Symptoms of Lawn Fertilizer Allergies in Dogs
Mild exposure from walking on your lawn after treatment with fertilizer may cause irritation to the lungs, feet, and eyes. If your dog ingests the product by licking and chewing on their feet or eating the grass, they may experience the following symptoms:
If your dog eats a substantial amount of fertilizer instead of accidentally ingesting it from the lawn, the symptoms can be much more serious. These symptoms can be separated into three sections, which are central (peripheral activity), muscarinic (parasympathetic activity), and nicotinic (neural and neuromuscular activity).
Central symptoms:
Muscarinic symptoms:
Nicotinic symptoms:
Types:
Almost all types of commercial lawn fertilizer have some amount of certain products that can cause an allergic or toxic reaction in your dog:
Depending on the size of your pets and the amount of fertilizer they ingest, lawn fertilizer can be toxic. If your pet consumes commercial lawn fertilizer, it could cause some serious health issues like abdominal pain, excessive drooling, vomiting, discolored gums, bowel obstruction, difficulty breathing, cardiac arrest, and even inflammation of the liver and pancreas. Therefore, it’s very important to keep your pets off any area of the lawn that has been recently fertilized. Depending on the weather—rainy weather means quicker absorption—allow at least 1-2 days for the fertilizer to absorb into your lawn before letting your pets back on it.
For many people, cats and dogs are like members of the family, so it’s important to know what lawn fertilizers could possibly harm them. Many commercial garden and landscape fertilizers contain ingredients that can be harmful to your cat or dog, particularly if ingested. In order to keep everyone safe, you need to know what to look for in a lawn fertilizer, when it’s safe to let your pet back on a fertilized lawn, and what steps to take if something DOES happen. This article explains some of the different lawn fertilizers and the precautions you should take to keep your pet safe. Also, we’ll discuss the signs to look for if your pet does come in contact with a recently fertilized lawn.
Pet-friendly fertilizers are great option and will definitely cut down the wait time needed to safely allow your pet to roam your lawn. But again, just because it’s “pet-friendly” doesn’t mean it can’t harm your pet. The drying and absorption process will be quicker, but you still want to make sure your pet doesn’t go anywhere near the area during and right after the application process. Once drying is complete, most pet-friendly fertilizers are completely safe. But when it comes to your pet, don’t take any chances. Always read the package instructions to confirm when you can safely let your pet onto the treated area.
So how do you know if your cat or dog is exhibiting signs of fertilizer poisoning? You know your pet best and can usually tell when something isn’t right. Signs to watch for include: vomiting, tremors and seizures, abnormal heart rate, severe lethargy, excessive drooling, frequent urination, or diarrhea. If you see your pet experiencing any of these symptoms, don’t wait; call your veterinarian immediately. The quicker you can get your pet the medical attention they need, the better chance they will make a full recovery. Providing your vet with the type of fertilizer ingested can also be very important when it comes to treatment and recovery. So always keep a photo of the fertilizer ingredients on your phone for reference if needed.
Organic fertilizer is widely considered to be a better choice for your lawn and the environment. Most people believe the ingredients in organic fertilizer are much safer, and feel more comfortable with organic verse synthetic fertilizer blends. However, “organic” doesn’t mean it’s safe for your pet. In fact, some organic fertilizers are made using animal products that may entice your cat and dog to eat it. Just like commercial fertilizer, when it is ingested, organic fertilizer can cause digestive issues, intestinal obstructions, abdominal issues, and inflammation of the pancreas. So just because it says organic, it doesn’t mean it’s safe for your pet. Always read the fertilizer application and care instructions thoroughly before applying and don’t assume it’s safe just because it’s organic.
Diagnosis of Lawn Fertilizer Allergies in Dogs
The first thing your veterinarian will do is stabilize your dog if necessary by providing intravenous (IV) fluids and oxygen. The team will ask you to provide as much information as you can about what you think your dog may have been exposed to, how much, when it happened, and symptoms you have seen. It may be good to bring a sample of the fertilizer or label from the product that you used so the veterinarian can find out what may be causing your dog’s allergy symptoms. Make sure to provide your dog’s medical history, any previous illnesses or injuries, and vaccination records.
A physical examination will come next, which includes:
Your vet may also conduct lab tests, including:
An electrocardiogram (ECG) may also be used to check your dog’s heart function. Abdominal x-rays will be done as well to make sure there is no further damage.
Veterinarian reveals most toxic lawn chemical for pets
Getting ready to work in the garden this summer? Before you do so, make sure you know about potential garden dangers that can poison your dog. When in doubt, keep your pets inside while working with some of these common garden or yard additives.
