[Honeyec]

Apologies if this has come up before, but I came across it on my daily work-avoidance visit to snopes.com and thought I'd share it.

Xylitol, the sugar-substitute commonly found in sugar free chewing gum and candy (Orbit, Extra, etc.) is highly toxic to dogs and as little as 3g can be fatal to a 65lb dog.  So stash it way somewhere with the chocolate and ibuprofen, everyone!

Full details from the ASPCA can be found here:

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pa ... ess_082106

 

[Diesel-and-Kira]

I've also heard that dark chocolate is tons worse for dogs than regular chocolate.

We know regular milk chocolate is horrible for dogs, and can cause illness, but dark chocolate can quickly cause death. I dont remember the exact reason, but I think it's because of it's more potent?

 

[Honeyec]

It's the theobromine in cocoa that's toxic to dogs and since there's more cocoa in dark chocolate, it is more "powerful" than milk- the darker the chocolate, the more theobromine that's in it.

Theobromine is also used to give ibuprofen its orangey colour.