Reminder about chocolate being poisonous for dogs

[TheHodgeoftheHedge]

It's nearly Christmas so it's worth just reminding everyone to be careful with their dogs and what food is lying around. Chocolate is poisonous for dogs and can be fatal. There seems to be a very large contingent of people (in life but I've seen on Mumsnet) who seem to refuse to believe this. Please don't take the risk.
news.sky.com/story/keep-deadly-chocolates-away-from-dogs-owners-warned-11179341

Does it affect different breeds differently? My FIL had an elderly chocolate lab (sadly the dog passed away last Boxing Day) and he would sniff out hidden chocolate wherever it was and on several occasions ate large amounts of chocolate and seemed fine afterwards. It was always milk chocolate and he was a big chunky dog.

It can do. The risk of poisoning will change depending on the size and weight of the dog and the type and quantity of chocolate ingested. Like anything, there are always going to be anecdotal stories where the dog regularly eats chocolate and is fine and I'm not saying freak out if they steal a chocolate button but it is a known poison and it can kill dogs so don't take the risk if possible.
Vets see a massive spike in poison cases at this time of year - fruitcake being another thing to avoid as the currants and raisins can do nasty things to dogs kidneys.

To be honest, I didnt think my FIL made enough of an effort to stop the dog getting to foods it shouldn’t have, it was a fairly regular occurrence and the dog was always blamed, not the person who left food where a dog could get it.

Don't forget the mince pies, cooked turkey bones and more......

Garlic is fine. It’s a great natural antibiotic and has MANY other great effects on the body. It’s also a really good flea repellent as well only it shouldn’t be used for puppies and pregnant dogs

For dogs to be poisoned by garlic they’d have to be fed an excessive amount over a long period of time. Used correctly your dog will benefit

I asked my vet about this as we used to give our dogs bars of Dairy Milk for Christmas long before the chocolate warnings. They were fine. The vet told me that there is so little actual chocolate in most milk chocolate (and even less now!) that they'd have to eat a lot of it and it's easy to calculate if they are at risk if they do get hold of some as it's linked to size.

Dark chocolate though is a very different matter. I've banned it from the house this Christmas.