Sep
2012
Acorn Mischief. Can They Make My Dog Sick?
This weekend I spent most of my weekend picking up acorns from the backyard. Acorns are a sign that fall is right around the corner and normally any sign of fall is a welcome sign to me since fall is by far my all time favorite season. Acorns however, are one thing that I can do without.
I never minded acorns until Sherman came along and decided they were a delicatessen. 
Sherman eats acorns like they are going out of style.
So why is this a bad thing?
Acorns contain gallontannin, which is an acid that can be toxic to dogs and can make them sick with vomiting, diarrhea and stomach cramping, and in severe cases can cause kidney failure. The acid is in the hard outer shell of the acorn so if the dog chews the acorn the acid is released and can cause a dog to become sick. Not only can acorns be toxic but if swallowed whole they can possibly cause a blockage in the gastrointestinal tract, which is usually seen more so in small breed dogs.
It is said that green acorns are more toxic to dogs than the brown ones and the bigger the cap the more acid it contains.
Now, if you are reading this and starting to panic because you saw your dog eat an acorn over the weekend, take a breath, most likely they will be fine. According to this garden forum, while the lethal dose of acorn toxicity in dogs is not known, a cow would have to to eat 6% of it’s body weight to get extremely sick. Which means Sherman would have to eat over 22 pounds of acorns to possibly become very ill, which to my knowledge, I don’t think I have ever had 22 pounds of acorns laying in my backyard, and I never will because I pick them up almost daily now.
I personally have never seen or heard of a dog that has died from eating acorns, but that doesn’t mean it has never happened. I have seen dogs that have gotten GI upset from eating acorns, Sherman included, which is reason enough for me to not want them in my yard.
So tell me, do you have a dog that eats acorns? Have they ever gotten sick from eating them?
The Monday Mischief Pet Bloghop
Welcome to Monday Mischief – The pet blog hop that wraps up the weekend! This Blog Hop is brought to you by Alfie’s Blog, Snoopy’s Dog Blog, My Brown Newfies and Luna, A Dog’s Life
Misaki
September 3, 2012 at 4:23 am (289 days ago)I haven’t tried acorns. But i have snacked on plenty of other things that are supposed to be bad for us doggies and so far have been ok. I think you’re right in that you have to have a large quantity of them to make you sick, but best to avoid (if you can get them away from us bol)
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:23 pm (289 days ago)Glad you haven’t gotten sick from eating anything bad Misaki! Stay away from those acorns!
emma
September 3, 2012 at 7:54 am (289 days ago)We don’t have any in our yard but mom has caught me eating them other places when I find them – I am trying to disguise myself as a squirrel so maybe I can get really close to a squirrel! She always tells me to stop eating them, though.
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:24 pm (289 days ago)Ha-ha, I’d love to see you disguised as a squirrel!
Jodi
September 3, 2012 at 8:39 am (289 days ago)We have tons of acorns in our yard! Sometimes the dog will bring one in, but I don’t think they are eating them. God I hope they aren’t! My raw food mentor says the acorns have some kind of mold spore in them which is released when they fall and that can make the dogs itchy.
Guess I need another tree cut down.
Thank you for the information, I will be much more diligent with those acorns!
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:27 pm (289 days ago)I thought of you when I was writing this Jodi! I was thinking Jodi is going to panic when she reds this and call her vet! I love ya! Sherman has been eating acorns for a few years, not that that is a good thing but besides a little diarrhea he has been ok, I also have his bloodwork checked every few months because I am anal like that and his kidneys are fine:) I try to pick them up but they are fallin from the trees as I am out there and the oak trees aren’t even in our yard!
Hawk aka BrownDog
September 3, 2012 at 8:49 am (289 days ago)Hi Y’all!
Just hoppin’ by to say “hi”.
My Human watches me like a Hawk ’cause there are way too many acorns in these parts to pick them up. Sometimes they fall and hit me in the head or tail or my Human in the head…BOL!
Y’all come by now,
Hawk aka BrownDog
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:27 pm (289 days ago)I’m so glad your human watches out so well for you Hawk! Stay away from those acorns!
Bella
September 3, 2012 at 9:33 am (289 days ago)I don’t eat acorns. But there’s a naughty squirrel that hides them in my garden. I dig them up and put pigs ears in the holes so it stops using my garden as a treasure trove. *wag wag wag*
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:28 pm (289 days ago)Those darn squirrels are always causing trouble aren’t they?
