Pet Poison Q & A: Bushes & Berries & Trees, Oh My!
I’m looking into planting a crabapple tree, but I want to make sure that it won’t be poisonous to my dogs.
―Ethel C.
Good question, Ethel. It’s always a good idea to check first! The seeds, leaves and stems of the crabapple species contain substances known as cyanogenic glycosides, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, a lack of oxygen in the blood, a decreased heart rate, respiratory congestion, seizures and coma. A large enough ingestion could ultimately lead to respiratory failure and even death. Typically, we do not see any problems beyond gastrointestinal irritation in small animals who consume a few pieces of the plant material. Severe clinical effects usually occur in grazing animals such as horses or other livestock, who consume large quantities.
The bottom line? A nibble or two of a fallen crabapple is not likely to pose problems beyond minor stomach upset. Just don’t let your dogs eat them in quantity or allow them to consume the leaves, stems or other parts of the tree.
More new questions this week:
-My greyhound tends to want to munch on our butterfly bush. Could this be harmful to her?
-Are black chokeberry and buckhorn berries poisonous to dogs?
―Ethel C.
Good question, Ethel. It’s always a good idea to check first! The seeds, leaves and stems of the crabapple species contain substances known as cyanogenic glycosides, which can cause vomiting, diarrhea, a lack of oxygen in the blood, a decreased heart rate, respiratory congestion, seizures and coma. A large enough ingestion could ultimately lead to respiratory failure and even death. Typically, we do not see any problems beyond gastrointestinal irritation in small animals who consume a few pieces of the plant material. Severe clinical effects usually occur in grazing animals such as horses or other livestock, who consume large quantities.
The bottom line? A nibble or two of a fallen crabapple is not likely to pose problems beyond minor stomach upset. Just don’t let your dogs eat them in quantity or allow them to consume the leaves, stems or other parts of the tree.
More new questions this week:
-My greyhound tends to want to munch on our butterfly bush. Could this be harmful to her?
-Are black chokeberry and buckhorn berries poisonous to dogs?
posted by ASPCA at 4:42 PM PERMALINK
2 Comments:
oh jeeze ! i have a crab apple tree in my backyard ! im gonna make sure my dogs dont eat the apples from it
My 6mo. old lab puppy really likes the berries that are falling from the crabapple tree in our yard, does anyone else have experience with this?
Post a Comment
<< Home