Picking dog-friendly plants

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) publishes a list of plants (at www.aspca.org) that are toxic to dogs and cats. The list includes more than 80 flowers, shrubs and trees, including many common plants such as lilies, tulip and narcissus bulbs, azaleas, rhododendrons and yew.

Chewing on the branches, stems, roots, seedpods, etc., of many of these plants can cause a variety of ugly symptoms, from vomiting and diarrhea to drooling, twitching and even death.

But that doesn't mean you can't have these plants in your yard. "The bottom line is to exercise caution, especially if your dog has indiscriminant eating habits," says Dana Farbman of the ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center.

Pet owners need to know what's in their yard by its botanical name, and they should try to break dogs of their plant-nibbling habits. In addition, unsupervised or bored dogs are more likely to eat troublesome greens.

Cheryl Smith, an author and dog trainer in Port Angeles, talks about plant toxicity in her book "Dog Friendly Gardens, Garden Friendly Dogs." She suggests a common-sense approach, such as not leaving cuttings from rhododendrons in the yard, especially if your dog is a stick chewer, and skipping tulip bulbs (or burying them under chicken wire) if your dog likes to dig up things and eat them.

While we're on the subject of poisons, dog-friendly gardeners avoid toxic chemicals, especially snail and slug baits that contain metaldehyde.

"Dogs die of metaldehyde poisoning every year," Smith says. Gardeners at The Oregon Garden in Silverton use the phosphate-based Sluggo Slug and Snail Bait in their pet-friendly garden.

Lisa Wogan