By R.G. Elmore, D.V.M.
Copley News Service

Q: Now that my husband and I are finally retired, we are getting our first puppy! Although we are excited about getting our new family member, we are also concerned about doing everything right. We want to be sure that our home is safe for the animal. We feel almost like we did when we house-proofed our house as our children reached toddler age many years ago. Our question is which household plants are poisonous for pets? We have a lot of plants.

A. While getting a new puppy is very exciting for most families, keeping the puppy safe often causes some anxiety. Many common household plants are poisonous for dogs and cats.
Although not an exhaustive listing, all parts of the following plants are considered to be poisonous for pets: azalea, bleeding heart, boxwood, castor bean, Christmas rose, crocus, daphne, delphinium, dieffenbachia, dumb cane, elephant's-ear, English holly, English ivy, four-o'clock, hydrangea, iris, Jerusalem cherry, larkspur, lily-of-the-valley, laurel, monkshood, mountain laurel, oleander, philodendron, poinsettia, rhododendron, star-of-Bethlehem, yellow jasmine and yew. The bulbs of the following plants are poisonous: daffodil, hyacinth and narcissus. The seeds of the following plants are toxic for pets: golden chain, morning glory and sweet pea. The berries of lantana and mistletoe and the needles of pine trees also are poisonous.

Fortunately, most dogs do not chew on plants after they get past the puppy stage in their development. However, puppies are quite curious and will chew on anything that they can get into their mouths. Mature dogs that are fed properly usually do not crave household plants.
If you suspect that your dog has eaten a poisonous plant, you should take him to your veterinarian as soon as possible. Take along any remaining plant pieces to help your veterinarian make an accurate diagnosis.

Crating your puppy while you cannot observe him keeps him safe. Crating while you are away from your house will also help decrease the development of separation anxiety and other common problems commonly seen in older dogs. Crating young puppies often helps during housebreaking training.

Q: We were recently surprised when our veterinarian requested that we take our dog, which had died unexpectedly, to a pathology laboratory in a neighboring city for an autopsy. Our veterinarian felt that it was important that we all understood why our dog died. We refused to have the autopsy done because of the cost and because we did not want our dog's body mutilated before we buried it. Did we make a poor decision?

A: Although autopsies can be performed on a pet in such a way that the body can be returned to the owner for viewing and burial, you did not make a bad decision. You made the decision that you thought was best at the time. You should not second-guess your decision now. Worrying about your decision to forgo an autopsy will not help you work through the grief of losing your valued pet.

Send e-mail to copleysd@copleynews.com or write to Pets, Copley News Service, P.O. Box 120190, San Diego, CA 92112-0190. Only questions of general interest will be answered in this column.

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