Dogs eating various meals containing chocolate are a very popular topic of discussion in your typical small animal vet practise. The majority of people are aware that dogs can be poisoned by eating chocolate, but most are unaware that it takes a very large dosage to seriously harm a dog’s health.

Should I Be Worried If My Dog Ate Hot Chocolate?

Given that instant hot chocolate mixes do contain chocolate, you should be worried if your dog consumes either the powder or the finished product. Like with any chocolate, the quantity determines the toxicity.

Calculating the amount of chocolate a dog consumed is difficult because the diet also contains other substances. Let’s look at some hot chocolate drinks and I’ll estimate how much chocolate is in each.

After a 10-pound dog swallows roughly half of a serving of a typical hot chocolate mix like Swiss Miss, you can notice symptoms. A full dose of regular hot cocoa mix could cause poisoning symptoms in a 20-pound dog. Larger dogs can consume more food before becoming ill. Smaller amounts of stronger chocolate beverages consumed will result in symptoms.

However, even if your dog consumed less, you should always err on the side of caution and take them to the vet as soon as possible. Action taken right away may avert a serious disease and perhaps save his life!

For information on the toxicity levels of various chocolate beverages when consumed by dogs, please continue reading below.

Hot chocolate in a mug (dog drank hot chocolate)
Drinks with Hot Chocolate Contain Toxic Ingredients
Methylxanthines, theobromine, and caffeine are the parts of chocolate that canine dogs should avoid eating. These naturally occurring substances stimulate the central nervous system.

After being consumed by a dog, caffeine’s blood levels peak 30 to 60 minutes later. The maximal blood levels of theobromine are reached in around 2 hours, and its effects continue longer than those of caffeine.

Dogs don’t have human-level capacity for theobromine and caffeine metabolism. If dogs consume enough cocoa liquor, they may get heart issues, hyperactivity, muscular tremors, seizures, and vomiting after eating a lot of chocolate.

Although chocolate toxicity is the primary worry in this scenario, some of these drinks may also include a lot of fat if they are mixed with cream. A high-fat meal may cause an upset stomach in certain dogs while pancreatitis may strike others.

The Methylxanthine Content of Various Chocolates

Methylxanthines are found in milk chocolate in significantly smaller amounts than they are in cocoa powder and unsweetened baking chocolate bars. If you want to know if your dog ate enough chocolate to become ill from it, you can use this chocolate toxicity calculator or visit your veterinarian.

As a general rule, one ounce of milk chocolate for every pound of a dog’s body weight can be deadly. In other words, for a 10-pound dog to enter dangerous zone, they would need to consume 10 ounces of milk chocolate, which is equivalent to 6.5 regular-size Hershey® bars. However, consuming just one Hershey bar can still make them very ill.

Methylxanthines have a starting hazardous dosage of 20 mg/kg (9.1 mg/pound) in dogs.

The quantity of methylxanthines per GRAM in various chocolate products is shown in the table below.

What Poundage of Hot Chocolate Can Hurt a Dog?

Any chocolate consumption by your dog should be taken seriously. But how much hot chocolate would be required to cause symptoms in a dog?

ConAgra, the company that makes the well-known Swiss Miss® Cocoa mix, was approached. Swiss Miss Cocoa, according to their claims, includes 9–12% cocoa powder. The 1.38 oz/39.1 g packages of Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Cocoa are the normal size. So, we can anticipate 3.5–4.7 grammes of cocoa powder each packet. In total, each Swiss Miss packet should have between 66 and 127 grammes of methylxanthines.

Methylxanthines have a starting hazardous dosage of 20 mg/kg (9.1 mg/pound) in dogs.

At that point, modest symptoms of chocolate intoxication such as vomiting, diarrhoea, and hyperactivity begin to appear. This table shows how the beverage concoction would impact a 22-pound dog.

Authentic Hot Cocoa

The majority of traditional recipes for hot chocolate ask for 6 to 8 ounces of milk, 1 to 2 teaspoons of sugar, and roughly 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder per serving. This method of making homemade cocoa results in a cup that has about 140 mg of methylxanthines—the same amount as in a package of Swiss Miss mix.

If a dog drank the full dish, it might be harmful for canines under 20 pounds. When estimating the toxicity level, you must account for any additional chocolate that is added to the recipe.

Ingesting strange food may cause minor vomiting and diarrhoea in dogs over 20 pounds, but we wouldn’t anticipate them to exhibit symptoms like seizures or hyperactivity as a result of the chocolate.

Drinking chocolate made at home

Dark chocolate is used instead of cocoa in drinking chocolate, which is an extremely rich beverage. Every serving of a typical dish calls for 1-2 ounces of 70% cacao chocolate. The methylxanthines in this quantity of bitter chocolate range from 175 to 868 mg. That exceeds Swiss Miss by a long shot!

When consumed by a dog, I would anticipate handmade drinking chocolate-style beverages to be more harmful than hot cocoa mix. The symptoms of chocolate poisoning will worsen if darker chocolate is used. The level of toxicity decreases as sweeter chocolate is consumed.

conclusion

dogs who consume hot cocoa drink mixtures may have symptoms of poisoning. Smaller dogs are more susceptible to illness. You can anticipate vomiting and diarrhoea if a 20-pound dog consumes an entire serving of regular instant hot chocolate. More than one serving will make the symptoms worse and may even be fatal.

When it comes to dogs and chocolate of any kind, it’s always advisable to err on the side of caution. Therefore, if your dog consumed more than a few licks of your drink, call or go to the closest emergency clinic for veterinarian guidance.

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