Dogs and Cycads

Ok, I have to admit that I love Cycads and I also love dogs, they ;smile no matter what. We lost ours about 7 years ago and I would love to get another one. My wife is worried that since I have started collecting Cycads that they are poisonous and could kill a dog. How likely is this to happen. Would hate to kill any pet.

Cycads aren't poisonous. The heart of many Cycads are utilized for their edible starch (sago). The leaves are not pleasing to chew on!

Cycad seeds are poisonous. But how many cycads are you likely to get seeding, and if they do how likely is it that a dog would want to eat the seed? Cycads grow wild around here and many of them are seeding most of the time. Lots of people have dogs but I haven't yet heard of a dog being poisoned by them.

Hey Tropicbreeze! What toxins are in Cycad seeds? Any species in particular?

Mahalo, Dave

Cycasin is a toxin found in all cycads. Cattle that graze on cycad leaves get what's called "zamia staggers".

Indigenous people in many parts of the world ate cycad seed but it had to undergo extensive prepararion. The Aborigines here processed it for 5 days but carefully checked it. Anything strange and it was discarded. They didn't take any chances. I've seen the women throw it out when I couldn't see any difference. They'd just say it had gone wrong.

Recent research on bush foods showed that no amount of processing removes all the toxins. But what's left has minimal effects, which were probably put down to other causes.

Some of the first Whites into our area saw the Aborigines eating the (prepared) cycad seed and mixed it in with their flour to extend their supplies. Most of those died.

From a plant toxin point of view, cycads are rapidly becoming the number one toxin in the canine world... this is thanks to Cycas revolutas being grown just about everywhere now, and the leaves are indeed deadly toxic. And Zamia furfuracea, though still having toxic leaves, is really rarely eaten by anything other than cattle... but in humid, warm climates with available pollinators, these produce copious seeds which are also deadly toxic... and tasty to dogs, unfortunately. I have been a veterinarian for over 20 years and I have seen a lot of plant toxins... but only dogs I have actually lost are those that either ate cycads, mushrooms.. and one ate an entire diffenbachia. I have not seen a dog die of any other plant toxin, at least that I could identify. ALL Cycads are toxic and every part of the cycad is toxic (leaves, roots, seeds and even the cones). Yes, they can be eaten if properly cooked or leached, but I wonder how many people died long ago experimenting on how to prepare these until they got it right.

This message was edited Nov 8, 2009 5:15 PM

But to put this in perspective, there are hundreds up hundreds of serious cycad collectors here in California and many have pet dogs... and the actual incidence of ingestion is pretty small. I have hundreds of cycads myself, and 8dogs... no dog yet has even seemed interested in trying a cycad. But some dogs will try anything. Best to know your dog well first.

This message was edited Nov 8, 2009 5:14 PM

I had always thought that Cycads were safe as they are raised for edible starch.

To get my dogs to eat any part of a Cycad, I would have to put butter or gravy on it!

Thanks for the eye opening info!

Most of the palm sago produced, to my knowledge, came from actual palm trees. You'll probably find that sago produced from cycads most likely needs some processing, just as the seeds do, to remove the toxins.

Cycads, Cycas armstrongii, are very common here, just driving along the road you'll see thousands of them. But I haven't seen or heard general warnings put out about dangers to household pets, other than cattle. Then again, I'm not a veterinarian either. The neighbours have a small hill covered with masses of Zamia furfuracea (along with the C. armstrongii over the rest of their property) and they have several dogs which haven't been affected. A lot of others have similar situations.

It could similar to the Cane Toad (Bufo marinus) situation here. When the toad invasion first started there were lots of dogs and cats killed by the toads. It appears those that survived had no interest in them. "Natural Selection" has now removed the not-so-clever-ones from the gene pool.

Well maybe I'll talk to my wife. I would think a hortus would be more dangerous that a cycad having on cone. Just keep the real stickers to the back of my collection.

The experts have already solved this. I just want to add
there are Sagos seemingly in every other lawn in South
Texas and I know of one dog death. A professor friend
of mine gave me a sago and told me you only had to worry
about the gender of the plant (the one that seeds out), and
he has lots of them and dogs. That seems wrong now.

Especially since I have this new Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy
that eats whole papaya trees that have three inch trunks. He
also "trims" all my Washies for me and chews on the barbed
limbs that tear me to bits trimming. He recently dismantled my
23 ft. tomato plant that was 30 months old on a trellis, and has
uprooted/killed three small pine nut trees. This dog
also eats pears, carrots, mandarins off the tree, etc., along with
extension cords and Toyota bumpers.

Now I'm going to sleep even worse.

Chief... that's no dog! That's a garbage disposer!

wow and I thought my little chupacabra was a monster, her plant of choice is the daturas, so I just got rid of them (the plants not the dog)

Since this is a cycad/dog thread, I must add my pup got
deathly ill for a day and I found cycad damage later. The
dog recovered.He could have also eaten a mole.

He has lately taken to shredding healthy
leaves off my biggest Med Fan Palm...gets them
right where the barbs stop...and I light up my fruit orchard
on frosty nights with Xmas lights. This year I put a lighted
deer that moves his head in the string...and you guessed
it...that dog felt OBLIGATED to shut it off.

I'm keeping the cycad.

LOL Mine likes the leaves on my High Color Musa, and coleus she just obliterates! and God forbid she could reach the jasmine!