiting 
• Diarrhea
• Excessive urination
• Muscle tremors
• Rapid breathing
• Rapid heart rate
• Delirium
• Hyperactivity, restlessness, agitation followed by depression and coma
• Seizures
• Sudden death from cardiac failure

 Toxic Amounts of Chocolate for Different Size Dogs:

Weight of dog	Milk Chocolate (oz)	Semisweet (oz)	Unsweetened  (Baking Chocolate)  (oz)	Theobromine (mg)
5lbs	255	1.5	0.6	225
10 lbs	10.3	3	1.2	450
15 lbs	15.5	4.5	1.7	680
20 lbs	20.7	6.1	2.3	910
30 lbs	30.9	9.1	3.5	1360
40 lbs	41.4	12.1	4.7	1820
50 lbs	51.6	15.1	5.8	2270
60 lbs	61.8	18.1	7	2720
70 lbs	72.3	21.2	8.2	3180
80 lbs	82.7	24.3	9.3	3640
90 lbs	92.9	27.3	10.5	4090
100 lbs	103.4	30.3	11.7	4550