As the weather cools and the leaves begin to change, many of us are eager to embrace the beauty of fall. This season brings an array of gorgeous plants, from vibrant chrysanthemums to the rich colors of autumn trees. But as a loving dog parent, it’s important to remember that some of these beautiful additions to our homes and gardens can pose a serious risk to our dogs.
Our dogs often explore the world with their mouths, which means they might eat a few things they shouldn’t. And while we try to keep a close eye on our pups, they can be sneaky and get into things without us knowing. This is why knowing which plants toxic to dogs are common in the fall is so important. This article will help you identify some of the most common toxic fall flowers, plants, and trees and provide tips for keeping your dog safe this pumpkin spice season.
Common Fall Plants Toxic to Dogs
Many popular fall plants can be harmful if ingested by your dog. The severity of the toxin depends on the plant and the amount consumed. It’s important to remember that it’s not just the flowers that pose a potential risk. Leaves, stems, fruit, nuts, and berries from trees can also be dangerous.
Toxic Fall Plants & Flowers to Dogs
- Chrysanthemums (Mums): As a staple of fall decor, you can find mums everywhere as the leaves start to fall. All parts of this plant contain sesquiterpene lactones and the natural insecticide permethrin, which is also a member of the pyrethroid family and a neuropoison. Both of these compounds are toxic to dogs. Consumption of sesquiterpene lactones can cause drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea, while consumption of pyrethroids can cause agitation, tremors, and even seizures.
- Autumn Crocus: These flowers might bring a vibrant purple color to your garden, but the entire autumn crocus plant is poisonous to our dogs, with the bulbs containing the highest concentration of the toxin colchicine. Symptoms can include a burning sensation in the mouth, bloody vomiting or diarrhea, seizures, arrhythmias, organ failure, and even sudden death.
- Azaleas (Rhododendron): You might think of Azaleas as a shrub or bush, but the entire plant is dangerous if consumed by dogs. The grayanotoxins in these plants primarily affect the heart and intestinal tract. Just a small amount—as little as 0.2% of a dog’s body weight—can cause vomiting, drooling, changes in heart rate, seizures, and in severe cases, coma or death.
- Oleander: All parts of this plant are highly toxic to dogs due to cardiac glycosides, which interfere directly with the electrolyte balance in the heart muscle. Symptoms include vomiting, diarrhea, drooling, and can quickly escalate to arrhythmias, collapse, seizures, and even death.
- English Ivy: Though English Ivy has mild effects compared with what we’ve listed so far, it’s actually an invasive plant that sometimes grows without much control, putting it in places you might not expect. The leaves and berries contain triterpenoid saponins, which can irritate a dog’s mouth and intestinal tract. Symptoms include oral irritation, drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea.
While they aren’t usually associated with the fall season, Iris, Gladiola or Gladiolus, and Hydrangea may still be in bloom this time of year, and you definitely want to avoid them as well.
While many of these toxic flowers come with severe risks, the amount needed to be ingested to get to that point varies. And we are firm believers that you know your dog best, including their tendencies to eat stray objects. If you have a lifestyle where you can always be diligent about what your dog consumes inside and outside your house, access to these flowers may be less of a risk.
Be Wary of Trees with Falling Leaves, Nuts, or Berries
- Oak: Acorns and young oak leaves contain tannins. If a dog ingests them in large quantities, they might experience gastrointestinal upset and potential liver and kidney damage. Symptoms may lead to vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and lethargy.
- Chinaberry: All parts of this tree—berries, leaves, bark, and flowers—are toxic to dogs. The tree produces a neurotoxin and natural insecticide known as meliatoxin. Toxicity symptoms can include vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, seizures, and shock.
- Horse Chestnut (Buckeye): The nuts, leaves, and bark contain two toxic components called aesculin and saponin. Aesculin can cause vomiting, tremors, and more. Saponin consumption may lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and dilated pupils. In severe cases, it can also affect the central nervous system and lead to convulsions and coma.
- Japanese Yew: All parts of the plant, including the bright green leaves and red berries, are highly toxic due to compounds called Taxine A and B, which are taxine alkaloids. Ingestion of any part of the plant can cause tremors, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and seizures, and in some cases, it can be fatal.
- Mulberry: The trees themselves are not toxic, but if dogs or humans consume unripe berries, they can experience hallucinations and gastrointestinal upset. It is believed that alkaloids, such as 1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ), are to blame, as they are more concentrated in the unripe berries and white, milky sap of the plant.
- Macadamia Nut: Dogs should never consume a macadamia nut because even a small amount can cause weakness, tremors, and vomiting. However, the toxic component within the nut is currently unknown.
- Black Walnut: While the tree itself isn’t toxic, the decaying nuts that fall to the ground can quickly grow mold that contains tremorgenic mycotoxins. Ingestion by dogs can lead to digestive upset, tremors, and seizures.