Erica
September 3, 2012 at 9:51 am (289 days ago)I take care of a Viszla puppy, 6months old, that eats everything! She has had more bouts of vomiting from eating bulbs and likely acorns than any puppy should by 6 months. She has an enormous 2 acre yard and trees that drop acorns EVERYWHERE. Picking them up would be an impossibility! Supervise, supervise, supervise! =)
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:29 pm (289 days ago)Oh boy! That is a lot of area for acorns to hide in! Supervision is key in your case! Good luck! Hopefully the squirrels will start stocking up and take them from your yard!
Urban Hounds
September 3, 2012 at 10:17 am (289 days ago)Oh my I never knew this thank goodness we don’t have an acorn tree our Bob eats everything!
urban hounds
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:30 pm (289 days ago)You’re so lucky to not have an acorn tree! We don’t have one either, it’s our neighbors! Lucky us!
caren gittleman
September 3, 2012 at 10:38 am (289 days ago)This is FANTASTIC and MUST SHARE info! I have never heard this before! Thankfully we don’t have a lot of acorns by our house but I will keep an eye out for them!
BTW Fall is my all time favorite season too!
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:30 pm (289 days ago)Don’t you just love fall! It’s so beautiful! Thanks for sharing Caren!
Mollie and Alfie
September 3, 2012 at 10:56 am (289 days ago)Hay Guys..Popped over to woof at you..I’ve neffer eaten an Acorn and now I nose HUMOM will neffer let me
That waz such useful information..Fanks for sharin wiff uz
Mollie and Alfie
xx00xx
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:31 pm (289 days ago)Thanks for stopping by! Glad to hear you don’t have any acorns mischief at your house!
Finn
September 3, 2012 at 11:10 am (289 days ago)Wow, so glad you wrote this. I have Finn munch on one from time to time, but nothing serious!
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:32 pm (289 days ago)Sherman is the only one of my dogs that eats them, I would think they would be bitter and dogs wouldn’t like them!
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 11:57 am (289 days ago)Good to know!
I know that acorns require a bit of work to be fit for human consumption (if one is into that level of foraging lifestyle) but I wasn’t sure how they were for dogs. For the first time, Elka tried to pick one up last week on our walk, and I was all “Oh heck no!” to which she listened promptly (and I was very happy).
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:34 pm (289 days ago)I was reading all about how you can make acorns edible for humans and all the things that people make with them, amazing!
Jan
September 3, 2012 at 12:06 pm (289 days ago)I’m very lucky. If it doesn’t smell like liver or bacon my dogs don’t consider it food.
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 12:34 pm (289 days ago)Ha-ha! I wish my dogs would keep it that simple for me! They like all the wired things like acorns, rocks, sticks, etc!
Schip Along
September 3, 2012 at 1:39 pm (289 days ago)Thankfully Suki doesn’t seem to be interested in eating nuts off the ground. She once found an unopened walnut though and insisted on carrying it all the way home lol.
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:01 pm (288 days ago)I am lucky in that respects, I don’t think we have any walnuts around!
rottrover
September 3, 2012 at 1:57 pm (289 days ago)We don’t have acorns near us. A dog-cuzzin of ours once ate walnuts off the ground and the shells really tore up his tummy. He almost died, butt he didn’t. After that his dad had to watch him like Hawk’s mom!!
-Bart and Ruby
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:03 pm (288 days ago)Oh wow, I’m sorry to read that about your dog cuzzin! Glad he was ok, but I can only imagine how scary that was!
2 brown dawgs
September 3, 2012 at 4:32 pm (289 days ago)I don’t let the dogs eat acorns either for the reasons you wrote about. We used to have a ton of acorns up around our cabin, but all the oaks are dying off due to oak wilt so now we don’t have to deal with them. I would rather have the acorns.
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:04 pm (288 days ago)Eck, oak wilt doesn’t sound good! I have read that most parts of an oak tree can be toxic to dogs but I couldn’t find a reliable;e source to back me up on anything except for acorns.
snoopy@snoopysdogblog
September 3, 2012 at 4:55 pm (289 days ago)Hi Guys,
We don’t have acorns in our garden, come to think of it, we don’t really have any good food in the garden – doh!!
I hope you’re ok buddy
Wags to all
Your pal Snoopy
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:05 pm (288 days ago)Glad you don’t have to deal with them by you! Sherman is fine so far, as long as I pick them up everyday!
Daisy
September 3, 2012 at 5:27 pm (289 days ago)Luckily we don’t have acorns here….don’t forget that they start to sprout, too and you’ll have loads of little trees trying to grow.
