1Hi, it's Jay.
2Do any of you like chocolate?
3I used to love chocolate as a kid,
4and I still love chocolate now.
5I've even visited places where they make it,
6like Mackinac Island, Michigan, Hershey, Pennsylvania, and San Francisco.
7There's just so much you can do with chocolate,
8like make candy bars, and brownies, and cookies with it.
9Or put it on top of ice cream and frost cakes with it.
10Some people even make amazing art out of it,
11like this Eiffel Tower.
12It's made entirely of chocolate.
13Someone named Valentina is curious about chocolate.
14Let's give Valentina a call now.
15Hi, Jay!
16Hi, Valentina!
17I have a question for you.
18Why can't dogs eat chocolate?
19Ooh, that's a great question!
20Well, there are a lot of human things that dogs can do.
21There are some human things that dogs probably shouldn't do,
22like drive a bus, fly an airplane,
23or teach a class.
24And they definitely shouldn't eat chocolate.
25It's just not good for them.
26But why is that?
27I mean, most humans can eat chocolate without problems.
28Why can't dogs?
29Why do you think dogs shouldn't eat chocolate?
30This is such an interesting question
31because every animal is different.
32And there are so many things animals can and can't eat.
33Like, check out this koala.
34See how it's munching on those eucalyptus leaves?
35Koalas eat lots and lots of those leaves,
36and it's totally fine.
37But eucalyptus leaves are poisonous to other animals, like deer and foxes.
38Oh, and check out this possum!
39They can eat venomous rattlesnakes and pit vipers without getting hurt.
40And then there's humans.
41We eat lots of chocolate, but dogs can't.
42They shouldn't eat chocolate at all, not even a little.
43Poor dogs!
44You might have wondered why that is.
45Let's try and figure this out.
46This is the inside of a dog's body.
47And this is its heart.
48This is how a dog's heart beats normally.
49Now, let's take a look at what happens when a dog eats chocolate.
50Notice anything?
51Yep! When a dog eats chocolate, it can make its heartbeat faster than it normally should.
52And that's not all.
53Chocolate makes other parts of its body have to work harder too,
54which isn't good.
55All this overworking can start to make a dog feel really sick.
56Some dogs who eat chocolate even have to go to the vet.
57Unfortunately, even a little chocolate can make a dog sick.
58And it's all because of these:
59cocoa beans.
60Cocoa beans are what they make chocolate out of.
61Those beans are what make chocolate taste so good.
62But they're also the reason why dogs can't eat it.
63That's because cocoa beans have some chemicals in them that can be harmful.
64When we eat chocolate, our bodies break down those chemicals really fast,
65so chocolate is fine for us.
66But dogs are different from humans.
67Their bodies can't break down the harmful chemicals in chocolate like we can.
68And that means the chemicals just stay there for hours and hours,
69making their hearts beat too fast for too long.
70and also making other parts of their bodies work hard too,
71which can cause a dog to get sick.
72So, in summary, different animals can and can't eat different things.
73Like some animals can eat eucalyptus leaves or even venomous rattlesnakes,
74while others definitely can't.
75The same goes for dogs and humans.
76Dogs can't eat chocolate because their bodies have a hard time breaking down the harmful chemicals in cocoa beans,
77while our bodies can break down those chemicals, no problem,
78making chocolate safe for us to eat.
79That's all for this week's question!
80Thanks, Valentina, for asking it!