Why Chocolate is Bad for Dogs, But Great for Humans
Blog post by Lindsay Mustard, Holistic Nutritionist
It's rare to come across a human, or animal for that matter, who doesn’t like chocolate. Unfortunately, as desperately as we long to share our dark chocolate bar with our furry friends, their stomachs aren’t designed to digest it in its full glory.
Chocolate, and it’s ability to melt in your mouth like butter, contains high concentrations of cocoa. Cocoa contains a combination of flavanols and antioxidants. Flavanols are a group of flavonoids found in a specific group of foods and possess both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties that help to fight free radicals within our body that we encounter as a result of our lifestyle choices. These mood-boosting ingredients, one of which being tryptophan (a precursor to serotonin, another feel good hormone) can provide a sense of wellbeing as it binds to dopamine receptors in our brain which directly influences mood regulation, sleep patterns, one’s ability to store and recall memories, concentration, muscle movement, appetite and our ability to exert self control. Dark chocolate is also rich in Magnesium which plays a role in more than 300 biochemical reactions within our body. Magnesium helps to maintain normal nerve and muscle function, support our immune system, steadies the heart and assists in the production of energy and proteins. It also helps to combat stress by suppressing the release of cortisol, a stress hormone. Before we continue, we are not claiming chocolate to be the cure-all for stress, but we are saying that it can temporarily help to relieve stress, boost your mood and provide you with a dose of energy. Depending on the strength of the chocolate, bars with over 70% cacao can contain up to 30 mg of caffeine. It’s a small enough amount to wake you up and give you a jolt of energy that is sustained by the healthy fats paired in the chocolate.
As healthy as these vitamins and minerals are for humans, the other components of chocolate including theobromine and caffeine are toxic and oftentimes fatal to dogs. These two chemicals are, structurally, almost identical, and both belong to a group of chemicals called methylxanthines. Methylxanthines are slow to process in the digestive tract of dogs, meaning they stay in their system for longer periods of time. Dogs will reach their peak serum levels of caffeine approximately 30-60 minutes after consumption and eliminate half of its contents in 4.5 hours, they won’t reach peak theobromine levels until after 10 hours and take upwards of 17.5 hours to eliminate half of it. When methylxanthines are in the blood, they prevent the activation of adenosine receptors which are responsible for making one sleepy and decreasing the activity of our body. In other words, the caffeine and theobromines block these receptors preventing us from getting tired.
This results in your pup experiencing nausea, increased heart rate, diarrhea, experiencing signs of hyperactivity and is consumed in large enough quantities, tremors, seizures and sadly, death. If your dog accidentally consumes dark chocolate, rush them immediately to the vet.
When it comes to dark chocolate and dogs, prevention is key. Humans like the phrase, “out of sight, out of mind.” Well, what about the phrase, “out of reach, out of mind.” To prevent your dog from potentially getting their paws on some dark chocolate in the event that a cupboard door is left open, a bar is leftover on the coffee table or there is a fresh one waiting to be eaten on the counter, store your bars high and out of paws reach! Keep your dark chocolate stash in a cupboard or area that is inaccessible to your dog. If you’re munching on the couch, keep it in an airtight container with the lid on in the event that you leave the room and never leave food unattended. We love our furry friends, but this is one food that their bellies shouldn’t get a taste of!