DALLAS (Reuters) - The strain of the holidays can become too much for family dogs and when they get the Christmas blues, they may bite back.
It is not chocolate itself that is poisonous to dogs, it is the theobromine, a naturally occuring compound found in chocolate. Theobromine causes different reactions to different dogs: dogs with health problems, especially epilepsy, are more affected by theobromine than healthy dogs. Theobromine can trigger epileptic seizures in dogs prone to or at risk of epilepsy. The size of the dog will also be a major factor: the smaller the dog, the more affected it is by the same amount than a larger dog. Therefore, toxicity is described on a mg/Kg basis.