Why is Chocolate harmful to canines?

I've heard of dogs dying after eating 8 M&M's but my dog used to lick the bowls of Ice Cream clean when I finished them. I was just wondering what the deal was with dogs and chocolate.

Maybe they can't handle caffeine.It is fairly harmful for humans if enough is taken. So maybe the effect on dogs ingesting caffeine is far worse than humans.

cause they are diabetic

It depends on the dog's weight. Larger dogs can eat more chocolate before it becomes life-threatening. Smaller dogs can be in danger even from a small quantity.Chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs in sufficient quantities. This is a xanthine compound in the same family of caffeine, and theophylline.Toxic LevelsThe good news is that it takes, on average, a fairly large amount of theobromine 100-150 mg/kg to cause a toxic reaction. Although there are variables to consider like the individual sensitivity, animal size and chocolate concentration.On average,Milk chocolate contains 44 mg of theobromine per oz.Semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/oz.Baker's chocolate 390mg/oz.Using a dose of 100 mg/kg as the toxic dose it comes out roughly as:1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight for Milk chocolate1 ounce per 3 pounds of body weight for Semisweet chocolate1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight for Baker's chocolate.So, for example, 2 oz. of Baker's chocolate can cause great risk to an 15 lb. dog. Yet, 2 oz. of Milk chocolate usually will only cause digestive problems.----

The substance in chocolate that is toxic to pets is Theobromine. Humans can safely consume this chemical in reasonable quantities but pets have trouble metabolizing it at a fast enough rate. It can quickly build up to toxic levels.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theobromine

Why is Chocolate Lethal?Chocolate contains theobromine. A naturally occurring stimulant found in the cocoa bean, theobromine increases urination and affects the central nervous system as well as heart muscle.While amounts vary by type of chocolate, it's the theobromine that is poisonous to dogs.Symptoms of Chocolate Dog Ingestion and PoisoningYou can recognize that your dog has eaten a toxic dose ofchocolate from the symptoms. Within the first few hours, the evidence includes vomiting, diarrhea or hyperactivity. As time passes and there's increased absorption of the toxic substance, you'll see an increase in the dog's heart rate, which can cause arrhythmia, restlessness, hyperactivity, muscle twitching, increased urination or excessive panting.This can lead to hyperthermia, muscle tremors, seizures, coma and even death.

Chocolate contains Theobromine an alkaloid, the compound that makes chocolate chocolate.It's poisonous to dogs.When consumed in small quantities it would perhaps cause some minor discomforts. In large doses, or when the chocolate was very pure, the reaction to it would probably be more extreme.Lesson: do not feed chocolate to dogs.Sorry for the wikipedia link.

Chocolate (cocoa actually) has a stimulant in it called theobromine that dogs systems can't handle. It can cause seizures, digestive problems, heart issues and can kill them. It depends how much theobromine your dog gets though, and how large the dog is. Different kinds of chocolate have more or less theobromine- milk chocolate has only a bit, baking chocolate is usually pretty dangerous because it has a much higher percentage of pure cocoa so more theobromine. This site is kind of interesting to check what would be dangerous for your dog or not. You can scroll to the dogs size and it will tell you what symptoms your dog would get from a specific amount of chocolates.http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2007/10/pets/chocolate-chart-interactive

chocolate is a poison to dogs and many of the snacks WE eat are also bad for them, sure they might eat it but it could cause them to become ill if they eat enough of it. also fruits and veggies arent really good for them either. dogs dont have the same digestive system as we do so they have more trouble digesting the stuff like that....thats why sometimes you may see ur dog eating grass because that is there way of medication. it helps them digest the food that is harder for them.

Now there is a genuine difference between Ice cream and Chocolate.Giving chocolate to a canine is like giving it the death penalty,If you watch Animal Rescue you will see the consequences of chocolate eating in canines.

http://www.dogownersdigest.com/news/library/chocolate-dog-poisoning.shtml

there is a compound in cocoa that is toxic to dogs and cats. The Xanthine compound is called Theobromine. Dark chocolate contains the most Theobromine of any chocolate, with Milk chocolate containing less. The stuff called white chooclate actually contains no cocoa so it is not dangerous to dogs. (white chocolate is made up of fat, sugar and milk- there is no cocoa present at all)How much chocolate is toxic? 150mg of Theobromine to each kilogram of dog. (dark choc contains 35-45mg per ounce) So in the case of the dog getting into the easter eggs, this could make the dog very very sick or even cause death. The xanthines affect the central nervous system, the peripheral nerves and the cardio vascular system. In extreme cases it can cause faster heart beat, cardiac failure, convultions, seizures. Early signs to watch for include twitching and muscle tremors, hyper activitiy and hyerper excitable (jittery, irritable), resetlessness, diahorrea, vomiting, increased unrination and tense to touch.Although a very small amount is not so toxic, there is not much research done on the build up - ie: maybe a little bit given regularly will build up to be toxic in the dogs system.There is no antidote, but take your dog to the vet, because the vet can treat the symptoms and make it more comfortable and strong, for the dog whilst fighting the toxins. The dog with either fight it and live, or fight it for a while and die - so vet treatment the sooner it is the better.For these reasons it is better not to give your dog cocoa products, and to keep choclates out of reach. (most poisoning occurs in cases where dogs have got into the christmas or easter stash whilst the owners were out)PS: to the answer above, the icecream will contain toxins if it is chocolate icecream because it contains cocoa.

Same here. I have an about nine-year-old Siberian Husky, and we give him chocolate all the time. Once he ate 3 Tolberones off the counter when we were gone, and he survived. I think maybe that bigger dogs have a higher tolerance to whatever chemicals are in chocolate than little dogs do.

Chocolate contains Theobromine which is toxic to dogs and can kill them, they can't process it like we can. Dark chocolate and bakers chocolate is the most toxic as it contains the most amount of Theobromine. But they would have to eat a large amount for it to kill.Eating chocolate flavoured ice cream will not harm them, as it only contains a small amount of chocolate, and I very much doubt 8 M&M's will do any harm, I think someone was over exagerating.