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My Shih Tzu ate a chocolate Quest bar. Is the amount of cocoa toxic?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Female | spayed | 5 years and 7 months old | 17 lbs

Hi, I have a 5yo female shih tzu and she just ingested half of a cookies and cream quest bar. These are the ingredients: Protein Blend (Milk Protein Isolate, Whey Protein Isolate), Soluble Corn Fiber (Prebiotic Fiber), Almonds, Water, Cocoa Butter, Natural Flavors, Erythritol, Palm Oil, Dextrin, Cocoa (Processed with Alkali), Sea Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Sunflower Lecithin, Sucralose, Coconut Oil, Xanthan Gum, Baking Soda, Steviol Glycosides (Stevia). Could this amount of chocolate be fatal?

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Sara Farmer, DVM

Answered By Sara Farmer, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 5th, 2017

Cocoa powder can be quite toxic, and it would take as little as 1/2 of an ounce to cause symptoms of toxicity. I doubt that there is 1/2 ounce of cocoa in a Quest bar, but it can be very difficult to estimate since the exact amounts of ingredients in processed foods are considered proprietary information. My gut feeling is that Emma will be just fine, but you may want to contact Animal Poison Control to be 100% sure - they have access to a lot of proprietary information and might be better a or to estimate. They do charge a fee for their service.
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control
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