Dog Safety Tips for Summer Gardening by Shireen Igbal

Summer gardening often involves accentuating flower beds with mulch. However, pet owners need to remember an important danger involved in a certain type of mulch - cocoa mulch. Although there have been instances of pet sickness due to pet consumption of the mulch, death is not a common occurrence. Even so, pet owners need to be aware of the potential dangers of their gardening products.

Chocolate mulch became popular due to its fine texture and sweet smell. The dulcet smell is due to the inclusion of cocoa bean shells. The shells contain the key ingredient theobromine, which poses a risk to pets, and in particular, dogs. Dogs cannot metabolize theobromine quickly enough to prevent poisoning. Usually, the first signs of poisoning include vomiting and diarrhea, increased urination, lethargy and depression, and muscle tremors. This could be followed by cardiac arrhythmias and seizures. Most symptoms appear within 2 hours, but can take as long as 24 hours.

If you believe that your dog has ingested cocoa mulch, or any other item containing chocolate, it is imperative to seek veterinarian advice as soon as possible, even if there are no symptoms. The National Animal Poison Information Center is also well equipped to offer advice to owners who are unable to obtain veterinarian advice. They can be reached at 1-888-252-7387.

If you have a yard with a dog, it is probably best to stay clear of cocoa mulch, especially with extremely curious pets. If you are seeking sweet smelling mulch, cedar mulch has been recommended as a suitable substitute.