Laurie Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 I'm worried about our dog (adult golden retriever). Our neighbors have an oak tree and some of the acorns are falling in our yard. If he has access to them he'll eat as many as he can find. We have a tiny yard and I've already used some wire fencing to keep him out of the acorn corner. A few days ago he knocked down the wire fence and ate a bunch of acorns before I could stop him. He hasn't been acting sick, and we have seen the evidence that the acorns are going through him but should I be worried that he could still get an obstruction? (I talked to the vet last year and she said he shouldn't eat them.) If our dog acts sick we'll take him to the vet right away, but otherwise I don't want to take him in and spend hundreds of dollars for an x-ray. I don't know how concerned I should be about his appetite for acorns. These aren't large acorns so maybe because our dog is large he isn't as likely to get an obstruction? ( He also eats oak leaves in the fall like they're potato chips so we rake frequently. Fortunately he doesn't eat rocks!) Somewhere in the garage we have a leaf blower. We never use it but I think I'm going to see if it will suck up the acorns since the blower also comes with a bag to use with the vacuum function. I never imagined that I'd be vacuuming the yard, but it might be necessary. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 No advice, but our dog eats horsetail ferns, and I thought that *nothing* ate horsetail ferns. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean in Newcastle Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Vacuum the yard/ or put up a temporary fence of some kind where he can't get to the area with the acorns. An obstruction is not the only worry with dogs eating acorns. Acorns also have a substance that is toxic in large enough quantities. http://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/dog-care-advice/poisonous-to-dogs/ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trulycrabby Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Vacuum the yard/ or put up a temporary fence of some kind where he can't get to the area with the acorns. An obstruction is not the only worry with dogs eating acorns. Acorns also have a substance that is toxic in large enough quantities. http://www.vets-now.com/pet-owners/dog-care-advice/poisonous-to-dogs/ Wow, dogs will eat just about anything, won't they? I had no idea! Thanks for the link! :) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenade Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Wow, dogs will eat just about anything, won't they? I had no idea! Thanks for the link! :) Our puppy eats dirt and rocks. Weird, so very weird. Maybe she doesn't eat the rocks but chews them like gum or something. I take 'em out whenever I find one in her mouth, but she's rather obsessed with them. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Here acorns are a non-native. Parrots eat them and then they behave very weird. They actually fly in loops for a shot while and then cannot fly for a while - I guess it makes them drunk or something. they come back to oak trees every year to get them. ( we do not have oaks there are heaps in the town where I work. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Will the neighbors let you put up some bird mesh on the tree where the end will drop into their own yard so the acorns will not fall in your yard at all? Or can you attach the netting over your fence to create a ceiling of sorts, so the acorns can't fall into the yard but will land on the mesh instead? You may need to add some poles, or fence posts for support but it would be cheaper than vet bills for certain. You could possibly adapt an idea like poles stuck in cement buckets to make it movable for mowing and such. Something like this or finer? Mosquito netting? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kroe1 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Our puppy ate acorns whenever she could jump at one before we could catch her. They are neurotoxicity to dogs according to our vet, and the probable cause of her seizure disorder. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Will the neighbors let you put up some bird mesh on the tree where the end will drop into their own yard so the acorns will not fall in your yard at all? Or can you attach the netting over your fence to create a ceiling of sorts, so the acorns can't fall into the yard but will land on the mesh instead? You may need to add some poles, or fence posts for support but it would be cheaper than vet bills for certain. You could possibly adapt an idea like poles stuck in cement buckets to make it movable for mowing and such. Something like this or finer? Mosquito netting? Thank you! This is a good idea! The tree just keeps getting bigger and at some point fencing off a corner of our yard isn't going to work. I really hate to think about it. I know that we're allowed to cut off branches from a neighbor's tree if they're over our yard but I don't look forward to talking to them about doing this. We'd use a tree service so it's done carefully, but I still don't like dealing with this. We've already had problems with them planting some trees right next to our fence and when the trees grew the trunks started pushing into the fence and they finally cut them down. (This neighbor lady has a very annoying habit of picking trees that are too big for small city yards and planting things too close to existing structures! ) They have a dog, too, but it doesn't sound like she's an acorn-eater. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 Our puppy ate acorns whenever she could jump at one before we could catch her. They are neurotoxicity to dogs according to our vet, and the probable cause of her seizure disorder. I'm sorry about your dog! Thanks, though, for letting me know what your vet said. It's so frustrating. I think our backyard is ugly because I don't want to plant things that will be poisonous to our dog. Our first dog dug up/pulled out many of the plants and bushes that were here when we moved in. I can have some hanging baskets, but I don't plant spring flowers with bulbs or other poisonous plants. So our yard looks more like a doggy playground with lots of chew toys, especially since our kids are big now and we don't have their play stuff in the yard. Unfortunately we can't control what the neighbors plant. At least they don't have chickens anymore...that nearly drove our first dog, also a golden, crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I think you're going to have to train her not to eat them .I would think it would be a basic "leave it" command, Perhaps you can rephrase your topic as a training question and seek advice from the people on this forum who know a lot about dog training. There are also a lot of good videos on youtube. Kiko pup is one that I know is good. You could do a search for leave it with kikopup, for instance. Or "leave it" and positive training. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6packofun Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Will the neighbors let you put up some bird mesh on the tree where the end will drop into their own yard so the acorns will not fall in your yard at all? Or can you attach the netting over your fence to create a ceiling of sorts, so the acorns can't fall into the yard but will land on the mesh instead? You may need to add some poles, or fence posts for support but it would be cheaper than vet bills for certain. You could possibly adapt an idea like poles stuck in cement buckets to make it movable for mowing and such. Something like this or finer? Mosquito netting? What an excellent suggestion! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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