Dogs and Poisonous Plants - any bad experiences?

Nollie · November 2018

I have avoided planting certain plants (like Oleander) just in case, especially for the benefit of my daft laddie who does have a habit of chomping things sometimes. I’m wondering if there are any definite no no’s and whether anyone has had any experiences of dogs getting ill or worse?

My current conundrum is whether to plant Nandina Domestica, the berries being described as mildly poisonous, as a small screening hedge that would be very accessible to said daft laddie. The Nandina I currently have are planted well out of reach of snuffling muzzles, so I don’t know how risky this would be.

Any thoughts on the Nandina or other plants to definitely avoid much appreciated.

Obelixx · November 2018

One nandina in a pot here and 2 dogs, one of which is a Labrador who is always hungry. Never tried to eat a plant tho and no problems in my last garden either and that was full of potentially harmful plants to humans and canines.

Obelixx · November 2018

Forgeot to say they do both chew long grass out on walkies but not anything else in or out of the garden.

LauraRoslin · November 2018

My dog will try most plants to see if they taste nice. But he does have a weak stomach so I think he's self -medicating. So I wouldn't have anything at all toxic in the garden, just in case.

Nollie · November 2018

Hmm, thanks, obviously depends on the dog in question. My boy also chews grass, Obelixx and both dogs also developed a taste for Tithonia leaves, which fortunately didn’t do them any harm. I found this on Nandina:

http://www.pawsdogdaycare.com/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants/nandina

Whilst it is toxic, most seem not to like the taste of cyanide, but I suspect mine is more like your dog, Laura, than Obelixx’s more sensible Lab. Perhaps I should stick to my original idea of a well-behaved, not-to-tall Bamboo Fargesia like Jiuzhaigou Red Dragon or Black Cherry. I was tempted by the Nandina as my local GC had large, healthy and cheap specimens, whereas I would need to order online much smaller bamboo plants at treble the price!

raisingirl · November 2018

The trouble is there's a risk, however small, and only you can judge the risk with your dog. I have nandina in my garden well within reach of the dogs. They've never nibbled it, or any of the dozens of euphorbia or other toxic plants in the garden.

Lots of dogs eat apple cores and therefore dose themselves with cyanide quite regularly. They get a belly ache (my in-laws' goldies were a nightmare for it) but as far as I know, apple pip deaths in dogs are not commonplace. It's a bit like looking up your own medical symptoms on the internet - you'll convince yourself you have some freakish deadly disease when actually it's probably just indigestion. But some people do get a freakish deadly disease. Information on the net has no nuance to it. How much nandina would your dog have to eat to become anything more than mildly unwell?

My dogs eat grass, raspberries, runner bean leaves (don't ask me, I've no idea), and one occasionally eats annual mercury if he has a belly ache. I wondered about that last one and looked it up. It is mucilaginous (i.e. good for colic). I have no idea how he knows that. My dogs don't spend a great deal of time outside unaccompanied. They pootle about when I'm out and although I'm not constantly watching them, I do keep a vague eye on what they're up to, so if they did start to chomp on something, I think - I hope - I'd notice before they managed to get too much of it. So in my case, I don't worry about toxic plants.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't.

The in laws' goldie ate all their house plants. That would be more of a worry to me - left alone in the house is a more common occurrence than left alone outside. They had to get rid of all their plants except the ones that could fit on a high windowsill, out of reach. I don't have house plants, except a few things that over-winter on the kitchen windowsill - even the big greyhound can't reach them.

Nollie · November 2018

Thanks for that thoughtful and balanced response, raisingirl. Mine are also rarely in the garden without me. It is true the more you read on the net the more paranoid you get. Although I have avoided planting potentially poisonous plants so far, I now realise I inherited many, such as pyracantha and privet and he has never tried to eat the leaves or berries of those, nor the wild euphorbia which is everywhere on our woodland walks. Perhaps I should give him more credit.

raisingirl · November 2018

There are all sorts of really quite poisonous wild plants. We have loads of hemlock around here. They don't try to eat that either. Or mushrooms and toadstools.

I think you have to be cautious with things that may smell appealing - I never use BFB because they will dig it up and then could much more easily end up eating daffodil bulbs or the like. But I think the risk from other things in the garden, rather than the plants, is far greater - pesticides, herbicides, cocoa bark mulch (a nasty one because dogs like to dig around in bark mulch). It's balance, as you say and a degree of vigilance when you introduce something new, just to be safe.

Nollie · November 2018

All good points again, raisingirl. I recently mixed some bfb in ground I was preparing for something else, which was a bit too exposed before I planted and mulched - mistake!

Dovefromabove · November 2018

In my experience most dogs need to be watched when they're very young, teething etc ... even/especially labradors and other retriever breeds who have a need to 'mouth' things ... but as they grow up most leave growing plants (other than grass) well alone ... however there are a few dogs who seem to have a high level of daft behaviour/death wish ... their owners tend to spend a lot of time and money at the vets ... you'll soon know if you've got one of these ... owners of the more steady sort can be more relaxed about their garden planting.

Nollie · November 2018

Fortunately, I don’t think Bill has a death wish, Dove, as least I hope not! Although he is six, he is a relatively new addition to the pack. He is quite daft, chewy, affectionate and puppyish, but probably still finding his place and checking out the stuff in his exciting new environment.

Dogs and Poisonous Plants - any bad experiences?

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