Cocoa Mulch bad for dogs?
On page 20 of the October 2008 edition of Fine Gardening, there is a Q&A article that states that cocoa mulch (more specifically theobromine) is toxic to dogs.
It further states that the amount of residual theobromine found in fresh cocoa mulch is very low.
My dog (a 10 pound Bichon-friese) doesn't pay any attention to the flower beds mulched with cocoa shells. Although, one day he found a bag of Hershey Kisses and ate half the bag before we discovered him in the act.
We called our vet who said to "keep an eye on him" and bring him in if he started acting abnormally. Time passed with no problems.
If chocolate is toxic to dogs, how can one explain no problems with a 10 lb. Bichon eating a half bag of Hershey Kisses?
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(post #12001, reply #1 of 11)
Depends on the kind of chocolate as well as the size of the dog. Milk chocolate contains a lot less theobromine than dark chocolate/baker's chocolate -- the difference can be as much as 10-fold between milk chocolate and high quality baking chocolate.
http://chemistry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.apogeecomgrp.com/drkevin/chocolate.html and http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0803-chocolate_kills.html
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #12001, reply #2 of 11)
Which is why we like dark chocolate better :)
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
zone 6 gardening in the woods with 30,000 deer
(post #12001, reply #3 of 11)
Yes, I try to take advantage of my higher metabolism of theobromine every day.
North Carolina - zone 7
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #12001, reply #4 of 11)
I wonder if that's the reason why I *don't* like dark chocolate. My son loves it and it makes me wonder what's wrong with him. I apparently didn't get the gene that likes that stuff. Smells great, tastes awful (to me).
(post #12001, reply #5 of 11)
Karen,
I would assume that milk chocolate would have a much higher concentration of theobromine than cocoa mulch. Would you agree?
Art
(post #12001, reply #6 of 11)
I'd guess that the concentration in cocoa mulch is likely to be less than in milk chocolate but it's probably pretty variable from one mulch to another. I've seen a figure of 1.5-3% cited for the beans, putting the raw beans at around twice the theobromine content of baking chocolate -- what ends up in mulch would depend on how much is in the hulls themselves and residuals from the seeds/processing. Here's what the AVMA and ASPCA have to say about it. Personally, I can't imagine being so into that particular mulch that I would take even the very small risk of illness. Pine fines rule the day in my garden. On the other hand, I do have a gravel driveway even though my border collie eats small rocks and will probably obstruct his intestines one of these days. http://www.avma.org/onlnews/javma/jun06/060601b.asp http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_publicationscocoa
North Carolina - zone 7
Edited 7/22/2008 4:08 pm ET by Karen
North Carolina - zone 7
(post #12001, reply #7 of 11)
I once had a sheltie that ate 47 junior candy bars from a Halloween bag. The other non chocolate items had teeth marks, but were not consumed. The reason I know the exact number is that the bag o' candy was inventoried by the owner, my daughter. Other than what our family tenderly referred to as the "Hershey squirts" for 4 days, our dog suffered no other ill effects. (And lived to be 19) The vet was flummoxed.
Since that experience, I've never worried about chocolate and dogs and wouldn't think a thing about using coca mulch. It probably doesn't taste very good either.
Cathleen
(post #12001, reply #8 of 11)
Baker's chocolate tastes wretched, but dogs will eat it.
(post #12001, reply #9 of 11)
One of our dogs will eat dirt if he likes the smell of it, so I can imagine him eating enough cocoa mulch to be ill. I wouldn't take the chance.
Taking chances--chocolate in dogs (post #12001, reply #11 of 11)
"Since that experience, I've never worried about chocolate and dogs" There is great variability in dogs. One lucky experience does not mean that you should take chances. See my other post about variability in susceptibility in dogs. I've seen small doses of chocolate kill and large dose not make a dog break stride.
Weight and concentration differences in chocolate poisoning (post #12001, reply #10 of 11)
"If chocolate is toxic to dogs, how can one explain no problems with a 10 lb. Bichon eating a half bag of Hershey Kisses"
As other respondents pointed out, concentration of the primary toxin can vary greatly in the source. Milk chocolate has less of the offending substance than does dark chocolate. However, so can susceptibility to the toxin by the dog. Lethal dose numbers are usually based on averagees; you'll often see LD50 mentioned. That means the lethal dose for half the dogs. Individuals can vary, as can circumstances. In practice, I've had one large dog eat a half a chocolate cake made with low-cocoa milk chocolate and die overnight. Another dog ate a stack of the big chocolate bars kids sell for schools and not have any symptoms at all.
Theobromine is reabsorbed through the wall of the bladder. A dog who urinates frequently might lower the dose in the circulation quick enough to prevent harm. That is NOT a cure, but it might have been a factor for dogs that have not succumbed. I am guessing here.
It's best to play it safe and keep chocolate out of reach--in any form. You are really lucky your Bichon is so resilient. It might not happen that way twice.