Guard Your Yard…How to Prevent Outdoor Pet Poisoning

Last week, during Pet Poison Prevention Week, we discussed human medications that are poisonous for pets. Now that the medicine cabinet is in good order, let’s bring our spring cleaning efforts outside. Put up the snow shovels, find the gardening tools and let’s do some yard work.

Keep your pet in mind when preparing the yard for spring. At the garden center, look for plants that are pet-friendly. Many nurseries post a list of plants that are poisonous for dogs and cats, but in case yours doesn’t here are a few plants to beware of.

Pet Poisons: Blossoms, Belly Aches, and More

When it comes to flowers, lilies start the list of beautiful, yet deadly blossoms. Tiger lilies, day lilies, and Easter lilies are very toxic to cats and ingestion of just a few petals or leaves can result in kidney failure. Dogs are diggers and they eat more than just flowers and leaves. They dig up and eat bulbs of daffodils or tulips and may develop severe vomiting and diarrhea.

Flowering shrubs can also be toxic, so place those pretty azaleas and lantana plants out of your pet’s reach.  Both can upset your dog’s intestinal tract. Non-flowering plants like the Sago palm cause more than just GI upset. Dogs that eat parts of this plant often suffer severe or fatal liver disease.

Garden pet poisons aren’t limited to foliage and  flowers.

Products used to encourage plant growth can also be pet poisons. Carefully read the labels of all fertilizer or growth supplements. Fertilizers are gastrointestinal irritants that can make your pet miserable. Far worse, they are often combined with dangerous chemicals such as carbamates or organophosphates that kill insects and can be deadly for pets as well.

Call your veterinary emergency clinic immediately if your pet drools excessively, has difficulty breathing or has a seizure.  Carbamate or organophospate poisoning requires prompt treatment.

Soil supplements such blood meal can also be harmful. Blood meal is flash-frozen blood that is ground up and used and as nitrogen source to enrich soil. It’s a good organic fertilizer, but when ingested by a curious pet, it can cause vomiting or diarrhea. Blood meal can also result in pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas) that is painful and potentially fatal.

Bone meal is another soil supplement made from actual animal bones. Dogs love bones, so they readily eat it. How can bone meal make a dog sick? When in the stomach, bone meal may form a solid, concrete-like ball that may obstruct the GI tract. Often surgery is needed to remove the blockage.

Pesty Poisons to Dogs and Cats

Avid gardeners know that pests such as snails, slugs, or rodents can ruin your beautiful flower bed. Unfortunately, the baits used to keep your flowers safe aren’t safe for your dog or cat. Snail and slug baits can cause seizures and even death. Rodenticides cause blood clotting disorders or kidney failure.

The Great, Safe Outdoors

You may be tired of weather that’s not fit for “man nor beast.” So is your pet. So go outside and do a little gardening. but, before you jump into spring time yard work, take a few minutes to plan a beautiful yard that is safe for your pets.

I’m enjoying the sunshine in my back yard as I write this, and I hope you will enjoy a few nice rays soon. Gotta go. Scout just plopped a tennis ball in my lap. He’s ready for a game of fetch.

Do you have a gardening tip that you’d like to share? Please let us know.