What if my dog eats a cake?
If your dog has eaten quite a bit of vanilla cake, she may experience shaking (from the sugar overload), vomiting, or diarrhea. But she should stabilize after a few hours. If not, call your vet.
Unsurprisingly, your dog should not eat cake. A bite or two on rare occasions is unlikely to harm your dog, but regardless, it isn’t a habit you want to create. Additionally, some items baked into the cake or used to decorate the top of it may be toxic to canines, such as macadamia nuts or chocolate.
Yes, cake made for humans is something that your dog should not consume, even if it is homemade. Cakes might contain some ingredients that can be fatal if consumed by dogs. Some of the ingredient that dogs should not eat include: Cinnamon.
What Amount of Chocolate Cake Will Cause Toxicity in a Dog?
There are many different treats that are classified as “chocolate” with different percentages of the cacao component that contains theobromine. You have probably heard of white, milk, and dark chocolate, as well as cocoa powder. These contain different levels of the cacao component mixed with other ingredients, such as sugar and oil, to make the final product. White chocolate will have a very low cacao concentration and contains only trace amounts of theobromine. If your dog eats this type of chocolate, the worst they’ll probably have to face is an upset stomach!
Milk chocolate and dark chocolate contain a much higher percentage of cacao and will have a higher concentration of theobromine. A commercial milk chocolate bar will contain around 2 milligrams of theobromine per gram, while dark chocolate can contain close to 9 milligrams per gram. The lowest recorded toxic dose of theobromine in a dog is 7 mg of theobromine per pound of bodyweight of a dog (16 mg/kg). Whether your dog gets sick or not from eating chocolate is dependent on the type of chocolate, their bodyweight, and how much chocolate was consumed. For a 50-pound (23 kg) dog, it will take just under one and a half ounces (40 g) of dark chocolate to reach the toxic dose. For a 30-pound (13 kg) dog, roughly half of that amount can cause toxic effects.
Cocoa powder, which is often used in baking, also contains high quantities of theobromine—sometimes higher than dark chocolate. Depending on the brand, cocoa powder can contain from 100 mg of theobromine per ounce, making it one of the most poisonous types of chocolate out there.
What should I do if my dog has eaten chocolate cake?
If a dog eats a piece of chocolate cake, it is best to contact a veterinarian–the animal’s regular care provider, if possible–immediately. Do not try to make the dog vomit at home, warns the Michigan Humane Society. If it’s necessary, the veterinarian will administer charcoal or another chemical to induce vomiting.
Can Dogs Eat Cake?
I am not a veterinarian or a dog nutritionist. This post shares my experience when my dog ate chocolate. If your dog has eaten chocolate and you have health questions, please contact your veterinarian.
This blog post was originally published in June 2014. It has been updated with new information and republished.
Several years ago, J and I walked in the kitchen and noticed that the last piece of chocolate cake was missing. J says “so you ate the last piece of chocolate cake?” Ummmm. No. I thought he was joking at first, but then I saw the container and there was no chocolate cake.
I had taken it out of the fridge to reach room temperature for J. I left it too close to the edge of the counter and someone had taken two big bites and it was gone.
We had four dogs at the time and I had no idea who ate the chocolate cake. But then I gave it some thought and the only counter surfer we had was Rodrigo. I called him into the kitchen, opened his mouth, and saw chocolate on his back teeth.