Plants Poisonous to Dogs

Many house and garden plants are poisonous to dogs, including widespread ones like boxwood or tulips. Puppies explore everything with their mouths and are especially at risk. The lists below help you recognize which plants should be removed or kept out of reach.

List of poisonous garden and wild plants

You'll find these plants in gardens or out in the wild. Even if you don't have them in your own garden, many grow along path edges or in meadows.

Don't take your eyes off your dog on walks: dogs can't reliably tell which plants are poisonous. The instinct that helped wolves is no longer dependable in domestic dogs, thanks to domestication and the many imported non-native plants.

List of poisonous houseplants

These plants should be kept out of reach or removed from the home entirely.

The list isn't complete. When in doubt: anything that isn't clearly harmless has to go or be kept out of reach.

Watch these 7 especially closely

Cherry laurel, boxwood, hogweed

Cherry laurel was named Poisonous Plant of the Year in 2013: it's widely used as a hedge plant and is especially toxic. Boxwood contains many different toxins: leaves, bark, flowers, and fruit are all poisonous.

With hogweed, the species matters: the small common hogweed is harmless. Giant hogweed (from 1.50 m / about 5 ft tall) is highly toxic, and even skin contact is enough. Younger specimens can be giant hogweed plants in the making, too.

Mushrooms should generally be avoided: it hasn't been researched enough which mushroom species are safe for dogs.

Interactive database: 30 plants with symptom filter

The lists above give you a quick overview. If you want to know which symptoms a particular plant triggers, which parts of the plant are dangerous, and what to do right away in an emergency, you can filter the database below by severity, season, and location.

How poisoning happens

The most common route of ingestion is through the mouth: by nibbling on leaves, flowers, or roots. Some toxins are also transmitted through skin contact (e.g. hogweed). In rare cases, inhalation can cause symptoms too.

As soon as the toxin reaches the stomach, it spreads quickly through the body. Waiting for symptoms is a mistake: if you suspect poisoning, act right away.

Symptoms of poisoning

With poisoning, a wide range of symptoms can appear, since every toxin acts differently:

If you suspect poisoning: act fast

1. Stay calm

Panic does harm: stay calm and think through what to do next. That reassures your dog, too.

2. Give first aid

If the dog is unconscious, put it in the recovery position and check its pulse and breathing regularly. In an emergency, be ready to perform resuscitation.

3. Call before giving charcoal

Charcoal tablets (activated charcoal) can bind some toxins in the gastrointestinal tract before they enter the bloodstream. They do not work for every toxin and can be risky if a dog is weak, vomiting, dehydrated, or unable to swallow safely. Keep activated charcoal only as an emergency supply and discuss dosing with your vet in advance. In an actual emergency, give activated charcoal only if your vet or emergency clinic tells you to. Inducing vomiting yourself is off-limits unless a professional instructs you.

4. Head to the vet right away

Call your vet or an emergency veterinary clinic ahead of time so they can tell you what to do next and prepare. If possible, bring the plant along and describe all the symptoms as well as the suspected amount ingested. The faster the treatment, the better the chances of survival.

For some toxins there are antidotes, for many there are none. In severe cases, several days of infusion treatment are needed.

4 tips for prevention

1. Remove all poisonous plants

Check all house and garden plants for toxicity. Anything that isn't clearly safe has to be removed, given away, or kept out of reach.

2. Get an expert opinion before buying

Ask at the florist or garden center whether a new plant is safe for dogs.

3. Be careful on walks

Poisonous plants also grow along path edges and in meadows. Keep an eye on flowers and shrubs, and don't let your dog come into contact with unfamiliar plants.

4. Anti-nibbling training

Teach your dog from the start not to nibble on unfamiliar plants. Once it has learned this, the risk of poisoning on walks drops considerably.

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