Just a reminder given the time of year: chocolate can kill a dog.
There is NO SAFE CHOCOLATE and that includes white, milk and dark -- all are not good for a dog and should never be given (they all also contain caffeine, also not healthy and potentially dangerous for dogs). There are many other treats that dogs love that are not a risk to their health. The sugar and fat in all types of chocolate are also NOT good for dogs. It is safer for dogs not to get into the habit of eating even tiny amounts of chocolate as that makes it more likely they will search it out as a known treat and could go for a whole trick or treat bag.
The most dangerous is dark chocolate and cocoa -- quite small amounts can be enough to make a cavalier very ill and even can be fatal. A single 8oz bittersweet chocolate bar is enough to have toxic effects on an average cavalier.
Milk chocolate is less worrying if eaten because there's less cocoa in it -- and white chocolate is the least dangerous -- but still is NOT good for a dog.
Please be careful -- I know people whose dogs have ended up on drips at the vets for several days recovering from getting into a stash of chocolate. Their hearts can accelerate to very dangerous levels. Given the heart problems in many cavaliers, consider how dangerous it is to overwork the heart!
This is a really good article: http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/nutritiondogs/a/chocolatetoxici.htm
And note it says the ASPCA has reports of far lower levels than indicated here being dangerous to some dogs -- all individuals will vary!
See: http://www2.aspca.org/site/DocServer/toxbrief_0201.pdf?docID=111
More info:
From http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/DOGS/chocolatetoxic.HTM
There is NO SAFE CHOCOLATE and that includes white, milk and dark -- all are not good for a dog and should never be given (they all also contain caffeine, also not healthy and potentially dangerous for dogs). There are many other treats that dogs love that are not a risk to their health. The sugar and fat in all types of chocolate are also NOT good for dogs. It is safer for dogs not to get into the habit of eating even tiny amounts of chocolate as that makes it more likely they will search it out as a known treat and could go for a whole trick or treat bag.
The most dangerous is dark chocolate and cocoa -- quite small amounts can be enough to make a cavalier very ill and even can be fatal. A single 8oz bittersweet chocolate bar is enough to have toxic effects on an average cavalier.
Milk chocolate is less worrying if eaten because there's less cocoa in it -- and white chocolate is the least dangerous -- but still is NOT good for a dog.
Please be careful -- I know people whose dogs have ended up on drips at the vets for several days recovering from getting into a stash of chocolate. Their hearts can accelerate to very dangerous levels. Given the heart problems in many cavaliers, consider how dangerous it is to overwork the heart!
This is a really good article: http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/nutritiondogs/a/chocolatetoxici.htm
And note it says the ASPCA has reports of far lower levels than indicated here being dangerous to some dogs -- all individuals will vary!
See: http://www2.aspca.org/site/DocServer/toxbrief_0201.pdf?docID=111
More info:
From http://www.talktothevet.com/ARTICLES/DOGS/chocolatetoxic.HTM