This Christmas, look out for your pooches before they start munching on festive treats, warn scientists who found that risk of chocolate poisoning in dogs significantly increases over the holiday season. Most people know that chocolate can be poisonous to dogs, but may not know why. The toxic ingredient is a caffeine-like stimulant called theobromine that can lead to an upset stomach, a racing heartbeat, dehydration, seizures and in the most severe cases death.
In a study published in the journal Vet Record, researchers from the University of Liverpool in the UK have used electronic health records from veterinary practices to analyse cases of chocolate ingestion in dogs. The findings reveal significant seasonal peaks of chocolate ingestion cases across the year, most notably at Christmas and to a lesser extent at Easter — as chocolate becomes more accessible within the home. In most cases the amount of chocolate consumed was quite small, with common festive culprits including selection boxes, chocolate cake, liqueurs, chocolate Santas and advent calendars.
