I have all kinds of poisonous (to animals) plants in my garden and never has either of them in all these years eaten from one that was poisonous. My veterinarian said they have a sixth sense about this when I mentioned it to him. I have Oleander, foxglove, azaleas... well, probably at least 100 different kinds of plants and/or flowers and I have had pets for 40+ years and never had one of them eat anything like that. They will eat grasses and that is when they are craving fiber, I am told, but never ate anything that is toxic or contraindicated for them.

What did he eat?

The best thing to do is to train him right away that the plants are your "territory" and he's not allowed anywhere near them--ever. "Claiming your space" is a basic part of the Alpha (lead) dog's behavior. It is something a puppy can learn very quickly. YOU need to be the leader. Then you can plant what you want.

We just had a huge oleander removed from our backyard. My vet said it would only take 40 oleander leaves to kill a horse, and just 1 to kill my 35 pound cocker spaniel. I don't think he ate the leaves, but he would go out and eat grass and other stuff very, very close to the oleander. My concern came with mowing. Occasionally a huge oleander branch would be on the ground and the end of it would get run over with the mower. We mulch the grass so then, oleander leaves were shredded amoungst what my dog was eating. There had been several time my dog got really sick and we didn't know why. Having the oleander wasn't worth my dogs life, so we removed it. The weird sickness my dog had had in the past hasn't happened since. I was also concerned about kids. What if one of my friends 1 year old who was playing in our yard put an oleander leaf in it's mouth? Just not worth it.

I agree with hoov..my dog walks around my flower beds, not through them..but even so, a puppy, like a baby will put anything in it's mouth and needs to be watched like a hawk until it's out of that stage. hopefully, between maturing, watching, and training, nothing like that will happen again. glad everything turned out okay for the puppy. donna

Are you sure it was a plant the puppy ate, which did the damage?
Like many others, we have toxic plants all over the place.
Several generations of omnivore Dalmatians have avoided them scrupulously.

I'd be more likely to point the finger at pesticides in the soil, or chemical fertilizers.
The "systemics" put into soil around plants are often highly toxic. That's one big reason we avoid them.

Jeri

My cat licks the leaves of wet plants, and that is why I stopped spraying. I think that like Jeri said it might be from systemics in the soil. Puppies love to dig, Im glad that you were to take him to the vet right away.They learn quickly and Im sure that you will be able to get him trained to go only where you want in the garden.

Also agree with Hoov. I would be in a constant state of frustration if I hadn't trained my lab to stay out of my gardens. Wouldn't worry about the toxins unless they're in the chew-everything puppy stage, but the trample factor would not be fun.

Poor puppy. Try to train your puppy to stay out of the gardens (or at least not dig and eat the plants). Westies can be very stubborn so it might take a while but they eventually get the idea. You'll find that Westies are great for killing voles and mice and even rabbits that try to eat your plants. My Westie has only eaten a plant once - and that was when I was trying to use blood meal to keep the rabbits away. Unfortunately, blood meal attracts dogs and she dug up my raspberries to get to it. But all my other plants including monkshood and foxglove have been left alone. She does occasionally eat dirt and other random things, but she'll throw up once and be fine. I do have to be careful with fertilizer but if I water it in well and watch her then she'll stay away from it.

Some dogs are not safe around plants. You can't watch them all the time and puppies are like children -- everything goes in their mouth. I choose to be very careful what I plant and not to plant anything highly poisonous in my garden just to be on the safe side. The link at the bottom is from the ASPCA Poison Center, which includes a number to call if your animal is poisoned.

Some plants are more toxic than others, some dogs are more sensitive, it all depends. Mine ate my azalia bush with no ill effects, but I won't be replacing it.

I'm sorry about your experience with your puppy. I almost lost a tiny Shih tzu when he ate a toadstool. It's a terrifiying experience and worse if you think you were the cause. He will probably outgrow the nibbling, but he won't outgrow the digging since he's a terrier. Good luck keeping your new plants in the ground. I have a Jack Russell and I've replanted a few times this year. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Plants Poisonous to Animals

I have never seen my Collie eating any plant. However, I will say that I grew up with a most beloved Cocker Spaniel. In my experience, Cocker Spaniels will eat ANYTHING. They really love to eat.

Thanks for the link with the info! I don't use pesticides or sprays. But I plant with things like triple super phosphate, etc. I'll be more careful about those too! I work during the day and have a doggie door, so it's hard to train him in the garden. When I'm outside I do scold him. I think of all the plants I could have bought with the $300 it cost me to take him to the vet, and I'll be much more careful!