Spring Garden Dog Safety: Baits, Bulbs, and Fertilizer

The garden shed

• Slug and snail bait (metaldehyde): among the most dangerous items in any yard; severe tremors within an hour.
• Fertilizers: most cause GI upset, but bone/blood meal is compellingly tasty and can obstruct or trigger pancreatitis in quantity; some mixes add insecticides.
• Weed killers: keep dogs off treated lawns until fully dry (check the label's re-entry time).
• Insecticides: organophosphates are the serious ones; drooling, tremors, weakness.
• Cocoa mulch: smells like chocolate, is chocolate, toxicologically speaking.

The flower beds

• Spring bulbs: tulip, daffodil and hyacinth bulbs are the most toxic part of the plant, and freshly turned beds invite digging.
• Azalea and rhododendron: a few leaves matter.
• Sago palm: if you're landscaping this spring, don't plant one at all with a dog in the yard.
• Compost: turning it for spring wakes up the moldy layer; tremorgenic mycotoxins live there.

A dog-safe spring setup

Store every garden chemical in a latched cabinet at chest height, treat lawns in sections so the dog always has an untreated zone, fence the compost, and photograph any plant you're unsure about before the dog decides for you.