Theobromine News

April 11, 2006 - KVBC News, Las Vegas

Theobromine is a chemical in cocoa that is much like the caffine in coffee. Dogs don't metabolize it quickly so it is lethal to them in quantities of about 100 to 150 Milligrams per pound of body weight. For Milk Chocolate, which contains 44 to 60 mg/oz this works out to about 33 to 68 ounces of Milk Chocolate for a 20 pound dog. Other kinds of chocolate contain different amounts of Theobromine. A good article on Theobromine is on about.com.

Cocoa Mulch is made by Hershey's from the shells of the cocao beans. According to the Hershey's website,

It is true that studies have shown that 50% of the dogs that eat Cocoa Mulch can suffer physical harm to a variety of degrees (depending on each individual dog). However, 98% of all dogs won't eat it. What this means is that if you are going to use Cocoa Mulch in your garden, you chould check to see if your dog will eat it before spreading it around.

Cocoa Mulch, which is sold by Home Depot, Foreman's Garden Supply and other Garden supply stores, contains a potentially lethal ingredient called "Theobromine".

It is lethal to dogs and cats. It smells like chocolate and it really attracts dogs. They will ingest this stuff and die. Several deaths already occurred in the last 2-3 weeks. Just a word of caution -- check what you are using in your gardens and be aware of what your gardeners are using in your gardens.

Theobromine is the ingredient that is used to make all chocolate -- especially dark or baker's chocolate -- which is toxic to dogs.

Cocoa bean shells contain potentially toxic quantities of theobromine, a xanthine compound similar in effects to caffeine and theophylline. A dog that ingested a lethal quantity of garden mulch made from cacao bean shells developed severe convulsions and died 17 hours later. Analysis of the stomach contents and the ingested cacao bean shells revealed the presence of lethal amounts of theobromine.

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