Can St. Bernards Eat Chocolate?

Last Updated on May 21, 2023 by Becky Roberts

Straight up, the answer is no, St. Bernards shouldn’t really have chocolate!

This is because chocolates have certain components that don’t blend too well with a St. Bernards’ digestive system, such as theobromine (which is somewhat like a sort of caffeine).

Theobromine also affects a St. Bernards’ central nervous system, kidneys, and even the heart! St. Bernards have a hard time metabolizing this substance, unlike humans.

This means that this toxic component has a tendency to build up in a St. Bernards’ body, making it harmful for them.

Dog eating chocolate

Potential Effects Of Theobromine

When St. Bernards eat this sweet snack, high doses of theobromine might result in seizures, muscle tremors, vomiting, internal bleeding, and even heart attack!

Are All Chocolate Types Dangerous?

According to studies, dark chocolate and bitter-tasting chocolates tend to be much more dangerous for your pet. Milk chocolate affects St. Bernards less but can be equally dangerous when eaten in great amounts.

Symptoms You Should Look Out For

When suspecting St. Bernards to have eaten any type of chocolate or potential poisoning, you can always look out for clinical signs like hyperactivity, diarrhea, vomiting, restlessness, increased urination, and an abnormal heart rate. These symptoms tend to appear within the first 6 to 12 hours upon excessive intake.

My Dog Ate Chocolate. What Should I Do?

The first thing you should always do when you suspect St. Bernards to have eaten chocolate is to contact your trusted veterinarian immediately.

While you can always consider your dog’s size and type, it’s best to leave care and potential treatment to the professionals.

For light cases, vets usually rely on the vomiting method for St. Bernards. Depending on how serious the case is, supplemental treatment can also be the way to go.

 

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Becky Roberts

Becky Roberts

One of Becky's favourite things to do every morning is to browse the top pet-related forums, looking for issues and questions that people have. She then shortlists the most common ones, and turns them into blog posts for Fuzzy Rescue. She's had over 4 cats and 2 dogs over the past decade, so she does know a thing or 2 about raising/training, and more importantly, loving them. She's the only one on our team that doesn't like coffee, but it seems to us she really doesn't need more energy :). We're very fortunate to have her on board as she does most of the heavy listing for the site, outputting an insane amount of content each month. Read More

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