poisonous plants

[nira rajavasireddy]

In preparing for our first puppy who will be coming home in April, I discovered that most of the plants in my backyard are toxic to dogs. Azaleas, cyclamen, geraniums and gardenias. I'm so sad as these are some of my favorite plants, any idea what I can substitute instead?  Or should I just leave the flower beds bare this year with mulch? Until our pup gets used to the backyard and we see what she's getting into?

Our  yard is going to look so bare with empty flowerbeds with just a few camellia and rose bushes, any suggestions?

[F, Calla & Luca]

I don't know the "right" answer. But I have two doodles and I grow Monkshood, just one patch inside the yard, azaleas, camellias--don't know if they are toxic, geraniums, and a host of perennials and shrubs. The dogs have never had a problem. the only soft plant matter they eat is grass. But I would watch a puppy.

[nira rajavasireddy]

This will be our first puppy, so I'm not too familiar with what she'll get up to, I just want to make our backyard as safe as possible. When your doodles were little, did they chew any plants? Just grass? We'll obviously watch her when she's little, but when she gets older, I'd like her to go out on her own. As our back yard is fully fenced with gates. I'm just wondering, for my own peace of mind, if I should get rid of all the toxic plants.  I don't know though, I do love my garden.

[Susan, Scott, Stillbe & Carter]

Nor do I know the right answer for you.  I was panicked about plants before we got Stillbe in October 2011 at 5 months.  We are in New England so primary season was over by that time of year.  Come 2012 Spring I crossed my fingers and watched him all last season.  We have lots of azaleas and other plants, he was never overly interested.  He'd brush around, maybe lick occasionally and be done with it.  We even have lots of the highly poisonous foxglove and he had zero interest.  He does love to dig in mulch, bury special bones/treats, loves grass and was a little too interested in wild mushrooms (can be poisonous) for a few weeks and then forgot about them. So in the end, to date, I have not removed anything.  Though this could be a different year, we shall see!  He did dig up some bulbs in November 2011 at 7 months (he was by my side watching me plant zillions) but never did it again, novelty must have worn off. And he wasn't interested in eating them, just digging them up.

So if you have the time and inclination you may be able to watch, observe and then decision... Only you know what it right for you!  Good luck!

[Jim Nulty]

Hi Nira, All dogs, of course, are different from one another and behave differently. We live in SW Michigan on 40 acres of pine forest and sand dunes with no fence surrounding us. The road is over a 1/4 mile up the drive. Our Doodle runs free on the trails and returns to our calls. We have extensive Rhodedendrom gardens with daffadils, hostas, Iris and thousands of different perennials and annuals.
Buddy is now 2 years old. We brought him here when he was 3 months old. I was really concerned about his freedom on the property with this collection of hazardous plants. Like you, I never realized how many plants are poisonous. Buddy is the first dog we have ever had here. What we had to do was stay with him and closely monitor his behavior when he was out and let him know that he could not chew or dig up plants. This was part of his early puppy training. He learned what he could do and couldn't do. Treats helped tremendously at that time to instill an immediate reward when he would "leave" a plant alone. Doodles are generally extremely intelligent and recall instruction easily if it is consistent and clear. As an alternative to his chewing cravings he is allowed to chew fallen sticks, and, we supply him with antlers for additional chewing time in the house. He chews up the sticks and doesn't swallow them. It's the jaw exercise that he enjoys. Rather than change your lifestyle to be void of the plants you love, just keep in mind that this little pup needs to be taught what is permissible. I hope this helps with your anxiety. I'm sure you will be an excellent Doodle owner and still be able to enjoy your gardens and your new family addition. Best of Luck. JIM and "Buddy"..

[Maryann,Roo and Tigger]

I think Jim gave you excellent advice.  Toxic to dogs covers a lot of things.  How big is the dog? How toxic is the plant?  You don't want your yard torn up by your dog anyway, so do a little more research before you start tearing things out.  And plan on being with your puppy when he is outside for at least the first six to nine months.

 

 

[F, Calla & Luca]

I have mushrooms that grow in the yard and I pick them when I see them but the dogs thankfully have never bother them. When I Say I pick them I do not eat them either! I have many toxic plants but the dogs leave them alone. There are so many, some more dangerous than others. I'm not sure I would trust a puppy but they need supervision anyway. But older dogs seem to know what's OK. My dogs limit themselves to eating grass and chewing on sticks.

[Ricki and Tara (doodle)]

 I'm so glad your doodles had not eaten the mushrooms! That was a scare!

When Tara was a puppy she was very interested in pods, leaves, pine cones, etc that she found in the yard. She required constant supervision. Now as an adult she shows no interest in those items anymore. Plus in the meantime I taught her the "leave it" and "drop it" commands which come in handy but of course only work if you are there to give them. :) If you are able to closely supervise them during the puppy period, you may want to wait on the dog run and removing all of your plants. You may find it is not an issue in a year or so.  It may require temporarily closing the doggie door and not allowing them out unsupervised for a while.

[nira rajavasireddy]

We live in northern Cali too, in Saratoga. Laila is almost a year old now, and I'm not as worried about the plants in our yard as before. She really doesn't go into the flower beds much, she.s more interested in the acorns or twigs that fall from our oak tree. I used to freak out when I saw her chewing them, but I'm not as worried now as she chews them thoroughly and spits them out. And also, Laila is never outside by herself for too long, she needs people too much!