7 common house plants to keep away from your dog
Yes, your green thumb and your dogs can peacefully coexist. Here’s how.
We all love indulging our green thumb every once in a while. A new plant in the house is like an instant boost of serotonin — something new to throw our love at, to take our minds off whatever’s (or whoever’s) been testing us lately.
But what good’s a new baby (plant) if it poses potential harm to your existing babies (your dogs)? For the next time you suddenly get the overwhelming urge to visit your local plant nursery, avoid these 7 common household species that don’t play well with dogs.
Aloe plant
Aloe Vera
While extracted juice and gel is safe to drink and use for topical skin treatments (respectively), the aloe plant leaves themselves contain anthraquinone glycoside, a toxin that can induce diarrhea and vomiting in dogs.
Ivy
We all love a good ivy cascading off the kitchen fridge moment, but for you dog owners it’s look, don’t touch. Many ivy varieties contain toxins like triterpenoid saponins and polyacetylene compounds that are dangerous when ingested by dogs. Keep yours away, or risk excessive drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, or abdominal pain.
Jade [Crassula Ovata]
Known for its rubber-leaf texture and hard-to-kill properties, the jade plant is also extremely toxic to many pets. Though scientists still don’t entirely understand what makes these plants toxic, they’re proven to cause vomiting, slowed heart rate, and depression in dogs.
Pothos plant
Pothos [Epipremnum Aureum]
We’re sad this one’s on the list too, but your green thumb isn’t worth the risk these plants have on your dog. Pothos, also known as Devil’s Ivy or Satin, have tiny but sharp calcium oxalate crystals embedded in their leaves that can irritate your dog’s mouth and cause vomiting, increased salivation, and swallowing difficulties.
Also on the no-go list? Pothos’ cousin, Philodendron.
Dieffenbachia
One of the most recognizable household plants, the “Dumb Cane” plant also contains the same calcium oxalate crystals that can cause serious swelling, difficulty breathing, and burning inside your dog’s mouth and tongue.
Caladium
Mid-century modernists — this one’s not for you. The elephant-eared plant would go really great over by that 1960’s credenza, but your dog won’t like it. Caladium plants again contain sharp calcium oxalate crystals in its leaves that irritate your dog’s mouth and can lead to serious breathing and ingestion problems.
Lilies
Though some varieties of the lily flower are in the clear, those known as the Peace Lily are toxic to dogs. The plant is yet another that contains the calcium oxalate crystals that are irritating at best, fatal at worst for your dog.