Plants Your Pets NEED to AVOID

The weather is warm and people, including myself, try to find any time I can to get outside. That usually means I hook the leash to my dog and take him along with me especially to go hiking. If your dog is like mine he stops and smells the dirt, plants and whatever else he catches a whiff of when we walk outside and sometimes he takes a bite out of plants as he walks by. I am always on alert to what plan he has chosen to chomp down on because some plants have chemical compounds toxic to pets. I don't even have to leave my yard in order to find these plants that he so curiously sniffs at. So, in this blog, I wanted to take the opportunity to discuss some UP plants that pets can't have, just in case you and your pet come across them outside as well. 

Common Yarrow (AKA: Milfoil)-Achillea millefolium 

This plant actually grows in my yard and I was warned that it is toxic to dogs- but also cats and horses. Yarrow has toxic compounds of Glycoalkaloids, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpene lactones which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, anorexia, and hypersalivation. Yarrow is a plant that has very feathery, soft leaves with umbel white flower clusters- can reach 3 feet in height. 

Milkweed -Asclepias species

Milkweed is a common plant found in pollinator gardens because of monarch butterflies. This plant has an unbranched stem up to five ft tall but usually two to three ft; opposite oblong leaves up to 8 in long; stems covered with dense, soft hairs; large clusters of pink flowers; seed pod is 3 to 4 in long, 1 to 2 in wide and covered with soft prickles with fluffy hairs attached to flat seeds. Milkweed contains cardiotoxins and neurotoxins for dogs, cats and horses. If a pet happens to consume milkweed the symptoms are very serious. Symptoms include vomiting, profound depression, weakness, anorexia, and diarrhea are common; may be followed by seizures, difficulty breathing, rapid, weak pulse, dilated pupils, kidney or liver failure, coma, respiratory paralysis and death. 

Apple- Malus sylvestrus

I wasn't expecting this one, but if you have apple trees on your property you may need to keep an eye on your pet. The toxic compound is Cyanogenic glycosides which is essentially cyanide. If your dog, cat or horse eats stems, leaves, or seeds these contain cyanide, particularly toxic in the process of wilting. Symptoms include brick red mucous membranes, dilated pupils, difficulty breathing, panting, shock. Apple isn't a native plant found in the UP but it is a common one. 

Buttercup -Ranunculus spp.

Buttercup is a common yard flower which is toxic to dogs, cats and horses. These plants have 5 pedaled yellow flowers. Buttercup comes in many varieties but all are an irritant to pets. The toxic principle it has is protoanemonin which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, depression, anorexia, hypersalivation, oral ulcers and wobbly gait.

 

Cardinal Flower- Lobelia cardinalis

Many people like to plant this native plant in their gardens because it attracts pollinators and hummingbirds. While it is excellent to have this native plant in your yard or see it out hiking it is something to make sure your pets don't consume. Cardinal flower is toxic to dogs, cats and horses because of the toxic principle lobeline. In animals, symptoms of cardinal flower consumption includes depression, diarrhea, vomiting, excessive salivation, abdominal pain, and heart rhythm disturbances. This is also pretty dangerous to humans an cam cause a range of effects from nausea to coma. Best to leave this one to the hummingbirds. Cardinal flowers are identified by five scarlet petals, with three lower petals and two upper petals that are united into a tube at the base. The cardinal flower has finely toothed, lance-shaped leaves that grow to 4 inches in length and the plant itself can grow 3-6 feet tall. 

Jack-in-the-pulpit- Arisaema triphyllum

Jack-in-the-pulpit is a really cool plant find. It is known as a pitcher plant and they are carnivorous. The goal to capture insects for this plant is that the bug licks up sweet nectar around the rim but slips and falls into a vat of digestive enzymes inside the pitcher plant. Insoluble calcium oxalates are the toxin that effects dogs, cats and horses- all but horses vomit because of consuming this plant. A shared list of symptoms include oral irritation, pain and swelling of mouth, tongue and lips, excessive drooling, and difficulty swallowing. Jack-in-the-pulpit are very distinct plants of one to two large, glossy leaves, divided into three leaflets, rise on their own stems up to about 2 feet tall. It is a large, cylindrical, hooded flower, green in color with brown or maroon stripes. Distinctive "Jack-in-the-Pulpit" formation grows beneath large leaf on the pitcher. A cluster of bright red berries appears in late summer.

Ragwort- Senecio species

Ragwort is a species found in the Upper Peninsula, this distinctive species is characterized by being fairly tall growing and having leaves that are alternate and deeply divided into irregular segments. Flowers look like solid yellow daisy clusters. When crushed, ragwort plants have an unpleasant smell. Maybe that is due to the pyrrolizidine alkaloids which are toxic chemicals to dogs, cats and horses. The interesting thing about ragwort is that it doesn't taste good to animals yet the will eat it if there isn't any better forage or if it is mixed in with hay (this is common for horses). A whole host of problems arise from consumption. According to the ASPCA, "The toxic components can cause liver failure, referred to as "walking disease" or "sleepy staggers". Signs include weight loss, weakness, sleepiness, yawning, incoordination, yellowish discoloration to mucous membranes (icterus), neurologic problems secondary to liver failure (aimless walking, chewing motions, head pressing). Animals may appear to be normal at first, then become suddenly affected; the syndrome progresses rapidly over a few days to a week. Liver damage, depression, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, muddy mucous membranes, weakness, [and] ataxia." Ragwort is definitely a plant that people with horses and livestock need to keep an eye on, while dogs and cats can't tolerate ragwort either, they aren't actively grazing like livestock. 

It's always a good idea to keep an eye on your pets and especially make sure their outdoor area is free of plants that could cause them harm. ASPCA has a really good list of other plants you may have in a garden or flower bed as well as these, you can access that website here to see if they are toxic or not and other facts about what they do to animals' health.