XXXOOO Daisy, bella & Roxy
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:06 pm (288 days ago)They sprout? uh-oh! I guess I have been lucky so far that none have grown where I throw the acorns……….or have they?:)
Jackie
September 3, 2012 at 7:45 pm (288 days ago)Boy, I didn’t know dogs would even want to eat one, let alone that it would be bad to do that. We never see acorns where we live now, but used to see a lot of them on our walks when we lived back east. Our dog that we had then would sometimes pick one up and toss it around to play with, but she never tried to eat one. The thing we have problems with now in Southern California is palm dates! Not good! My sis’s dog ate one and ended up having a $2K surgery because the pit got stuck in his gut. So, I can relate to picking stuff up out of the yard!
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:07 pm (288 days ago)Sherman actually lies down and eats them, he’s like a squirrel and he gathers them up and then lays down to snack on them. I have to watch him all the time around this time of the year!
How scary about the palm dates! I am so glad we don’t have those here!
Murray's Mouth
September 3, 2012 at 8:05 pm (288 days ago)My dogs would probably eat them too, but don’t think they have ever had the chance.
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 8:08 pm (288 days ago)I’m glad they don’t have the chance!
Dachshund Nola and her Mom
September 3, 2012 at 8:52 pm (288 days ago)Augustine has eaten pretty much everything. The only time he’s gotten sick from anything was when he got into a whole bag of sour gummi worms my niece left on the couch. That was a nasty experience. Thankfully the girls don’t eat like he does!
Nola’s Mom
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 10:53 pm (288 days ago)OMG I can’t believe he would like sour gummi worms! I wonder what his expression was when he was eating those! Glad he was ok:)
Kolchak, Felix & Jodi
September 3, 2012 at 9:18 pm (288 days ago)Never a dull moment at your house, eh? It’s it’s not Leroy and the rocks, it’s Sherman & the acorns. I wonder if you can get them a couple of those big plastic bubbles to live in?
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 10:54 pm (288 days ago)LMAO, no. everyone likes to keep me on my toes. If they could live in a bubble and not eat it, that would perfect!
Kari
September 3, 2012 at 9:51 pm (288 days ago)We haven’t experienced many acorns
Stop on by for a visit
Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 10:55 pm (288 days ago)Well that’s good!
Two frenchBulldogs
September 3, 2012 at 10:23 pm (288 days ago)glad we don’t haveno acornsby us here.
Benny & Lily
Jen
September 3, 2012 at 10:55 pm (288 days ago)Me too, they are not fun to pick up everyday!
Wyatt
September 3, 2012 at 11:10 pm (288 days ago)Stanzie our 10 year old Airedale girl, likes to pick them up on our walks. But, we do not have any in our yard. She is more of a berry loving dog.
Wyatt
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:15 pm (287 days ago)I’m getting so jealous of how many people don’t have acorns in their backyard!
Ruby
September 3, 2012 at 11:21 pm (288 days ago)Yes! Yes I have chewed on acorns, and yes I must be sensitive, because I think they were the cause of my sickies last week. Ma usually watches me like a hawk, but when she’s busy, I sneak one and eat/chew on it. The squirrels drop them on the ground and I pick em’ up and play with em.
Luckily for Ma, I only eat/chew on the ones on the concrete, and not in the mulch (I refuse to pick up anything in the mulch, because that’s where I do my business). So at least Ma doesn’t have to pick up EVERY single acorn. Ma always wondered weather the acorns were a problem or not, no she knows for sure. Lucky for me she always took em’ away from me anyway. Thanks bunches!
Kisses,
Ruby
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:16 pm (287 days ago)Oh no! I’m sorry to hear that you had the sickies last week, hopefully your Mom will be able to pick up the acorns that are in your reach, they are so hard to keep track of because they are always falling here! I think I need to hire some squirrels!
Jet
September 3, 2012 at 11:22 pm (288 days ago)Hey Leroy, Hey Sherman, Jet here. Hi Miss Jen.
Wow, had no idea. Here in the tropics, we rarely see an oak tree… they have this live oak, not sure if it’s the same, since… all trees are live, right? Sherman, perhaps you can ask Miss Jen for acorn shaped biscuits instead! Oh, wait, that could be a Tasty Tuesday post!!!
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:17 pm (287 days ago)Ha-ha! Now that is a really good idea, now I have to go look for an acorn cookie cutter! Thanks Jet!
Mango Momma
September 4, 2012 at 7:26 am (288 days ago)We don’t have any acorns in our yard, but I have no doubt that the boys would eat them given the opportunity. I’m just glad the fruit season is over because I have been doing my best to keep the ground clear of fallen fruit and the pits that are left behind once the birds have pecked off all the flesh. Now if I can just keep Dexter from eating rocks I’ll be all set.
Mango Momma
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:18 pm (287 days ago)OK, seeing as though we have 2 dogs that love to eat rocks, if you find a way to keep Dexter from eating them, let me know!
