Is *imitation* chocolate toxic to dogs, too? (Aenea wanted to know)

Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
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Seeing the “Is chocolate toxic to dogs?” column posted on the Home Page reminded me that nobody ever answered Aenea’s question last month concerning whether imitation chocolate or chocolate-flavored things were also toxic. I can’t remember if I’ve ever seen chocolate-flavored dog treats at the store. I don’t buy fancy treats for my dog (she gets Old Roy’s Finest Dog Biscuits, the kind that come in the 20 lb. bag), so I’ve never noticed.

I looked around on the Web a little but didn’t find anything, off-hand. If the imitation chocolate didn’t contain theobromine, would it be safe to assume that it’s OK? How do you find out whether it contains theobromine (besides asking Cecil)?

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I HAVE seen “chocolate treats for dogs”, and asked this same question in a different forum a few years ago. Somebody said the “dog chocolates” are carob, which apparently doesn’t contain theobromine. But I wouldn’t feed dogs carob either. Even if it was safe, why get them to develop a taste for something which isn’t?