Is there a bona fide case proving dogs should not eat chocolate?

Check out this quick article I recently read on a veterinary site:

http://hillsborovet.com/pet_care/dogs/chocolate_bad.php

If this article is true, then how did a ten pound toy poodle survive eating a half pound of chocolate Hershey Kisses?

Thanks for the article, but no particular case was given for a dog that actually died because of chocolate posioning.

I sent this to our resident vet.

Jill, thank you and I hope we get a result answer. jp

Here’s an article detailing a vet clinic that had 3 deaths in 2 weeks from chocolate.

http://www.amazingdogfacts.com/all/can-dogs-die-from-eating-chocolate/

Future, thanks again.

This article explains it pretty well, John. It also gives the amounts of various chocolates it would take to kill a dog of a certain weight.

http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2011/02/why-chocolate-is-bad-for-dogs/

Also: http://www.michvet.com/library/emergency_chocolate_toxicity.asp

Milk chocolate has relatively little theobromine, the toxin in chocolate which kills dogs (and people). Baker’s chocolate has much more. Everything, including water, is toxic in sufficient quantities and has an LD50, the volume required to kill ½ of a given population. Most dogs are more susceptible to theobromine than most people because most dogs are smaller than most people, and so have a much smaller LD50.

Yes, I agree with @bkcunningham I have always been under the impression it was about the amount and the dogs size. I have never made a habit of giving dogs I have had chocolate on a regular basis, but, they have all had a few bites along with some ice cream and other goodies. Nobody died. Infact, I had a large hound once that ate an easter basket full of candy with no ill effect, but, he took a 3 lb. pork roast off the counter once and ate the whole thing and ended up on IV’s at the vet for pancreatitis. (sp?)

When I was looking for my above links, I read an article about grapes and raisins being poisonous to dogs and other animals. I never heard that before. My Australian shepherd loved cold grapes.

I’ve always given my dogs a wee bit at the holidays or if I’m having some as a treat. I hadn’t heard it was poisonous until recently. Of course a bag of it is too much! it’s too much for me. But a half tsp amt makes my little dog happy. 25 years ago, it went round that I was next thing to a murderer type for giving my dog stew or oatmeal. Now you pay extra to get stew in a can!!

The more cocoa in the chocolate the worse it is for the dog. Dark chocolate would be worse. Some types of chocolate (cheap brands) have much less. Chocolate IS toxic to dogs. No doubt. It can be easily looked up on the net. Google it.

I have known of a couple of dogs that have died after eating chocolate and the tests proved that it was chocolate that killed them. That’s proof enough for me. My dog has got hold of chocolate before and she was fine and I know more dogs that have eaten chocolate and survived that ones that have become ill and/or died from it. It has more to do with the quality of the chocolate like @cazzie said. I am not sure about Hershey’s as I don’t think we have it over here but if it is cheap, milk chocolate that would probably explain why your poodle was fine. Just remember, like with people, what is fine for one dog may not be for another and I wouldn’t use your poodle as proof that chocolate is fine for dogs regardless of how cheap.

One brand of chocolate that may be really bad for dogs is KitKat. There’s the word Kat there that rhymes with cat, see. Just sayin. ( Ouch, that huuurt! ) : (

@mazingerz88 LOL

My old hound had a nose that wouldn;t quit, obviously, he was a hound once he literally drug me into the street to lick a melted candy bar off the asphalt.
That dog would jump through fire to get to food. He also ransacked some campers picnic once, and wolfed down potato salad and chicken. I was so humiliated. Just when I thought it was safe to let him off leash. haha
Hounds are notorious food stealers, nothing is safe. lol