Hallowe'en candy may still be lingering around the house. You'll set a box of chocolates out for Thanksgiving guests, have chocolate gelt for Hanukkah, or have chocolate all over the buffet all through the twelve days of Christmas.
Go ahead. Just don't let the dog get the treats.
It's hard, at this time of year when there may be more chocolate around than usual, to keep canine friends from scarfing down the occasional contraband treat. However, the theobromine in chocolate can be toxic for dogs.
Generally, dogs can't get a toxic amount of theobromine. A 30 pound dog, for example, would have to eat almost two pounds of dark chocolate to be in danger of death. It takes quite a bit less to make a dog sick, though, and dogs usually have very little self-control. A little dog may gobble down a large bar of chocolate before anyone in a busy household notices.
It's best to keep chocolate where your dogs can't reach it.
