Almost time to mulch

[PuppyLover]

Forgive me, this is my first spring as a dog owner and homeowner in 23 years.

For the last few years I heard that certain kinds of mulch are bad for dogs but because I didn't need to know that, I let it go in one ear and out the other. One website says X is bad, another says Y is bad and another says Z is bad but dogs won't touch it. HA! Rotties eat everything!!

What kind is really bad/poison to dogs?

[keenbrunette]

Hi puppy lover,

I know for sure that the dark brown mulch (not the natural color, but the kind that they darken to a nice chocolate brown) can be toxic to dogs because they use some type of derivative of the cocoa bean in order to acheive the dark rich brown coloring, it can have the same effect on dogs as chocolate can. I'm not sure about any of the other types though.
Hope this helps!

[Rott-Wiley]

Some of the pine mulch we have down here has "pine oil" which is supposed to be bad for them.

[tugger5000]

Typically, the colored mulches (with the exception of Naturescapes) are derived from reclaimed waste wood (pallets, etc). Stay away from those. I'm not sure about the colorant technology for Naturescapes, but wouldn't recommend it.
Cedar is kind of natural insect repellant, but again, I don't know what the effects are if a dog were to ingest it. Most of what I red on the web says it is relatively safe (along with pine)
The cocoa-bean mulch was the one that caused problems in dog (attractive smell, same effects as eating chocolate)
I think your best bet would be some type of hardwood mulch, just be sure to check the label and be sure that it is derived from only natural sources.

[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by keenbrunette

Hi puppy lover,

I know for sure that the dark brown mulch (not the natural color, but the kind that they darken to a nice chocolate brown) can be toxic to dogs because they use some type of derivative of the cocoa bean in order to acheive the dark rich brown coloring, it can have the same effect on dogs as chocolate can. I'm not sure about any of the other types though.
Hope this helps!

Wow, never knew about this. Interesting....

Brooke

[Jaegergirl]

my husband works for a company who makes and sells their own mulch, topsoil, other landscape supplies so i can ask him tomorrow to find out. the only problem is everyone might do it differently but they may be able to suggest what is "industry standard."

tugger5000 is right...mulch, at least at my husband's company, is make from pallets and other yard wood waste. we buy the dark brown stuff and it never occurred to me it could be harmful, i guess mainly because it's in the front of the house and maverick doesn't spend any time out there.

i'll let you know what i find out.

[keenbrunette]

Hi,

Just did a bit more research into this and called my local garden center. I asked them if they dark brown mulch was safe for my pets and they assured me that it was, then I asked them what was used to tint the mulch, they assured me that it was all 100% naturally occuring material, so I asked him exactly what it was and he was unsure and so offered to call me back. After making a few calls, he called me back to let me know that it is mixed with cocoa hulls and goes through some type of process (forgive me but I just can't remember what he called it) to get the nice brown color uniformly throughout the mulch.

Anyway here is a link about the cocoa hull mulch (they blend this with the brown mulch in my area). I would guess that different garden supply stores may have different processes for coloring their mulch, I suppose it would be a matter of thoroughly questioning your supply store concerning their coloring practices.

http://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer...cocoabeanmulch

[My boy Drako]

what about the red eucaliptis mulch? my boy eats that better than his vegtables.

[Rott-Wiley]

Originally Posted by My boy Drako

what about the red eucaliptis [can't spell worth a darn] ha!

I went to a seminar once that talked about toxins in the environment that effect our animals. Red eucalyptus was one thing they did mention but they also said that it was important to consider how much the animal is exposed to and how large of an animal we're talking about. Meaning that a very small amount could adversely effect a toy dog where the same amount or even double that wouldn't effect a larger dog.

[My boy Drako]

Oh! thank-you for that info. I think I will change it out. not sure to what though. This is my first time posting but have been reading this web site for passed months. I am excited to be part of this web. I have learned alot here. Thank-you again!

[Rott-Wiley]

Sure, and welcome to the forum.

[tugger5000]

I just confirmed, the Scotts Naturescapes colored mulches do not contain any of the cocoa bean derivatives as dyes.

[Jaegergirl]

my husband has been really busy at work today so he hasn't had the time to sit down with the people he works for to get all the details but he did say this. every mulch manufacturer may do things differently so you really need check with the place you buy your stuff from. his company, who is the leader and top manufacturer of mulch in the state of ohio does NOT use cocoa bean, hulls, or whatever in their dark brown mulch. they are very enviromentally conscious and are very particular about the type of wood they use to as well. pallets are used and i'm not sure why some would consider that to a bad thing. i would assume this means their mulch is pet friendly but i will find out for sure.

this has been a very interesting topic and one i've never given much thought to.

(ps welcome to the forums)

[Jaegergirl]

ok, i finally got a reply....

according to one of the owner's of my husband's company, all of their mulch is non toxic to humans, pets, and whatever else tries to eat it. they don't use in any wood that is treated (pallets are NOT treated wood) and the colorant we use is a food grade dye....basically just food coloring. the only mulch that would be toxic is cocoa bean mulch (which we've already discussed) or any mulch made from treated wood. mulch from treated wood won't decompose which kind of defeats the purpose. you're best bet is to ask the place you are buying the mulch from what it is made from (which we've discussed as well).

hope that helps and happy mulching!!

[PuppyLover]

Thanks all, no cocoa bean mulch and either ask or read the bag. Hopefully the bags of it will say what it is made out of and if it is safe for pets.