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While beautiful to look at, some popular plants can be poisonous—and even deadly—to dogs.
Before you go out and buy a new plant for your home or garden, it’s important to check if any part of it poses a threat to your pets. It’s also a good idea to review your leafy holdings if you’re puppy-proofing or dog-proofing for a new friend.
To help, we’ve rounded up a list of common plants and flowers that are toxic to dogs, plus the safer alternatives you can replace them with. Then Dr. Nell Ostermeier, DVM, CVA, FAAVA, veterinary advisor at Figo Pet Insurance, gives us advice on what to do if your dog eats a poisonous plant.
Most Common Poisonous Plants for Dogs
These plants are very common in homes. Be mindful of which plants you accept (or send) as gifts and where you place them in the home.
A to Z Chart: Poisonous Plants for Dogs
| Plant name | Where it’s typically found | What part is toxic | How much ingested is dangerous |
| Aloe vera | Indoor planters | The latex in leaves | Small amounts may cause an upset stomach; larger amounts can cause severe diarrhea and dehydration |
| Amaryllis | Indoor planters or outdoor gardens | The entire plant, especially the bulbs | Small amounts may cause vomiting, diarrhea, tremors, and seizures |
| American Holly / English Holly / Christmas Holly / Winterberry | Entryways and holiday decorations | The berries and leaves | Small amounts may cause an upset stomach, vomiting, and drooling |
| Autumn Crocus | Indoor vases or outdoor gardens, flower beds | The entire plant, especially the bulbs, flowers, and seeds | Small amounts may cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, respiratory failure, and death |
| Azalea / Rhododendron | Indoor vases or outdoor gardens | The entire plant, especially the leaves and flowers | Small amounts may cause severe vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain; larger amounts may cause coma and death |
| Bird of Paradise | Indoor planters or outdoor gardens | The entire plant, especially the fruit, leaves, seeds, and stems | Small amounts may cause nausea, vomiting, and drowsiness |
| Chinese Evergreen | Indoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause vomiting, difficulty swallowing, and breathing |
| Corn Plant / Dracaena | Indoor planters | The entire plant, especially the leaves and stems | Small amounts may cause vomiting with blood, loss of appetite, and depression |
| Cyclamen | Indoor planters or outdoor gardens | The entire plant, especially the tubers and roots | Small amounts may cause vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach upset; larger amounts may cause seizures and death |
| Daffodils | Indoor vases and outdoor gardens | The entire plant, including the bulbs, stems, leaves, flowers, and water left behind in a vase | Small amounts may cause drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, and stomach upset |
| Desert Rose | Gardens and sunny areas of the home | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause severe vomiting and heart failure |
| Dumb Cane | Indoor planters | The entire plant, especially the leaves and stems | Small amounts may cause severe mouth irritation, diarrhea, and vomiting |
| Elephant Ear (also known as Caladium) | Indoor or outdoor planters | The leaves and stems | Small amounts may cause mouth irritation, diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing, and death |
| Emerald Feather / Asparagus Fern | Indoor planters or outdoor gardens | The berries and sap | Small amounts may cause vomiting, diarrhea; direct contact with the sap may cause skin irritation |
| Foxglove | Indoor or outdoor planters, as well as gardens | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause severe symptoms, including tremors, vomiting, diarrhea, or death |
| Ivy | Indoor planters, outdoor flower beds, gardens, and ground cover | The leaves, vines, and berries | Small amounts may cause excessive drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain |
| Jade | Indoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause vomiting, a slow heart rate, and depression |
| Oleander | Indoor or outdoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause severe symptoms or death |
| Pothos | Indoor planters | The entire plant, especially the leaves | Small amounts may cause severe mouth irritation, diarrhea, and vomiting |
| Peace Lily | Indoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause severe mouth irritation, diarrhea, vomiting, difficulty breathing and swallowing |
| Philodendron | Indoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause severe mouth irritation; larger amounts may cause liver and kidney damage |
| Sago Palm | Indoor or outdoor planters | The entire plant, especially the seeds | Small amounts may be fatal or cause seizures, lethargy, and liver failure |
| Tulips | Indoor vases and outdoor gardens | The entire plant, especially the bulbs | Small amounts may cause diarrhea and vomiting |
| ZZ Plant | Indoor planters | The entire plant | Small amounts may cause diarrhea, vomiting, and respiratory issues |
How To Keep Your Dog from Eating Poisonous Plants
Ideally, dogs should never be left alone around poisonous plants, according to Dr. Ostermeier.
“You can try putting deterrents or barriers on or around the plant, but removing the plant is the safest method,” she recommends.
If you’re not able to remove the plant, consider installing physical barriers like plant stands or wall shelves to keep the plant inaccessible to your dog. Raised planters and garden fencing can also help keep toxic plants out of reach.
To make sure your dog avoids poisonous plants when outdoors on walks in your neighborhood, Dr. Ostermeier recommends teaching the cue “leave it.” It’s also a good idea to have “drop it” in your arsenal as an emergency back-up plan.
Irina Nedikova via iStock
Dog-Safe Plants
There are a wide variety of pet-safe houseplants that dog parents may want to consider in place of toxic ones for peace of mind.
If you love the look of tulips and daffodils, consider flowers like marigolds, roses, sunflowers, and zinnias, which make for equally lovely alternatives that don’t pose a health risk to dogs.
For safer succulents, look at options such as haworthia (also known as the zebra plant), Christmas cactus, Tiger Jaws, and wax plants.
Spider plants (Chlorophytum comosum) are a great-looking and non-toxic alternative to many hanging plants, as are Boston ferns and ponytail palms (Beaucarnea recurvata).
What To Do If Your Dog Eats a Poisonous Plant
If you suspect that your dog has eaten a poisonous plant, you’ll want to contact your veterinarian immediately, or, if after hours, contact an emergency veterinary facility.
According to Dr. Ostermeier, it’s ideal if you’re able to tell the vet what type of plant your dog ate and the approximate amount, so they can advise the best course of treatment. Depending on the amount and type of plant your pet ate, treatments can range from inducing vomiting to surgery.
Since no one plans to have an emergency, it’s a good idea to keep a list of emergency phone numbers on hand, including:
- your veterinarian’s phone number
- the number of a local 24-hour emergency vet
- the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center (888) 426-4435
- the Pet Poison Helpline (855) 764-7661
