Cocoa Mulch - bad for dogs

18 years ago

Okay, I'm not here all the time and I miss weeks of postings and I didn't know if this had been mentioned before, but...

This mulch product *smells* like chocolate and occasionally, dogs will eat the stuff. About 50% of the dogs that do eat this garden mulch will die suddenly.

Here's a link (below).

Rose

Here is a link that might be useful: more about the mulch

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Comments (7)

minnie_tx
18 years ago
Never heard of it but thanks for the alert!!
lydia1959
18 years ago
Thanks! I was thinking about buying some of that this year, but think I will stick to the cedar chips now ... we have a lot of neighborhood dogs who spend time at our house.
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I've bought it both at Home Depot and Lowe's, the two biggest "box" stores around here. It's about $10 for a 2 cu ft bag. I picked up two bags this past weekend just to try it out because I liked the fine texture and dark brown color. I also don't have any dogs and none of my close neighbors do either so figured there wasn't too much danger. There is definitely a chocolate smell, I don't know how long it'll last, but it is a little weird to walk out first thing in the morning to the car and smell.... chocolate :-)
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I've used cocoa mulch for years. My experience has been different than yours, as follows: -- mulch is best spread as summer starts. It helps conserve moisture, so it isn't needed much during the winter rains but is a big help in our dry summers. -- the mold in cocoa mulch has never hurt anything in my garden. It isn't harmful in itself, and mushrooms (fungi) may be poisonous to humans but they will not harm your plants. If you have spread your mulch properly, which means not allowing it to mound around any plants, and NEVER mulch plants until they established themselves, you should not have any problems. -- cocoa mulch 'locks' together after being wetted, which is why it's very effective for holding moisture. It is unnecessary to turn it over or aerate it. If your soil doesn't drain well, you shouldn't use any mulch, but instead amend your soil to lighten it. -- the biggest disadvantage to it is cost and pets. Dogs occasionally eat it, and some cats consider it the greatest kitty litter in the world. Of course, YMMV, so I hope you find a mulch you are satisfied with, since there are many other choices.
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Merrifield Garden Ctr still had some as of last Wednesday. That's the only place I know of that actually carries it all the time. I think it was about $12 per 2 cu.ft bag. My Corolla holds 8 bags easy (4 in trunk and 4 on back seat), and I have carried as many 14 bags - it's not heavy, just bulky. If you are over 65 y/o, don't forget to tell the cashier so as to get 10% discount (they never ask you but are cheerful about applying the discount). Remember that it truly does only need about an inch depth, so one bag covers a lot of square footage.
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hale_bopp
18 years ago
Yep. We had a little bit on the side of the house. Poor Brit' kept getting sick and urping up a chip or two. Then we found out about this, not even realizing that when we first bought this, it'd have theobromine in it! No more chocolate chips! :)

Thanks for posting this!

Blessings,
Haley
Linda Wayman
18 years ago
Rose, I'm glad you mentioned that. I knew about chocolate being dangerous for dogs, but I never thought about the mulch bothering them. I wasn't going to buy any because I've already put down over 100 bags of mulch and don't want to put down any more no matter how good it smells.

Linda
grammahony
18 years ago
Geesh Linda, did they bring it in a Semi? I knew you said you'd been doing a lot of hauling of mulch, and stuff, but this is crazy girl. Your supposed to be retired. Take it easy.
Leslie
iowagirl2006
18 years ago
I am impressed with the 100 bags also! WoW!

I am a miser and trying to spread out my 6 bags of cedar bark, LOL! I love the way it smells right out of the bag - like the mountains :0)

I can't get the cocoa mulch around here - but it is good to know about the dogs. I probably would have bought some if I saw it.
jannie
18 years ago
I used to have a dog who ate sticks she found in the yard, but I've never had a dog that eats wood chips. My current dog will only eat inside, and it has to be dog food or cat food or table scraps. Thanks for the warning. I don't even like the look of cocoa mulch,I much prefer using compost to top-dress my plants.

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Cocoa Mulch - bad for dogs

Comments (7)

minnie_tx

lydia1959

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hale_bopp

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grammahony

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jannie

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