Chocolate Toxicity Calculator for Dogs

When a dog eats chocolate, it is possible that the dog can get very sick and need to see the vet! Sometimes, however, depending on the type of chocolate, the amount eaten and the size of the dog, only mild symptoms are seen. As a vet I have seen many dogs get sick from eating chocolate. Some of them have had vomiting and diarrhea, but some have had more serious symptoms like tremors, seizures and even coma.

Chocolate contains two substances that are toxic to dogs: theobromine and caffeine. Dogs metabolize these items much slower than people do.

Both theobromine and caffeine are stimulants to the central nervous system. If too much chocolate is ingested then the increased stimulus to the central nervous system can cause an increase in blood pressure and irregular heart rhythms and possibly even death!

Not sure what type of chocolate your dog ate?

When using the chocolate toxicity calculator, it is very important to know the type of chocolate that your dog ate as some are much more toxic than others. If it does not say on the label whether it is white, milk or dark chocolate, in most cases you can assume that it is milk chocolate.

However, if you are unsure, do your calculations using the "milk chocolate" option and then repeat the calculations using the "dark chocolate" option.

Not sure how much chocolate your dog ate?

If the packaging of the chocolate is still around, you should be able to read how many ounces or grams of chocolate are in the product. If not, here are some guidelines:

• A milk chocolate Hershey's Bar contains 1.5 oz (43g) of chocolate.
• A regular Toblerone Bar contains 3.5 oz (100g) of chocolate.
• A giant Toblerone Bar contains 14 oz (397g) of chocolate.
• A single Hershey's Kiss contains 0.2 oz (5.7g) of chocolate.