Fertilizers During the spring and fall, homeowners often use fertilizers to spruce up their lawn. Fertilizers come in two types: granules or water-based products (that are directly sprayed onto the lawn). Fertilizers look scary – they often are applied by lawn services with warning signs stating that children and pets should be kept off the grass for at least 72 hours. In actuality, fertilizers are generally pretty benign; in fact, they typically have a wide margin of safety depending on what type of product is used. What’s in fertilizer? Most lawn fertilizers contain natural elements (such as nitrogen, potash and phosphorous) — often represented by numbers such as 10:0:40. Thankfully, these elements are generally non-toxic. Fertilizers may also contain insecticides for killing grubs, snails, etc. that generally result in mild gastrointestinal signs (e.g., drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, etc.) when ingested directly from the bag. If your dog eats some grass that had fertilizer applied to it, it rarely leads to serious poisoning; that said, more serious signs can be seen when the product is directly ingested (i.e., right out of the bag). If ingested directly from the bag, the results can include tremors and seizures. To avoid any poisoning risk to your pet, follow the labeled instructions carefully and keep your pets inside while you apply these products to the lawn. To be safe, keep your pets off the lawn until the product is absorbed by the soil (e.g., when the product dries if it’s a spray-on product, or after it rains if it is a pelleted product). When appropriately applied or diluted, these chemicals typically wash into the soil after rainfall, resulting in low-risk to dogs. The most important thing is to make sure it’s not a fertilizer that has more dangerous products in it – some may contain iron, which can result in iron poisoning, and less common types may contain very dangerous insecticides such as carbamates or organophosphates. Thankfully, the EPA has limited the availability of these latter, more dangerous types of products. Carbamates and organophosphates can result in more serious, life-threatening clinical signs such as:
Again, these more dangerous types are rarely seen on the market nowadays but, when in doubt, make sure to keep the garage door locked and these fertilizers out of reach! Organic fertilizers (e.g., meals) Surprisingly, the more dangerous types of fertilizers are organic fertilizers. Most pet owners want to use “safer” products around their pets, and so they often reach for something organic. Organic fertilizers are typically “natural” fertilizers that are leftover byproducts from the meatpacking or farming industry. Examples include:
These organic “meals” are widely utilized as soil amendment products, fertilizer components, or as deer, rabbit and wildlife repellants. These products are often highly palatable to dogs; they smell gross, but good to dogs, and so they may tempt a massive ingestion (e.g., dogs ingesting several pounds of bone meal directly out of the bag). Another danger? Gardeners often mix organic fertilizers with other more dangerous fertilizers or chemicals (e.g., organophosphates or carbamates found in some older types of rose fertilizers; spring bulbs; etc.), resulting in dual poisoning with another product. When meals are ingested, they can result in gastrointestinal irritation (e.g., vomiting, diarrhea, etc.), foreign body obstruction (from all the bone meal congealing into a large bowling-ball-like concretion), or even severe pancreatitis (i.e., inflammation of the pancreas). Treatment includes:
Rarely, with massive ingestions, “pumping the stomach” (i.e., gastric lavage) may be necessary to get the product out of the stomach. Thankfully, most dogs do well with prompt treatment and supportive care. Mulch If you’re about to mulch your yard, pay heed! Most types of mulch are benign, but can result in a foreign body if your dog ingests them. Mulch is typically shredded tree bark, but can also come in different forms (e.g., compost or decaying matter; cocoa mulch; etc.). Cocoa mulch (which is made up from shells or hulls from the cocoa bean) is often used for home landscaping; it’s very fragrant when first placed in the yard, and smells faintly of chocolate. As a result, dogs may be tempted to ingest it. While many Internet sites discuss the dangers of cocoa mulch, it’s relatively rare for dogs to be poisoned by it. That said, there is still a small amount of theobromine (the chemical that results in chocolate poisoning) remaining in the mulch and when ingested in large amounts, this can cause signs of chocolate poisoning.
The severity of clinical signs from chocolate poisoning will depend on how much cocoa mulch is ingested; in general, one or two licks or bites will not cause a problem. Regardless, make sure to keep the mulch out of reach of your dog for the first few weeks. Between sun, heat, and rain exposure, the likelihood of poisoning diminishes with time as the smell of chocolate rapidly dissipates.
What if my dog was poisoned by mulch or fertilizer? If you suspect that your dog may have been exposed to something poisonous, contact your veterinarian or emergency veterinarian immediately. When in doubt, call ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. They may be able to instruct you on how to induce vomiting and whether or not there is a poisoning risk.
Most importantly, keep your dog safe this summer by keeping these garden and yard poisons out of reach! Lock your garage, keep your dog on a leash or supervised when outside, and make sure to store lawn and garden products in secure containers!
If you have any questions or concerns, you should always visit or call your veterinarian — they are your best resource to ensure the health and well-being of your pets. Related symptoms: