Jul 9, 2010

Pets and Chocolate

Most folks know that chocolate is bad for dogs. Chocolate contains caffeine and theobromine. Theobromine does not affect the human nervous system as much as caffeine, nor is it as addictive as caffeine, but theobromine addictive and believed to cause chocolate addiction. It is also believed to be responsible for chocolate’s notoriety as an aphrodisiac. Although theobromine increases heart rate in humans, it also dilates blood vessels, which reduces blood pressure. In fact, it is superior to codeine at suppressing cough and can be helpful in relaxing muscles to alleviate symptoms of asthma.

Dogs, cats, rats and other species cannot digest it efficiently. This leads to a buildup known as theobromine poisoning. Incidentally, this can also happen to elderly people who consume large quantities of chocolate.

For animals, milk chocolate is not as dangerous as semisweet, and that is not as dangerous as cocoa powder.

There are other human foods that are not recommended and poisonous to pets, such as Alcohol, Avocado, Coffee, Fatty Foods, Onions, Raisins and grapes, Salt, Yeast dough, Garlic, and Artificial sweetener.