Eva or sometimes Priscilla
September 4, 2012 at 7:44 am (288 days ago)So glad that we don’t have any acorns here : )
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:19 pm (287 days ago)Me too, although I don’t see Eva liking acorns, maybe Mika though:)
sprinkles
September 4, 2012 at 11:46 am (288 days ago)To the best of my knowlegdge, neither of my boys have seen acorns. Chico might have, but I’m pretty sure Shiver hasn’t.
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:20 pm (287 days ago)Well that’s good! I bet you would of seen them come out Chico’s other end if he did eat them! (sorry for the mental picture:)
Nichole
September 4, 2012 at 12:39 pm (288 days ago)I haven’t heard of a dog dying from them either… I sort of chalk it up to the LONG list of “toxic” things to dogs that my dogs sometimes eat in moderation. :/ Oy!
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:21 pm (287 days ago)I know, when I think of the things my dogs have eaten it makes me cringe, we have been very lucky to just have minor diarrhea as a result.
Blueberry's human
September 4, 2012 at 4:40 pm (288 days ago)An oak tree would be hard pressed to even grow in Arizona – so that’s not a concern. I do however have pine trees that drop their cones in my yard. Thankfully – Blueberry has little interest in them. When I fostered a young pup last year though – man, that dog would chew them up every chance she got. But wait – there’s more! She would also bring them into the house and stash them around the house. Long after she was adopted, I would find them underneath furniture. I don’t think dogs can get sick from those, can they? She never did at least.
Acorn duty – is that better or worse than poo pile picking up?
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:23 pm (287 days ago)LOL, that is funny that she would stash them around the house!
I have never heard of pine cones being toxic to dogs, but them I don’t know of a dog that has eaten one:) but…I’m sure many have! Give Leroy enough time and I am sure he will try one out!
Sam
September 4, 2012 at 5:16 pm (288 days ago)We didn’t know that!
Sam
Jen
September 4, 2012 at 11:24 pm (287 days ago)You are not alone, there are a lot of people that don’t know it, maybe because a lot of people don’t have to deal them?
Alfie |Alfie's Blog
September 5, 2012 at 5:16 am (287 days ago)Rooo – I can’t blame Sherman for trying them, they look mighty tasty! If I had any in my garden I would probably try them too *waggy tail*
Jen
September 5, 2012 at 11:02 pm (286 days ago)See, now I don’t think they look tasty at all, but then again Sherman is not one to turn down food!
Misty Shores Chesapeakes
September 5, 2012 at 7:16 pm (286 days ago)I am glad I don’t have to deal with acorns, I do however have black walnuts so I hurry and pick them up just in case because Little Hoover Maia is constantly eating things she shouldn’t. I haven’t checked to see if their toxic but better safe than sorry and as you said things like that may cause a blockage.
Jen
September 5, 2012 at 11:05 pm (286 days ago)Ohhhhhh, black walnuts. I don’t have those, luckily! The ASPCA’s website says that black walnuts are toxic to dogs but not to cats. here’s the link http://www.aspca.org/Pet-care/poison-control/Plants/black-walnut
Amy@GoPetFriendly
September 7, 2012 at 11:04 am (285 days ago)I didn’t know this about acorns – thanks for sharing. Buster and Ty have never tried to eat them (probably because they haven’t thought of it yet) but now I’ll know to be careful if they do!
Nicole Adams
September 19, 2012 at 9:59 pm (272 days ago)I found you because I am still freaking out about my Topez eating acorns. She is my new rescue and has been with me for two months and thinks acorns are the be and end all. She has indeed gotten sick from them. Enough that she was on a 24hr watch in case a rush to the emergency was needed. I also have a large yard with oak trees that are dropping thousands of acorns – so picking them up is impossible. I’m at my wit’s end and think I may have to resort to a muzzle to keep her alive. I was searching to find out how long the acorn toxin stays in a dog’s system but can’t find anything. I also have numerous pine trees and sometimes it just rains pine cones and while they are not poisonous, they make dogs sick. I know this because my other rescue has once in a while eaten pine needles, gotten very ill and the vet let me know that anything pine will make most dogs sick. Lucky me. So yes, acorns are a dangerous business.. very very dangerous and lethal. Smaller dogs are more at risk..
Jen
September 19, 2012 at 10:19 pm (272 days ago)I’m so sorry to hear about Topez! I hear you about trying to pick up all the acorns up! I was out on our yard today trying to get some picked up and as I was picking them up they were falling off the trees and hitting me in the head! I haven’t gotten to the point with Sherman where I need to muzzle him yet to keep him from eating them but I can tell you when My other Newf Leroy was eating rocks in our yard a muzzle really helped until we could get all the rocks removed! I have no idea how long the acorn toxic stays in a dogs system but it would be nice to know.