If you enjoy eating chocolate, you may think that sharing the treat with your dog would be something your furry best friend will enjoy. However, while chocolate is not poisonous to humans, it does contain toxins that can make your dog sick. Read on to learn about the dangers of feeding your dog chocolate.
Gives Your Dog Extreme Gastrointestinal Symptoms
One of the ways the toxins in chocolate can adversely affect your dog is that it can give them bad gastrointestinal symptoms. Your dog may start vomiting continuously as their body tries to get rid of the poison. Then, as the chocolate makes its way through the intestines, your dog may start having excessive diarrhea.
Depending on how much chocolate a dog ate, these symptoms can become extreme to the point that it throws their body's electrolytes out of balance. This could then lead to muscle cramps and possible kidney damage if the toxins are not flushed out of their body.
Causes Severe Dehydration
After eating chocolate, a dog can also suffer from severe dehydration. They may try their best to drink as much water as possible, but if they are also having gastrointestinal symptoms, they will not be able to keep the water down.
Also, the toxins in the chocolate can adversely affect the kidneys and liver, both of which are responsible for flushing out poisons in the dog's body. The dog may start urinating more frequently, even though they are not able to hold water down, which then makes their dehydration worse.
And, while the liver is trying to metabolize the toxins so they can be excreted from the body, it too can suffer damage. This can further the imbalance the fluids and electrolytes in the body by releasing bile salts into the dog's GI tract, which increases thirst even more.
Results in Seizures
If large amounts of chocolate were consumed, the combination of dehydration and the toxins in the bloodstream could result in seizures. Since the dog's body is not able to handle the poisons, they eventually make their way to the dog's brain. If a dog starts having seizures, they need IV fluids and medications immediately to prevent brain damage and even death.
If your dog has eaten chocolate while you were not looking, you need to get them medical attention immediately. Contact a vet office like Center-Sinai Animal Hospital or take your dog to the nearest animal hospital so they can treat your furry friend and get rid of the toxins before the poisons in the chocolate makes them seriously ill.
