Can Dogs Eat Kit Kats? What the Label Says

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Chocolate is on the label. Call your vet or a poison hotline.A single finger is a smaller amount than a bar, but it’s still chocolate, and your dog’s size matters.

Kit Kat is wafer fingers covered in chocolate, so it looks lighter than a candy bar. The label says otherwise.

What is on the label

I pulled the ingredient list for Kit Kat from Open Food Facts (product code 03424607). Ingredients are listed from the most to the least by weight.

Sugar, wheat flour, nonfat milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, palm kernel oil, lactose (milk), milk fat, contains 2% or less of: soy lecithin, pgpr, emulsifier, yeast, vanillin, artificial flavor, salt, sodium bicarbonate,

Recipes change, and flavors and package sizes can differ, so read the bag you actually have before you rely on this list.

What matters for your dog

Chocolate. ASPCA says chocolate is toxic to dogs because of compounds called methylxanthines. It says the darker the chocolate, the greater the risk, that white chocolate has the least, and that baking chocolate and cocoa powder have the most. Cocoa butter and chocolate are both in the first five ingredients on this label.

About Kit Kats

The label lists sugar, wheat flour, nonfat milk, cocoa butter and chocolate, then palm kernel oil, lactose, milk fat and flavorings. No xylitol, raisins or macadamia nuts are listed. Cocoa butter and chocolate are right there in the top five ingredients.

Pet Poison Helpline says chocolate contains theobromine and caffeine, and that how sick a dog gets depends on the amount and type and on the dog’s size and health. This is a milk chocolate candy, which by ASPCA’s rule carries less risk per bite than dark chocolate, but it still counts.

Kit Kat comes in many varieties, including dark, white and flavored bars. They have different labels. I checked the standard bar.

If your dog already ate some

Write down what it was, how much, when, and your dog’s weight, and keep the package. Then call your vet, ASPCA Poison Control at (888) 426-4435, or Pet Poison Helpline at (855) 764-7661.

Don’t wait for symptoms if the snack has chocolate, xylitol, or a lot of onion or garlic in it. And don’t try to make your dog vomit with salt or salt water. Pet Poison Helpline says that can cause salt poisoning.

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