Most autumn berries cause a day of stomach upset at worst. One does not. Yew is used in hedges and foundation planting across South Surrey, nearly every part of it affects the heart, and a dog can be in serious trouble without the usual warning signs. Know that one plant and the rest of this is reassuring.
Why the hedges matter more in October
Ornamental shrubs spend the summer as green backdrop and then, in the space of a few weeks, cover themselves in red and orange fruit at exactly dog height. Rain knocks the berries onto lawns, paths and boulevards, and a dog who has walked past the same hedge for eight months suddenly finds food in the grass under it.
Most of these are standard coastal-BC planting and turn up across South Surrey: clipped yew and cedar hedges, cotoneaster along driveways, holly and pyracantha against fences, mountain ash as a street tree, snowberry and Oregon grape on the greener edges. The ones that look most ornamental are not the dangerous ones.
Yew, which is the one to know
Taxus, sold as English yew, Japanese yew or Hicks yew, is among the most dangerous common garden plants in this region. Every part is harmful except the soft red flesh of the berry itself, and the seed inside that berry is one of the worst parts. The clippings are just as harmful as the growing plant, and they stay that way after they dry, which is why a pile of hedge trimmings is a genuine hazard.
What makes yew different from the rest of this article is that it affects the heart rhythm directly. That means the usual sequence, where an animal is sick first and unwell later, may not happen. A pet can become suddenly weak, collapse, tremor or have a seizure without much warning, and in some cases the first sign is severe. Vomiting, drooling, dilated pupils, trembling, difficulty breathing and a slow or irregular heartbeat are all reported.
If there is any chance your dog, cat or rabbit has eaten yew foliage, bark, seeds or clippings, this is not a wait and see. Phone us and set off.
Practically: do not leave yew clippings in a pile where animals can reach them, do not compost them, and bag them for disposal. If you keep rabbits or guinea pigs, never offer garden prunings without knowing what the shrub is, because yew is lethal to them in very small amounts.
The ones that are mostly a stomach upset
This is the larger group and the usual outcome is vomiting, diarrhea and a quiet day. Worth a phone call for a small dog or a large quantity, and not worth panic.
- Holly. The berries cause stomach upset; the spiny leaves cause mouth and throat irritation and the occasional poke. A dog who has eaten a mouthful often drools and smacks their lips before anything else.
- Cotoneaster. Extremely common here and generally mild. The seeds contain a cyanide-releasing compound, which only matters in quantity, so a dog who has eaten a lot of berries rather than a few deserves a call.
- Mountain ash and rowan. Mild stomach upset, large volumes needed to cause much.
- Pyracantha, or firethorn. The berries are low-risk; the thorns are the real feature and cause puncture wounds to mouths, paws and eyes.
- Snowberry. The white ones. Mild to moderate stomach upset, and children eat them too, so worth knowing.
- Oregon grape (also sold as Mahonia) and salal. Native, abundant on the greenbelt edges, and essentially a stomach upset.
- Rose hips. Low risk. The hairs around the seeds are irritating in volume.
- Viburnum and barberry. Both in the same mild category.
The middle group, worth a prompt call
Privet. Another hedge that is everywhere. The berries and leaves cause significant stomach upset and, with a larger amount, effects on coordination and the heart. Regard a dog who has stripped a privet hedge as more serious than one who ate a holly berry.
English ivy. The berries and leaves cause drooling, vomiting and diarrhea, and the sap irritates skin. Ivy climbs through a lot of fences here. It flowers in autumn and the berries do not ripen until late winter, so in October the leaves and sap are the part to watch.
Daphne. Both the garden kind and the invasive spurge laurel grow here, and it is genuinely nasty: severe mouth irritation, vomiting and diarrhea from a small number of berries. Phone us the same day for any amount.
Nandina, or heavenly bamboo. The bright red berries contain cyanide-releasing compounds and are a real concern in quantity.
Mistletoe and seasonal greenery. Arrives in December rather than October, and the berries are the problem rather than the leaves. Keep decorative sprigs well out of reach.
The mechanical problems nobody plans for
Berries are not only a toxicity question. A dog who eats a large volume of any fruit can end up with a stomach full of pits and skins, and that causes a blockage rather than a poisoning. Signs are repeated vomiting, no appetite, lethargy and a tender belly over a day or two. Those signs do not improve on their own and get worse the longer they go on, so phone us the same day rather than giving it another night.
