Here’s what you should know

• Chocolate contains a chemical called theobromine that is extremely toxic for dogs.
• There is an uptick in chocolate poisoning incidents around holidays that involve sweets, like Easter and Halloween.
• Dogs can start presenting chocolate poisoning symptoms within two hours of ingestion.

No, it’s not a myth. If your dog eats enough chocolate, it can become really sick and even die.

Chocolate poisoning in dogs and pets is not that uncommon. In 2020, the Animal Poison Control Center’s helpline reported handling 76 cases of “chocolate exposure” every day. Chocolate ranked fourth among the APCC’s latest list of top pet toxins.

there is an uptick in chocolate poisoning incidents around holidays that involve sweets, like Easter and Halloween. Last year, at Chihuahua in the United Kingdom required emergency treatment after it tie a chocolate Easter egg.

So what should you do if your dog ate chocolate? And what symptoms should you be looking for if your pet ingested the sweet? Here’s what you need to know.

My dog ​​ate chocolate. What do I do?

You may need to take your dog for an urgent visit to the vet. First, you should assess what kind of chocolate and how much of it your dog ate. Then, consider your dog’s size. These factors determine whether your dog ingested a toxic dose of chocolate.

there are online chocolate toxicity calculators that can help you evaluate your dog’s risk level after eating chocolate. Just plug in your information, and it will tell you if you should seek medical attention for your dog. It’s always best to err on the side of caution.