Throw out the Snow on the Mountain (Aegepodium, "Bishop's Weed"). Once that gets a toehold you won't have any space for dogs or other perennials, poisonous or not. There are so many plants that are entirely toxic, or toxic in part. Your best defense is keeping garden and dogs separate if at all possible. All parts of monkshood are poisonous - roots, stems, leaves, seeds. Toxicity of lobelia is still under debate.

Dogs don't normally eat acorns just the same as they don't normally eat rocks, they don't eat leaves (many of which are also toxic) and they don't eat the carpet off the floor. :p I have Labrador Retrievers, and they have eaten or attempted to eat all of those things. LOL! And so much more. And this is in spite of *extremely* close supervision. Puppies can hoover something off the ground so fast, you'd have to follow them around the yard with two hands hovering inches above their head to stop it, and even then you might not be that fast. However, I know many, many dog owners for whom eating random things isn't a problem at all. It was never an issue with my last dog. It's a big problem with Retrievers, though, in general, because of the breed's natural tendency to pick things up with their mouths. Labs are considered "walking stomachs," and combined with their tendency to want to pick things up that they will then eat because they are always starving even if they have just eaten...Suffice it to say I have ended up doing a lot of reading about toxic plants in the past few years. :) I don't see a mention of Oak or acorns in either of my toxic plant books (one of which was written as a guide for veterinarians with specific info on animal poisonings). ASPCA Poison Control Center lists it as poisonous to horses: "Poisonings can occur when horses graze on oak due to lack of adequate forage. Abdominal pain, constipation which can be followed by diarrhea (occasionally bloody), depression, frequent urination discolored urine and jaundice are all potential clinical effects." I have learned that many poisonous plants are mostly a danger to cattle and other grazing animals because they must be eaten in large quantity for effect. It helped me relax a little to learn that. Still, I have landscaped my backyard using only plants that are known to be non-toxic, because hey, why take a chance, right? I do think acorns are poisonous, but I think it might be one of those things that you'd have to eat a lot of. Apple seeds contain cyanide - but it's in such small amounts, and one would have to thoroughly chew the seeds to release it. I think it may be the same with acorns. We have an Oak in our front yard, and I am glad it's in the front yard. But I don't worry too much about it. I think a bigger risk with acorns, especially for a small puppy, would be a choking hazard. Congrats on your new puppy! Goldens are the most wonderful dogs - I hope to have one someday. :)

I have grown various species in the Family of plants Convolvulaceae for over 45 years...I have traded seeds with people from all over the world since the early 70's... I have never seen nor heard of a dog or a cat eating any part of any type of Convolvulaceae plant...documented animal toxicity has been related to vegetarian grazing animals,like cows,sheep and goats, that may sometimes ingest some of the more toxic species that have become intertwined with the usual plants that they graze...even then very large amounts of vegetable matter are required to be eaten over a prolonged period of time to result in animal toxicity as the leaves and stems contain little alkaloids in comparison to the seeds... There are many types of plants that are variously toxic to both animals and humans,but MG's are nowhere near the top of the list...Daturas,brugmansias,foxglove,hydrangea,oleander and a few hundred other commonly grown garden plants on tradelists have foliage and flowers that are much more toxic than the Morning Glories that are sold in stores... The seeds of Morning Glories are not visually interesting to animals(or children) and are very bitter to the taste...any animal or child tasting the seeds is realistically much more likely to immediately spit them out,than to continue eating a very unpleasant material... The fungicide sometimes used to coat the seeds to discourage 'teenyboppers' from attempting to get high,often causes more physical distress than the untreated seeds...it takes at least several hundred(!) MG seeds properly(!) prepared(!) to experience any sort of a 'high'...simply chewing the seeds is not sufficient as the chunks of raw material are poorly digested and absorbed... The swollen immature seedpods and pedicels of Ipomoea alba and Ipomoea turbinata(muricata) are eaten in Asia as a vegetable... Ipomoea nil and Ipomoea hederacea seeds have been used in traditional folk medicine as a purgative and as aids to birthing during labor and as with other Morning Glory seeds,they contain naturally occuring tocin related alkaloids that make you puke(!)... There are no scientifically serious documented deaths of animals or humans from ingesting Morning Glories as compared to a very large list of other common garden plants. Scientific facts should be distinguished from over-reactionary 'fuzzy' thinking...there are many substances that animals and humans can potentially become seriously ill from,but realistically(!) speaking,Morning Glories isn't one of them... My experience is that Morning Glories are very safe to grow as garden plants,especially in comparison to the many other plants that are intentionally grown and occur naturally as volunteers all around us... Hope this information helps to reduce any well-intentioned misunderstandings and 'mindless' repitition on the web of misinformation related to Morning Glories and actual or potential toxicity... TTY,... Ron

You're welcome. I'm just passing on what I've learned through experience as well as our girls training programs :c) That's great news that he already responds some to the leave it command! Now you just need to expand on it outside with distractions like the squirrels. Walk him around the parameter of the yard on a leash and say leave it when he sees the squirrels or at least keep him on a longer leash so you can pull him close when he sees them. Unfortunately, you'll really need to decide whether you want him to leave the squirrels or get the squirrels, it's very black and white for them. They just don't have the logic of reasoning to know it would be okay once in a while, but I'm sure he'll try to sneak some barking in from time to time! LOL He sounds adorable and it's nice that you have a great sense of humor about it. I should say too, that while 80 lbs is a larger sized dog it's the same size as a child. Poisons will still kill them or at the very least make them very ill, so please don't treat your yard with pesticides or poisons as they can be very harmful.