Although the majority of people are aware that they shouldn’t give their dogs chocolate, what happens if your husky somehow manages to get its paws on a bar of chocolate?
We will assume that you have just found your dog eating chocolate and are looking for some advice on how to handle the situation as soon as possible.
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Is Chocolate Bad for Huskies?
So sure, chocolate is unhealthy for dogs, and if your husky eats too much, it might result in a catastrophic medical catastrophe.
However, the quantity and kind of cacao consumed as well as the size of your husky will determine whether or not your husky becomes ill and requires immediate medical attention.
Therefore, the first step is to examine the package to ascertain precisely what was consumed and in how much quantity.
While it’s true that dogs and people both enjoy the mouthwatering sweetness of chocolate, it’s crucial to keep in mind that chocolate is deadly to dogs and can seriously harm them.
In light of this, do not give in to your dog’s pleading for a piece of chocolate. Dogs and chocolate do not mix.
Why Are Huskies Poisoned by Chocolate?
According to the Merck/Merial Manual for Veterinary Health, chocolate includes both theobromine and caffeine, both of which can raise a dog’s heart rate and excite their nervous system.
The likelihood that your dog may get sick after eating chocolate depends on the kind, quantity, and weight of the dog.
Various forms of chocolate have different amounts of these harmful ingredients.
Following are a few chocolate varieties: Dark chocolate, milk chocolate, semisweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and unsweetened baker’s chocolate.
You and your veterinarian can decide whether you have an emergency by knowing how much and what sort of chocolate your dog consumes.
A dog would typically have minor signs of chocolate poisoning at 20 mg of methylxanthines per kilogram of body weight.
Around 40 to 50 mg/kg of chocolate causes cardiac symptoms, while 60 mg/kg or more causes convulsions.
That translates into a pretty alarming amount of chocolate, which is around one ounce of milk chocolate for every pound of body weight.
Even one Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar, which weighs 1.55 ounces on average, might have harmful effects, especially for little dogs.
On the other side, your dog generally won’t die from eating a tiny piece of a chocolate bar or a crumb of chocolate cake, especially if it is a bigger breed.
Nevertheless, chocolate should never be given as a reward.
What Are the Symptoms of Poisoning From Chocolate?
When your dog consumes chocolate, the following symptoms may occur between 6 to 12 hours and persist up to 72 hours as a result of the poisoning:
- Higher heart rate
- Vomiting that could or might not include blood
- Hyperactivity
- Diarrhoea
- Tense muscles
- Quickly breathing
- More frequent urination
Dogs frequently consume chocolate without their owners realizing it, so if your dog displays any of the symptoms listed above or if you suspect your dog may have had chocolate, call your veterinarian right away for guidance.
What Should You Do if Your Dog Eats Chocolate?
If your dog ate chocolate, you should seek immediate medical attention from your veterinarian.
Keep track of your dog’s weight, the kind, amount, and timing of the chocolate consumption.
If you can, take the wrapper to the vet.
The vet can determine whether your dog consumed a dangerous amount of chocolate and choose the best course of treatment with the use of this information.
What Chocolate Amount Is Too Much?
You should never, under any circumstances, give chocolate to your husky or any other animal.
However, there’s always a danger that your dog could inadvertently consume some chocolate.
Theobromine is poisonous to dogs and can be lethal in doses between 100 and 150 mg per kg of your dog’s weight.
Dogs will eat practically everything they can get their paws on. However cats have an even lower threshold but cannot taste the sweetness and are hence far less inclined to consume it.
Theobromine concentrations approximating per 50 grams of chocolate:
- White chocolate has very little theobromine since it doesn’t include any cocoa, but it still has a lot of sugar and fat. White chocolate shouldn’t be given to your dog because it still has a lot of these ingredients.
- 300–320 mg theobromine in dark chocolate.
- Theobromine content of milk chocolate is 88–128 mg.
- 1600 mg theobromine in dry cocoa powder.
- 780–900 mg of theobromine in baking chocolate.
Depending on the brand, the cocoa beans’ origins, and the growing environment, theobromine amounts will vary.
In order to experience a possibly deadly toxic response, a Husky weighing 20 kg would need to consume 1 kilogram of milk chocolate.
Given that dark chocolate has more than twice as much theobromine as milk chocolate, they would only need to eat around half a kilogram of the latter.
Owning a husky myself and being aware of the trouble they can cause, I would strongly advise keeping baking chocolate and cocoa powder out of your home because even little concentrations may be dangerous.
If you must have these items in your home, please keep them out of your dog’s reach since, for my part, they terrify me to death.
Your dog is likely to have symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea even at low theobromine levels.
A 200g bar of milk chocolate will probably produce diarrhoea in a 20 kg husky, whilst a 750g bar might result in catastrophic symptoms, including convulsions.
It might be challenging to determine how much chocolate your dog has consumed, and it can be much more challenging to determine whether they have consumed a box of chocolate chip cookies.
Better safe than sorry, in my opinion, so please contact your veterinarian right away if you have any concerns.
How Can I Stop My Dog From Eating Chocolate?
It’s still not advisable for dog owners to give their dog chocolate as a reward, even if tiny amounts of milk chocolate may not harm larger canines.
Use the advice below to stop your dog from stealing chocolate:
Dog Crate Training
Crate training your dog is the most secure technique to make sure he doesn’t consume anything poisonous while you’re not watching him.
For your dog to retire when he needs some alone time or when you can’t monitor him, get a solid crate that is big enough for him to stand up and turn around.
Give him toys, a plush Kong, his favorite blanket, and goodies to make the box feel like his personal den.
“Leave It” Lessons
To stop dogs from consuming objects that fall to the ground or are left within reach while out on a walk, use the command “leave it.”
Additionally, teaching this command is a breeze.
Store It Away
Ensure that all chocolate products, including cocoa powder and hot chocolate mix, are kept out of the dog’s reach, preferably on a high shelf in a pantry with closed doors.
Remind your kids and visitors that they shouldn’t leave chocolate on tables, counters, or in handbags where it may be accessed by dogs.
Remember this around the holidays as well, making sure to store things like Easter baskets, trick-or-treat bags, Christmas stockings, Valentine’s Day chocolates, and Hanukkah coins, for instance, out of reach of dogs.
FAQs
If a Husky Eats Chocolate, May It Die?
You should never, under any circumstances, give chocolate to your husky or any other animal.
However, there’s always a danger that your dog could inadvertently consume some chocolate.
Theobromine is poisonous to dogs and can be lethal in doses between 100 and 150 mg per kg of your dog’s weight.
Do All Dogs Have a Chance of Getting Chocolate Toxicity?
It’s thought that certain dogs may have a hereditary predisposition to theobromine toxicity.
After consuming chocolate, some people do not exhibit any clinical symptoms, while others experience severe symptoms, including seizures and abnormal heart rhythms.
How Do You Tell Whether Your Dog Consumed Chocolate?
It’s likely that between four and 24 hours after consumption, your dog may start exhibiting symptoms if he consumed a potentially harmful amount of chocolate.
The most common symptoms are:
- Nausea and bloody diarrhea
- Restlessness and hyperactivity
- Quick breathing
- Tense muscles
- Lack of coordination
- An elevated heart rate
- Seizures
Final Thoughts
Before giving your husky a chocolate bar, you should pause. The delicious reward may be the pet’s last meal.
We advise against giving cocoa to dogs since, depending on their weight, even a tiny amount can be harmful.
Heart, central nervous system, and renal problems are the three primary effects of chocolate poisoning.
Dogs who consume chocolate often experience symptoms between four and twenty-four hours later.