Not on the Menu: Pets and Plants

Pets and Plants; are they safe together?

If you can’t tell by now, the Dog ‘Gon Wild team is absolutely crazy over our four-legged friends and our gardens. If only you could see Roger and Wendy’s garden now, you would want to give them a round of applause for their hard work. The pictures in the Crimson Clover for the Winter Win blog give you a peek at it but it’s not in full bloom, except for the Crimson Clover.

I would show you pictures of my garden, but the whole family and I are still settling into our new home and haven’t had a chance to work on it. I can tell you, though, the first things we noticed were all the rose bushes, two fig trees, a grapevine, a crab apple tree, hydrangeas, and who knows what else. That’s just the backyard. Plenty more plants of variety out front.

And this household has three (sometimes lovable) dogs. One of which, loves to help with gardening projects.

As soon as the cool weather begins to stay, it’ll be time to put in our blood, sweat, and tears out there. Pulling out weeds, planting a vegetable garden, and making sure that all the easily accessible plants are pet friendly. Which means we will more than likely have to dig up the Hydrangeas that are planted next to the deck.

The answer is yes, they are considered toxic to dogs.

There are some plants that are used purely for the aesthetics of a garden and some with a purpose (like lavender to help keep the mosquitos away). As pretty and useful as said plants may be, they could cause some serious health problems to your fur baby. I am a fan of Wisteria. I find their beauty to be quite calming and truth be told, it will be incorporated into my wedding details. But sadly enough, Ryker being a puppy and curious as can be, will get into it as much as possible. And that is not a vet trip I would like to take.

Even Boxwood, a very common shrub, is poisonous for our friends. All the apartment buildings I used to live in, had them. The small, paranoid voice in my head is glad that I didn’t have Ryker and this knowledge back then. I would have kept him on a short leash.

But don’t let my little paranoia voice get to you, every plant poses some sort of risk. If it’s not a serious health risk, it could be something as small as allergies. Like my mother, who is allergic to all evergreen trees. Have some fun with your garden, put up some beautiful Foxgloves or Monkshood. But make sure it’s not reachable for your four-legged buddy.

Authored by JB Spencer