- Pecan: The trees themselves are not toxic, but pecan nuts are susceptible to mold, which can produce mycotoxins that cause tremors and seizures. They also contain a compound called juglone that can cause digestive upset.
- Other Tree Nuts: Though not technically toxic to dogs, many other nuts can be high in fat, which may cause digestive upset or pancreatitis. They can also pose a choking hazard or risk for intestinal blockage.
Trees can be trickier to avoid in your own yard compared with flowers because of their size and other benefits they provide (like shade). Being aware of where these trees are and when they might shed twigs, leaves, and nuts can help keep your dog safe from these toxins.
Risks with Common Fruit Trees
- Cherry, Plum, Apricot, Peach, Apple, Pear, Kumquat, & Quince Trees: The pits or seeds, leaves, and stems of these trees contain cyanogenic glycosides, which can release cyanide if consumed. The pits can also be a choking hazard. Signs of cyanide poisoning include difficulty breathing, dilated pupils, reddened gums, rapid or irregular heart rate, tremors, seizures, weakness, and shock.
- Avocado Trees: The leaves, fruit, seeds, seeds, and bark of avocado trees contain a toxin called persin, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy if consumed by dogs.
- Jujube Trees: The pits of these fruits contain trace amounts of a compound called amygdalin, which can break down into cyanide, leading to cyanide poisoning symptoms like vomiting and diarrhea.
- Citrus Trees (Lemons, Limes, Grapefruit): While the fruit flesh is not toxic, the leaves, stem, and peel contain essential oils and psoralens. Symptoms of these toxins can include lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea, lack of appetite, excessive drooling, and tremors or shaking. Additionally, the high acidity and presence of Citric Acid in the flesh of the fruit can cause gastrointestinal upset and even central nervous system depression.
The majority of the fruit trees that might be in your yard or on your neighborhood walk produce fruit that you can actually share with your dog. The risk comes from giving your dog access to pits, seeds, and rotted fruit, so having a fruit tree you can both enjoy is still possible as long as you pick up fallen fruit and harvest your tree to avoid fruit on the ground in the first place.
Warning Signs of Toxicity
If you suspect your dog has eaten a toxic plant, it’s crucial to recognize the warning signs and act quickly. Different toxins can cause different reactions, but common signs of poisoning include:
- Vomiting and diarrhea
- Lethargy or weakness
- Excessive drooling
- Tremors, seizures, or unsteadiness
- Difficulty breathing
- Changes in heart rate or gum color
If you notice any of these symptoms, stay calm and immediately remove your dog from the source of the toxin. Gather any information you can, including the type of plant, how much you think they ate, and the time of ingestion.
Next, contact a professional. You can call your regular veterinarian, a nearby emergency clinic, the Pet Poison Helpline, or ASPCA Animal Poison Control.
A professional can provide the best guidance on what to do next and whether you need to bring your dog in for treatment. Never try to induce vomiting in your dog unless specifically instructed by a veterinarian, as it can cause more harm.
If you have a Dog First Aid Kit on hand, you might find the restraint and handling tools or comfort items in your kit helpful, depending on the state of your dog.
How to Create a Dog-Friendly Garden
The best way to prevent a toxic ingestion is to create a dog-friendly environment that extends to the outdoor space at your home. Fortunately, you don’t have to give up on your love for gardening or having a beautifully landscaped yard to keep your dog safe.
Consider these preventative safety measures:
- Choose safe alternatives: There are many beautiful, dog-friendly plants you can use instead of toxic ones. Some safe fall flowers include marigolds, calendula, sunflowers, gerber daisies, and statice.
- Elevate your plants: Plant risky flowers in raised beds or hanging baskets that are out of your dog’s reach, but be sure to keep an eye out for any flowers, berries, or leaves that might drop.
- Fence off areas: If you already have plants that could be a danger to your dog, consider using fencing to keep your pups away from the area. If fencing isn’t an option, you could also try moving plants to an area your dog doesn’t have access to, especially if they are a perennial.
- Maintain your yard: Regularly pick up any fallen leaves, nuts, berries, or fruit from trees to prevent your dog from finding and eating them.
- Watch your dog: Reduce or completely eliminate the time your dog has access to your yard unsupervised.
While you work on your garden to make it more dog-safe, you can also work with your dog to reduce their desire to chew or eat things they find outside. Dogs need to chew, but if you provide them with proper chewing outlets, you can improve the odds they’ll leave strange items outside alone.
Fall is a fantastic time of year for you and your dog to enjoy the crisp air outdoors. By staying informed about the plants that are poisonous to dogs and taking simple preventative steps, you can help ensure your canine companion stays happy and healthy all season long. From vibrant mums to falling acorns, a little vigilance can go a long way in protecting your furry family member.
What fall plants, trees, or flowers toxic to dogs surprised you the most?
