Illinois Springtime Flowers: Keep These Away From Your Dog

Here in late April, it looks like we're finally done with overnight temperatures dropping to or below the freezing mark. Daytime temps will be working their way back in to the 70s and 80s over the next short while, so more and more spring flowers will be blooming here in Northern Illinois.

Say what you will about winters in Northern Illinois (at least biting and stinging insects along with toxic plants and flowers take a few months off during the frigid weather), but now that we're closing out the cold, it's time to make sure that Illinois' dog owners are aware of the dangerous-to-dogs plants and flowers that will soon be blooming.

Keep In Mind That You Don't Need To Be Concerned, Worried, Or Freaked Out By Every Flower That Blooms In Illinois, But There Definitely Are Some To Watch Out For

Our household consists of 5 people, 1 dog, and two cats. We learned years ago (before the dogs came along) that some plants and flowers are also dangerous to cats, so instead of trying to memorize each and every botanical that could make our cat sick, we just stopped having plants and flowers, other than silk ones, inside the house.

Problem solved.

With the dog, it's a different story since he goes outside all the time. We have all sorts of plants and flowers outside, so we've had to take stock of them and make sure we don't have the dangerous ones around the yard for him to get into.

Before we get to those dangerous flowers and plants, here are some safe flowers for your dog to be around:

• Roses (although the dog can get stuck by the rose's thorns)
• Sunflowers
• Orchids
• Marigolds
• Snapdragons
• Petunias

There's A Pretty Good Chance You Might Have Some Tulips Around, So Let's Take A Look At Them And Some Other Plants To Avoid Having Around Dogs

Tulips come in a variety of beautiful colors, and they give off a real springtime vibe. However, tulips feature prominently on the list of dangerous and deadly flowers for dogs. The tulip bulb is the most toxic part of the plant to dogs, but any part of the bloom can be harmful.

Daffodils Once again, another beautiful plant that's very toxic to dogs. Symptoms of daffodil poisoning include vomiting, diarrhea, excessive drooling, abdominal pain, and even cardiac arrhythmias.

Lillies are lovely, but they are extremely toxic to both dogs and cats. Every single part of the plant should be avoided. Ingestion of them can cause vomiting, irregular heartbeat, reduced blood pressure, confusion and disorientation. In severe cases, it can even lead to convulsions, coma, and death.

Daisies might not be as dangerous as some of the others we've listed, but if your dog consumes a large amount of them there's a danger of vomiting, drooling, and convulsion.

Hyacinths are part of the lily family that contains certain types of alkaloids that cause intense vomiting, bloody diarrhea, and tremors if eaten by your dog.

Hydrangeas should be avoided by dogs for many of the same reasons listed above, like vomiting, diarrhea, and lethargy.