# Serious warning to owners of plant chewing puppies



## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Reading Steve's (Wak44) accounts of Megan chewing daffodils reminds me of a potentially lethal plant which is not all that unusual in UK gardens.

Its common names are Monkshood or Wolfsbane, but its proper name is Aconite, and _while I don't want to spread alarm and despondency it's always better to be aware of these things._

There are a large number of species but some are quite dangerous - and the roots of Aconitum ferox are particularly deadly. Fortunately it's not the most common variety, but I know of one lady who was digging up and splitting a plant when her puppy pounced on it and gave the roots a good chewing - as puppies do. An hour later the puppy was dead.

Quote from Wiki "_The roots of Aconitum ferox supply the Indian (Nepal) poison called bikh, bish, or nabee. It contains large quantities of the alkaloid pseudaconitine, which is a deadly poison. Aconitum palmatum yields another of the bikh poisons. The root of Aconitum luridum, of the Himalaya, is said to be as virulent as that of A. ferox or A. napellus.

Several species of Aconitum have been used as arrow poisons. The Minaro in Ladakh use A. napellus on their arrows to hunt ibex, while the Ainus in Japan used a species of Aconitum to hunt bear.[1] The Chinese also used Aconitum poisons both for hunting,[2] and for warfare.[3]

*Many species of Aconitum are cultivated in gardens, having either blue or yellow flowers*."_ (My emphasis.)

I think Wiki overdoes the "_dire warnings_" a bit, but still it might be as well to make sure you can identify the lethal ones in case you have one in your garden - then dig it up and burn it, just in case.

Regards


----------



## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Hi Dave,

I found this info on the Kerry Blue Foundation site 8O 8O 8O 

I'll be paving the garden over this weekend.

Sharon




Common Plants That Are Toxic to Dogs:
Alocasia
Aloe Vera
Amaryllis (bulb)
Andromeda
Apple (leaf & stem)
Appleseed (cyanide)
Arrowgrass
Autumn Crocus (bulb)
Avocado (seed)
Azalea
Bird of Paradise (seed pod)
Bittersweet
Black Locust
Bleeding Heart
Boxwood
Buckeye (seed)
Buddhist Pine
Buttercup
Caladium
Calamondin Orange
Calla Lily
Castor Bean
Cherry (leaf & stem)
Cherry Pit (cyanide)
Chokecherry
Christmas Rose
Chrysanthemum
Cineraria
Climbing Lily
Cordatum
Corn (Cornstalk) Plant
Corydalis
Crotalaria (seed)
Croton
Crown of Thorns
Cuban Laurel
Cycad
Cyclamen
Daffodil (bulb)
Daphne
Death Camas (bulb)
Delphinium
Dieffenbachia
Dumb Cane
Easter Lily
Eggplant (not fruit)
Elephant's Ear
English Ivy
Elderberry
Fava Bean (seed)
Fiddle-Leaf Fig
Finger Cherry (fruit)
Foxglove
Ground Cherry (not fruit)
Hemlock
Holly (berries)
Hyacinth (bulb)
Hydrangea
Indian Tobacco
Iris (bulb)
Japanese Yew
Jasmine (berries)
Java Bean (seed)
Jerusalem Cherry
Jessamine
Jimsonweed
Jonquil (bulb)
Kalanchoe
Laburnum
Larkspur
Laurel
Lilly of the Valley (bulb)
Locoweed
Lupine
Manchineel
Marble Queen
Marigold
Marijuana
May Apple (root)
Medicine Plant
Mistletoe (berries)
Monkshood
Morning Glory
Mushrooms
Narcissus (bulb)
Nightshade
Oleander
Onion
Pea
Peach
Pencil Cactus
Peony
Philodendron
Poinsettia
Poison Ivy
Pokeweed (root)
Potato (not tuber)
Precatory Bean
Primrose
Privet
Rayless Goldenrod
Rhododendron
Rhubarb
Snow on the Mountain
Star of Bethlehem (bulb)
Stinging Nettle
String of Pearls/Beads
Taxus
Toadstool
Tobacco
Tomato (not fruit)
Tulip (bulb)
Walnuts
Water Hemlock (tuber)
Wild Aconite
Wisteria
Yew


----------



## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

Yes Sharon, as I said I think Wiki was overdoing the doom and gloom a bit. :roll: :roll: 

Toxic doesn't automatically mean dangerous, and if it did most puppies wouldn't last half an hour in any garden - other than your fully paved one! 8O :lol: :lol: 

I think it's just a matter of common sense. Be aware of any lethal plants, and keep an eye on your puppy while she is very small.

As she grows older she will develop an innate ability to know what is bad for her - otherwise dogs would be extinct long since. We could have used our old dog as an official food taster - she just wouldn't touch some of the supermarket stuff that is full of additives (not that we buy it if we can avoid it).

Don't worry about it too much. Ky survived OK, and Gracie "tastes" everything she meets for the first time and she's still alive and kicking.

I only posted the message because some species of Aconite really are dangerous, and forewarned is forearmed.


Did you have a good night's sleep last night? At a guess I'd say she might have whimpered a bit more than before, but settled down after a little while??

Regards


----------



## wakk44 (Jun 15, 2006)

Thanks for the warning Dave it's useful to know about dangers in the garden.

Thankfully she only fancies daffodils


----------



## Zebedee (Oct 3, 2007)

wakk44 said:


> Thanks for the warning Dave it's useful to know about dangers in the garden.
> 
> Thankfully she only fancies daffodils


Stone me - it looks like you've got one with a curly tail as well, or is it the angle of the photo?

Our last two were docked (_though they only used to take about an inch off_) and their tails stood up like flagpoles as they are supposed to.

Gracie isn't docked of course, and I guess Megan isn't either, so I wonder if the curly tail is a result?

It doesn't matter at all to us, but it does make her look a bit funny compared to the "_flagpoles_" we had before.

Regards


----------



## Briarose (Oct 9, 2007)

Zebedee said:


> wakk44 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the warning Dave it's useful to know about dangers in the garden.
> ...


My Megans tail is more or less like your Megans..........Rolo's is more upright but has a kink.

We now have two topics on Welshies 8O


----------



## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

One of mine ate yew (which i specifically asked my garden planner not to put in the garden) it is called taxus so i didn´t notice. I was told I had 4-6 hours to get her treated or she would die!!
She also got patnaemia from eating onions


----------

