Chocolate Toxicity Calculator

The chemical in chocolate, theobromine, is highly toxic to dogs. It is a stimulant similar to caffeine. Different types of chocolate have different toxic levels of theobromine. Cocoa powder and cooking chocolate are the most toxic forms. These contain ten times more theobromine than milk chocolate. Even licking chocolate icing from a cake can harm your dog.

Theobromine toxicity in dogs is about 100 Milligrams per Kilogram of body weight. One Kilogram is about 2.2 pounds. On average, milk chocolate contains 45 mg of theobromine per oz., semisweet chocolate contains 150mg/oz., and dark/bakers chocolate contains 400mg/oz. This means that dark chocolate is particularly dangerous, at 1 ounce per 9 pounds of body weight, but that even milk chocolate can be very dangerous at 1 ounce per 1 pound of body weight (or more).

For example, 2 oz. of dark chocolate can be very dangerous to a 15 lb. dog. But 2 oz. of milk chocolate usually will only cause digestive problems.

We have built a helpful "Chocolate Toxicity Calculator" into Om nom, an iPhone app that helps you determine if a food is safe for your dog. Just input your dog’s weight and find out how much milk, semisweet, and dark chocolate is too much for your dog. Download Om nom now to try it out!