Thorns are the other half. Pyracantha, barberry, hawthorn and rose all cause puncture wounds, and a thorn in a paw pad or near an eye needs looking at rather than pulling at. Our guide on acorns, horse chestnuts and walnuts covers the things falling from the trees above these hedges, and the two problems often arrive in the same week on the same walk.
If your pet has eaten something off a hedge
- Phone us, and say which plant if you know. If you do not, photograph the whole shrub, a leaf and a cluster of berries, and bag a small sample.
- Say whether it was yew. Flat dark needles in two rows along the twig, soft and dark green. Many clipped yew hedges carry no berries at all, so the needles alone are enough to tell us. If you are unsure, assume yes and tell us so.
- Estimate the amount and note the time. A berry off the ground and a mouthful of foliage are different situations.
- Resist the urge to make your pet sick.
- Give nothing from your own cabinet.
- Bring your pet and the sample.
Come in through our urgent care. Where the plant or the amount matters, our pet diagnostics team can monitor the heart rhythm, run bloodwork and image the abdomen if a blockage is the concern, and our medical services team handles what follows. A wellness program visit is a sensible time to ask about anything growing in your own yard that you cannot name.
Our doors are open 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM Monday to Saturday and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Sunday and on statutory holidays. The gap to plan around is overnight and the early morning, plus Sunday evenings after six. If your pet eats something from a hedge in those hours, make for whichever emergency hospital is open and call ahead from the car. With yew in particular, nothing about it should wait for us to unlock.
Frequently asked questions
How do I tell whether my hedge is yew?
Yew has flat, dark green needles arranged in two rows along the twig, soft rather than prickly, with no resinous smell when crushed. The berries are bright red, fleshy and open at the tip so the seed shows. Clipped hedges and male plants often bear no berries, so judge by the needles. Cedar, which it is often mixed with, has flat scaly sprays rather than needles. If you are not certain, photograph a twig and ask us.
My dog ate a few cotoneaster berries off the driveway. Is that a problem?
Usually not much of one. A few berries typically mean nothing or a mildly upset stomach. Phone us if your dog is small, if a large quantity went down, or if there is vomiting that keeps repeating, since the seeds in volume are more of a concern than the flesh.
What if I do not know which shrub it was?
Photograph the whole plant, a single leaf or twig and a cluster of berries, and bag a sample. That is far more useful than a name, because common names overlap and the features that identify a shrub are often in the leaf arrangement rather than the fruit.
Are the berries my rabbit nibbled in the yard safe?
Assume not, and phone us. Rabbits and guinea pigs are much smaller than dogs, so the amount that matters is correspondingly less, and yew is dangerous to them in very small quantities. Never offer garden prunings to a small pet unless you know exactly what the plant is.
My dog has thrown up twice after eating berries and now seems fine. Do we still need a visit?
Phone us and describe the plant and the amount. Two bouts of vomiting followed by recovery is the usual course for the mild group, so watching at home may well be right, but that is a decision to make with us rather than alone, and it changes completely if yew or privet is involved.
Should I rip the hedge out?
Not for most of these. For yew, if you have a dog who grazes or small pets with yard access, it is worth considering, and at minimum keep the clippings bagged and the base of the hedge clear. For the mild group, a weekly sweep of fallen berries off paths and lawns does the job.
Are the dropped berries still a risk once they have gone brown and soft?
Often yes. Drying does not reduce the risk with yew, and fermenting fruit under a shrub brings its own problem, since mouldy material can cause tremors fairly quickly. Rake fallen fruit up rather than leaving it to rot where the dog sniffs.
Speak to the team at Elgin Park Animal Hospital
If your pet has eaten berries or foliage from a hedge, phone us with a photograph of the plant and we will tell you what to do. If it happens when we are closed, go to the nearest open emergency hospital and call them on the way.
Published by the team at Elgin Park Animal Hospital.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person veterinary examination or advice about your individual pet. If you have an urgent concern about your pet, contact Elgin Park Animal Hospital or your nearest emergency veterinary hospital right away.
Elgin Park Animal Hospital
Unit 103, 3010 148 Street, Surrey, BC V4P 0G8
Phone: (604) 531-3394
Email: info@elginparkvets.ca
Hours: Monday to Saturday 9:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Sunday and statutory holidays 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM