Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just want to spruce up your interior design, you may want to fill your home and garden with the plants you love.
But, if you have dogs, it’s important to remember some plants can be toxic to them. Here’s our guide on which you need to steer clear of.
Which garden plants are toxic to dogs?
You’d be surprised at how many common UK plants can be poisonous to dogs.
Rhododendron
The rhododendron can be found in many UK parks and gardens.
While beautiful, they can cause a lot of nasty symptoms in your dog, including weakness, loss of vision, wobbliness, drooling and vomiting.
Foxgloves
These elegant flowers are toxic to both humans and pets, as they contain naturally occurring poisons. If ingested, foxgloves can cause heart problems, diarrhoea, vomiting, twitching, weakness and seizures.
Chrysanthemums
Chrysanthemums contain toxic chemicals that can cause a variety of harmful symptoms in your dog if ingested. These include vomiting, shaking, diarrhoea, drooling and skin rashes.
Yew
This festive plant contains taxine, a compound that is toxic to dogs. If your dog eats some yew, they may experience shortness of breath, drooling, tremors, vomiting and diarrhoea. Yew can even cause your dog to go into a coma.
Crocus
These beautiful purple plants can be quite dangerous if your dog ingests one or more. Crocus can cause major health issues like liver and kidney damage, respiratory failure and gastrointestinal bleeding. Visible symptoms include drooling, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Hydrangea
Another UK classic, hydrangeas can be very dangerous to dogs because they contain very small amounts of cyanide.
If your dog ingests the smallest bit of hydrangea, it could cause vomiting, diarrhoea, lethargy, breathing difficulties and depression.
Tulips
It’s relatively easy to grow tulips, but it’s important to be aware of the risks.
If your dog eats the whole or even part of a tulip, they may experience vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling and difficulty breathing.
Daffodils
These cheery flowers may be a national sign of spring, but they’re unfortunately toxic to dogs. Daffodils can cause drooling, seizures, vomiting and nausea.
Bluebells
The glycosides in bluebells can cause a lot of gastrointestinal issues, along with symptoms like diarrhoea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
Holly berries and mistletoe
Especially important to remember around the festive season, holly and mistletoe are unfortunately toxic to dogs.
Holly berries can cause stomach pain, diarrhoea and excessive drooling, while mistletoe can give dogs gastrointestinal issues.
Ivy
Another common UK plant, Ivy is dangerous because it contains saponins and polyacetylene compounds.
Ingesting ivy can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, drooling, lethargy and loss of appetite.
How to keep dogs safe from toxic plants
Your dog could run into toxic plants whether they’re in the home, the garden or out on a walk.
It’s important to check if any of the plants in your home or garden are toxic. Then either get rid of them or make sure they’re in completely unreachable places.
You may want to fence off a part of your garden so your dog can’t access it at all.
When it comes to being out and about, a lot of parks in the UK have a variety of flowers, with many of the common culprits being toxic to dogs.
If you’re concerned about this, consider keeping your dog on a lead in public or choose walking areas that don’t have flowers, like the beach.
Other toxic materials
When walking in public or playing in the garden, there are a few other things that you should watch out for to keep your dog safe, including:
- pesticides
- fungi
- compost
- fertilisers
- grass seeds
Which houseplants are toxic to dogs?
There are a lot of houseplants that are toxic to dogs, including:
- Aloe Vera
- Elephant ear (Alocasia)
- Peace lily (Spathiphyllum)
- Hyacinth (Hyacinthus)
- Jade (Crassula ovata)
- Swiss Cheese (Monstera deliciosa)
- Rubber Tree (Ficus elastica)
- Bird of Paradise (Stretlitzia reginae)
- Pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum cv)
- Philodendron (all kinds)
- ZZ (Zamioculcas)
- Asparagus fern (Asparagus setaceus)
This isn’t all of the plants that are toxic to dogs, so it’s important to check whether a plant is toxic before you buy it.
Check out our guide to keeping pets safe at home to find other tips.
I have a toxic plant at home. What should I do?
If you already have toxic plants in your home and you don’t want to throw them away, try putting them in areas that your pet can’t access, like a closed-off room or a high-up shelf.
What to do if your pet eats a toxic plant
If you know or think that your dog has eaten part of a toxic plant, contact your vet immediately.
Make sure you keep your dog away from all other plants and keep an eye out for symptoms like vomiting, rash, drooling and wobbliness.
Pet insurance and your dog’s safety
Whether it’s a routine check-up or an emergency visit, heading to the vet often leads to bills for medication, procedures and more. This is where pet insurance can come in handy.
Check out our dog insurance page to see what kind of cover we offer for your pooch.
