Friday, May 30, 2014

To Plant or Not To Plant~Flowers That Are Dangerous to Your Dog

   One of the best things about the spring and summer is the gorgeous flowers popping up and out in gardens.  Do you know which plants or flowers to avoid if you have a dog?  Some flowers can be harmful or fatal to your four-legged friend.  The question is whether to plant or not to plant.
   I love digging in the dirt, planting bulbs, and bedding plants.  Bentley and Pierre love to participate in the warm weather ritual.  They get in the beds, wallow in the dirt, and run away with those little plastic six packs once they are emptied.  Most of my flowers are perennials, so I only have to replace my container plants.  If you have a dog, it is important to know what you are planting.  I have discovered that a few of my favorite flowers are deadly to my boys, if they decided to ingest them.  Neither dog eats the flowers or leaves, but I don’t want to take the risk.  Some of my flowers and shrubs are going to have to be moved to the front yard.
   It is best to know before you sow.  When you make the selections of flowers and plants at your local gardening store, make sure that they won’t cause more harm than beauty.  To help you get an idea of some of the more popular plants to avoid, here is a list.

Autumn Crocus: The spring and autumn crocuses can poison your pets.  The autumn crocus is much more toxic of the two.  When they are ingested, the result is severe vomiting, gastrointestinal bleeding, liver and kidney damage, and bone marrow suppression.

This is one of my favorite photos
of our Tucker.  He is sitting in front
of the azaleas.
Azalea: Here in the south, the azalea bush is as common as mosquitoes.  We have several large bushes in the front yard and two puny ones in the back yard.  Bentley is only interested in the bees that the azaleas attract, but both the bees and the flowers are dangerous to him.  Even eating a few leaves can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and excessive drooling.  Immediate veterinary attention is required or your dog could go into shock and begin to have seizures.

Cyclamen: This flowering plant can bring misery in the form of drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, abnormal heartbeat, and seizures.  Cyclamen is commonly kept as a houseplant.
Daffodil Bulbs: Daffodils are one of my favorite flowers and I admit to having many of them in my gardens.  When I planted the original bulbs twenty some odd years ago, I had no idea they were hazardous to pets.  If the bulbs, plant, or flower is eaten, the result is severe vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.  In some rare instances, abnormal heart rate and respiratory problems can occur.

Dieffenbachia: This plant is also found in many homes and offices.  You receive this type plant if you’re in the hospital.  If your pup decides to taste some of your plant, it can lead to severe oral irritation, drooling, nausea, vomiting, and difficulty swallowing.  I guess that I’m lucky, because I have never managed to keep one alive. 


Tulips: This is another of my favorites.  I haven’t planted any bulbs in several years.  My procrastination was finally for the best.  Tulips and Hyacinth bulbs will cause bad reactions if eaten.  These contain concentrated levels of toxins in their bulbs.  If they are eaten in large quantities, your pup will end up with severe vomiting, diarrhea, and rapid heart rate.


Oleander: This is another popular outdoor shrub in Louisiana.  It has evergreen qualities and lovely delicate flowers.  The problem is the leaves and the flowers are highly toxic if eaten.  The symptoms include severe vomiting, slow heart rate, and can lead to death.  I have one in the backyard.  It is subject to bug infestation and the boys use it as a urinal.  Ours grows all caddywhompus and has never really flourished.  Now that I know how dangerous it is, it looks like Paul Bunyan time. Timber!

Sago Palm: We have a sago palm on the front porch.  I love it, but the dogs don’t get near it.  The darn plant bites, its leaves have tiny thorns on them.  If the leaves or seeds are ingested, vomiting, bloody stools, damage to the stomach lining, severe kidney failure, and yes, even death can occur.


