Nothing like a yellow bed of black-eyed Susan in the late summer times when most flowers have started to dwindle. Call these yellow daisy or ox-eye daisy, the flowers are surely the gardener’s favorite.
If you wish to have these vibrant flowers bloom in your garden, and have a pet, you would need to know if they are safe or poisonous for your pets.
Are black-eyed Susans poisonous to dogs?
Black eyed Susan can be poisonous to dogs if they ingest in it large amounts, particularly the flowers. Ingesting black eyed Susan can make a dog fall sick and show symptoms like vomiting, nausea, weakness, and drooling. One should contact the vet immediately if even the dog shows no symptoms.
In many flowering plants or other types of plants, not all parts are poisonous. Some parts of a plant are more toxic than others.
Black eyed Susan flowers:
The bright yellow colors of black-eyed Susan can easily allure your pet dog.
They might start sniffing it, touching the flowers and if your furry friend has the habit of nibbling on cheerful blooms, they might even have a bite of it.
When it comes to the flowers of black-eyed Susan, these blooms are said to contain quite high concentrations of toxicity. This could be due to the presence of seeds in the flowers.
There have been many occasions where grazing animals were severely poisoned when they ingested the flowers of black-eyed Susan.
Hence you may want to make sure that your pet dog does not have a go at the flowers of black-eyed Susan since there is a chance of poisoning.
You may also remember that your dog would probably avoid flowers if they sense that the black eyed Susan has a distasteful flavor to them.
Black eyed Susan vines:
Black eyed Susan vines are a perennial climbing variety of the same plant. These can climb up and grow up to 8 feet or more.
Since you may be interested to pot these yellow vines in your black yard, it is best to have the vines set higher above so that they are out of reach of your dog.
Although there is no proven evidence for dogs, these vines have poisoned cats more severely.
Black eyed Susan leaves:
The leaves of black eyed Susan might not be poisonous but they are known to trigger allergies in many animals, as well as humans.
The long and thin leaves are sometimes more alluring to dogs since they find it easier to reach and chew on leaves.
What happens if my dog eats black-eyed Susan?
Since black eyed Susan has poisoned cats and cattle more evidently, when a dog ingests black eyed Susan, you may expect the following symptoms.
Nevertheless, you may want to remember that not all parts of the plant are toxic. A dog eating the flowers would be affected more than a dog eating black-eyed Susan vines.
Vomiting and diarrhea:
One of the most common signs of plant poisoning in dogs is vomiting and diarrhea.
If your dog has ingested a sizeable about of the black-eyed Susan flowers or leaves, you can expect to see your dog be nauseas and even proceed to vomit, in case your pet has ingested too much of the flowers.
Blockage:
For dogs, chewing leaves have proven to cause blockage in their internal organs.
Even if the flowers or leaves do not leave any toxicity for a dog, it would certainly cause a dog to have stomach upset.
Restlessness and Weakness:
When a dog eats black eyed Susan, it may trigger certain allergies in your pet. This could be irritation on their skin or in their throats.
This would result in restlessness in your dog particularly when they cannot come to terms with the discomfort. Moreover, feeling sick can also result in weakness in a dog after ingesting too much of the plant.
Drooling:
If your dog eats flowers of black-eyed Susan, the poisoning may be more serious and result in drooling in dogs. Sometimes drooling is followed by other symptoms as well.
What to do if a dog ate black-eyed Susan plants or flowers?
If your furry friend, has eaten black eyed Susan plants or flowers, there is no need to panic. The following steps will guide you on how to act if you notice signs of plant poisoning in your pet:
Take them away from the area:
The first step is to make sure that your dog does not eat more of the plant.
Hence you would want to take them away from the area immediately. You can use other distractions to make sure your dog is well away from eating more of the plants.
Also, remember that you would want to stop your dog from grooming itself, just in case there are pieces of the plant in their paws or body.
Don’t induce vomit immediately:
If you suspect that your dog is getting sick, you may want to wait a little longer to diagnose the symptoms.
Forcing your dog to vomit, especially when they don’t want to can be more harmful in that situation.
Call the vet:
When it comes to our pets, it is always wise to play safe and contact the vet as soon as possible.
This is also helpful even if your dog does not show symptoms of sickness but has ingested parts of the black-eyed Susan. When calling the vet, it is important to be precise about the symptoms of your dogs.
Vets usually prescribe treatment depending on what your dog has ingested and in what amounts. This could be Iv fluids or even charcoal treatment.
Sometimes, the vets know better to induce vomiting which helps as immediate relief.
How to keep my dogs from eating my black-eyed Susans?
Since black eyed Susan is known to make your pet fall sick, you may want to take precautions and have your dog know that it’s not safe to eat plants.
Here are a few tricks to help you keep your dog away from eating your black-eyed Susan:
Train your dog:
If you have pets but also love gardening, you may want to keep your dog away by training them the right way.
One of the recommended ways is to use ticker training. You can buy tickers at pet shops and use them to signal your dog indicating that going near the plant is not something they should do.
As they approach the plant, you can use the ticker. When your dog moves away from the plant, let them know that you applaud this act by giving them a small treat.
Use nontoxic sprays on plants:
If the plant smells foul, it is most likely that your dog would not be so keen on visiting, let alone nibbling on the plant.
You can find several dog deterrents in pet stores that are nontoxic and safe for both the dog and the plant.
You can also make natural deterrents like vinegar and water or a solution of diluted lemon juice. Since dogs are not fond of the citrus smell, the scent of lemon could keep them from coming near the black eyed Susan plants.
Use obstacles around the black-eyed Susan flowers:
If you spread out items around the plant making it difficult for the dog to travel to the plant, they would be discouraged to go near the flowers.
For that, you may spread out pieces of wire or even foils. Another way is to have fences or wire barriers surround the flowering plants so that your dog cannot reach the plants.
Are black-eyed Susans toxic to cats, horses, goats, and chickens?
Cats:
Black eyed Susans are highly poisonous to cats and can cause the cats to show symptoms almost immediately.
The flowers of the black-eyed Susan are high in toxicity due to the sap that it produces. If cats ingest the flowers, they could go from major gastronomical issues as well as irritation.
Horses:
Although it would not be threatening if a horse chews on a small amount of black-eyed Susan, if ingested in larger amounts, black eyed Susan can be detrimental to a horse’s health as well.
Goats:
Black eyed Susan has poisoned goats since these animals have sensitive stomachs. Goats cannot tolerate even mild levels of toxic sap or leaves and can get sick in a chicken period.
Chickens:
Black eyed Susan is highly toxic for chickens and should be kept away from the plants at all costs.
Final thoughts
Although not on the official list of toxic plants, black eyed Susan can be quite detrimental to a dog’s health if the dog ingests larger amounts of the plant’s parts. Some parts are more toxic than others but the poisonings would depend on the amount ingested.