White Chocolate: Generally Safe for Dogs!

I've noticed that gourmet dog treats often contain white chocolate. This surprised me at first, because most people over the age of five can tell you that chocolate isn't okay for dogs. It turns out that white chocolate's actually fine for dogs, unlike dark and milk chocolate, because it doesn't contain the compounds that make chocolate dangerous to them.

The reason that dark and, to a lesser degree, milk chocolate can endanger dogs is that cocoa is a potent source of methylxanthines, a class of caffeine-like stimulant that usually has little effect on humans but has a huge effect on some other mammals, especially dogs. Theobromine is the most potent of these. A small amount of theobromine- the amount in, say, a chocolate chip-- might only make a dog a little "hyper," but the amount in a dark chocolate bar is enough to cause seizures, rapid heart beat, diarrhea, coma, and death, according to the ASPCA.

White chocolate, on the other hand, doesn't generally contain theobromine or any other stimulant. If it does, they appear only in very small amounts. White chocolate is arguably not "chocolate" at all, but a mixture of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk solids, and cocoa butter lacks the stimulants that are found in actual cocoa.Your dog could eat a whole bar of white chocolate and not suffer any of the effects of methylxanthine poisoning, but a bar of dark or milk chocolate would put her in extremely grave danger. Dogs who have eaten "normal" chocolate usually need fairly immediate medical attention, but a dog who eats white chocolate, whether by accident or in a treat, is going to be just fine.

However, it's still not a good idea to let your pooch over-indulge on white chocolate, for the same reason that it wouldn't be a good idea for a person to eat it often. For one thing, since white chocolate can still contain trace amounts of theobromine, it's theoretically possible for an especially sensitive dog to get sick after eating a large amount of the stuff. White chocolate also has little "good" nutritional value to dogs; it has too much sugar and too much fat too be considered healthy. Too many treats containing this sugary confection lead to diabetes, tooth decay, and obesity. Dogs just aren't made to process that amount of fat or sugar, and their bodies don't handle it well if white chocolate is anything more than a very rare treat.

So, while it's fine to occasionally give your pet a white-chocolate-dipped treat, make sure to give them sparingly and feed your pet an otherwise balanced diet, and check with your vet before giving your dog white chocolate, since some very sensitive or very small dogs may not be able to tolerate it.There are many misconceptions about healthy diets for dogs and how "human" foods can play a role in your dog's meals, so it's always a good idea to touch base with an expert before altering your pup's diet.