   In addition to the flowers and plants, some other garden dangers could still be lurking.  Have you ever used blood meal?  It is an organic fertilizer made from flash-frozen animal blood that has been dried and ground.  Dogs love to roll in it and some find it tasty.  When blood meal is eaten in a large amount, vomiting, diarrhea, and sever inflammation of the pancreas can result in your dog.  Other potential dangers to be aware of are bone meal, insecticides, fertilizers, and baits used to deter rodents, snails, and slugs.  If your pet has decided to make a snack out of any of your garden supplies, play it safe and contact your veterinarian.  It is best to keep any poisons stored away from your pets.
   Additional information and resources: Pet Poison Helpline at http://www.petpoisonhelpline or you in case of emergency you can call them at (855)289-0358  *a one-time, per-incident consultation fee of $39 applies


**Congratulations to Kelly Ann T.**
She was randomly selected as the winner of our K9 Kelp Shampoo, Conditioning Spritz for her dog, and Kelp Lip balm for herself!
Thanks to everyone who entered.


   This is the weekly Pet Parade blog hop that I host with these terrific blogging buddies; Rascal and Rocco, Jan’s Funny Farm, Basil the Bionic cat, and Love is being owned by a Husky.  We invite all bloggers to join the parade.  It’s a great way to gain followers on your site and your social media.  For those of you just hopping along, thanks for visiting, and please share www.mkclinton.com with your friends.  For all the information, click on our icon below.





18 comments :

  1. That is very interesting and we really did not know any of that. We tend to keep a beady eye on what is going on in the garden as some other doggy likes to try and eat things and that is a big no no.
    Have a fabulous Friday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  2. And there are certain veggies that also dangerous - always good to check if you planting a veggie garden in your back yard

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  3. We have more trouble with grass and weed eating than plants fortunately. Not that the grass and weeds can't be dangerous, but it means they stay away from the potentially toxic flowers. We still have to watch what they eat on the grass. A bigger concern for us has been how we raise and treat the plants, the grass, etc. While we should be concerned for our own health, we actually got concerned when we got Bailey. We actually decided not to go with a landscaper for our yard because he couldn't guarantee the products he used would be pet safe.

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  4. Great post..i am aware of these and I myself was poisoned by Oleander so yep..get rid of it..don't burn it though if you can avoid it as the fumes are toxic too hugs Fozziemum

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  5. This is such important information. I'm so happy you shared it. M was not aware of a couple of those plants. I'm a cat, but iit probably applies to me too.

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  6. Thanks for the great info! It sucks that so many beautiful flowers and plants are dangerous to our pets. But at least they can still stop to smell the roses!
    Happy PP!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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  7. We just have boring average flowers but Mom isn't into the gardening thing. What worries us more than plants are the people putting out that cocoa mulch. That would be really bad for us because Bailie and I like to chomp on mulch. We have stones and no mulch at our house, but who knows which people put down that poison mulch?

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  8. We are very lucky that the dogs aren't interested in the Azaleas...the are very common up here in NorCal too!

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  9. Good info to know! I'm glad Max is not into chewing plants other than grass.

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  10. The sego palm is especially evil, all parts of it. I hope people will spread the word. One tried to kill me years ago before I had it removed.

    I have a new computer and nothing is working right to connect my blog to the blog hop.

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  11. I didn't know all those plants were poisonous to dogs. Tulips and Daffodils are common around our house. I have never seen our dogs eat any of these flowers, but at least I know to be aware.

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  12. We don't have to worry. Nothing grows for Jan. But we sure wish we had something to plant in the dog pen after the lawn guy killed the grass last year.

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  13. I did not know about some of these. Thank you for posting this.

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  14. Great info!

    Lots of Woofs from Earl and I at Earl's World!

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  15. Wow, there are a bunch of flowers on that list that we did not know were toxic to dogs. Thank you for this important information, and for co-hosting the Pet Parade. :)

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  16. This is such great information! I knew about some of the flowers, but not the blood meal or bone meal, both of which I use! However, I keep all my flowers out of the dog yard now anyway. When we got our golden retrievers they started digging in them so I moved the gardens then. I still like to have a container or hanging plant on the deck though, so I have to be careful what I put in those.
    Jan, Wag 'n Woof Pets

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  17. I'm not a big gardner but I have been putzing outside lately and trying not to kill some. This is a helpful list of flowers to avoid but I am more a plant person . I just seem to have more luck with them :)

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  18. Thank you so much for the great information and reminder about dangerous plants outside. Have to keep those pets safe. I have tulips planted and the dogs like to smell them. Didn't know they were poisonous. Some vet tech I am huh?

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