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Acorns to be exact. Garry Oak acorns. Merlin is 9 1/2 months old and has been eating the odd acorn, green, for a few months now with no apparent ill effects. He is a dainty eater so all food gets chewed thoroughly.
We are about to have acorns rain down from our cops of old trees. Should I be concerned

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I would check Poison Control for toxicity. He will probably lose interest in eating them when they are common. Good chance he will be interested again next year. Is he eating the shells?

 

Zag likes to eat things that stick out. The plant that is the tallest or alone. Things that seem out of place catch his attention. He use to sit in the window and bark when he noticed the change in shadows and light in the woods, but he has gotten over that.

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Yes, check w/Poison Control Hotline. I think that's what they're called. I've called a couple times about dog related stuff and they've told me the answer, no charge. There is a veterinary hotline for poisons/toxicity, but they charge.

 

This was a few years ago that I called the Hotline, hopefully it's still free.

 

Hope he remains ok!

 

Ruth & Gibbs

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I am relatively sure acorns are not a good thing, some toxicity problem...

 

Dunno about for dogs, but most, if not all, acorns are edible for humans and were an important food source for early people throughout the world.

 

Acorns contain tannins that can cause stomach irritation, though it varies by species. So I'd check how high the tannin content of the kind of acorn he's eating and discourage it if it's very high. Of course, if it's high and it bothers his stomach, he may decide it's not so much fun after all. (I learned the hard way I can't drink black tea without milk to bind the tannins.)

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My brother has a specimen at his house he calls the "$3,000 acorn." His old springer spaniel got very ill, and a lot of expensive tests followed by surgery revealed an intestinal block caused by the very large acorn, swallowed whole.

 

It's a really odd event; we have millions of acorns every year and this is the only time I've ever heard of this happening. Just be aware!

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Not related to dogs, but when I used to trail my sheep through the woods to a pasture about a mile away, they would race to the oak trees to glean acorns. As for dogs, I have no scientific evidence, and obviously blockages could be a concern, but I wouldn't think acorns in moderation--and it sounds as if he's eating very few--would be toxic.

 

J.

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