Puppies investigate everything in their world, sniffing and often biting, chewing or tasting all sorts of things they encounter. Among these things to check on is the toxicity of some plant components they may attempt to chew or eat. Several landscaping plants have toxic saps, oils or chemical compounds which can lead to poisoning in pets. Kousa dogwood (Cornus kousa), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8, isn’t recorded by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals as toxic to dogs. Growing to about 32 feet high and 19 feet wide, the tree may give shade to your furry friend.
Flowers and Leaves
The petal-like, white bracts of kousa dogwood may fall into the ground after flowering in the late spring, but they do not present a significant litter problem and also won’t harm your puppy if it tries to eat them. The ovate, 2- to 4-inch-long leaves turn purple or red in the autumn, and similarly aren’t toxic — they may even offer you a drama chance for your puppy to scamper through them. Quite a few Kousa dogwood cultivars also exist, many with pink bracts and some with variegated leaves.
Fruits of Kousa Dogwood
Kousa dogwood has showy, 1/2- to 1-inch-long fleshy pink to red fruits which somewhat resemble raspberries. They ripen in late summer and early autumn, and therefore are of cosmetic value. Birds, other wildlife and humans can eat them. They aren’t a substantial litter problem, and will probably be eaten by wildlife instead of falling for your puppy to investigate. They’re not recorded by the ASPCA as toxic to dogs.
Trunk and Bark
Kousa dogwood develops vibrant, peeling bark in shades of tans and browns that lend great character into the tree. The thin bark is easily damaged, as well as your puppy could do harm to the tree when it heals the bark. Wounds also offer an entry point for diseases and insect pests. Protect newly-planted and young trees from being chewed or trampled by your pet, since the trunks are slender. You may have to set up a temporary fence until the puppy knows “No” or till the kousa dogwood gets big enough to withstand a dog running into it, rubbing it or even mouthing it. Don’t allow your puppy to dig into the moist root condition of a kousa dogwood because that damages the roots.
Other Considerations
In addition to its non toxic nature, Kousa dogwood makes a valuable addition to the garden. It provides several benefits over other species of dogwood. Flowering afterwards than native species of dogwood, kousa dogwood has larger bracts, particularly on the cultivar Japanese dogwood (Cornus kousa var. chinensis), also hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8. Kousa dogwood has the benefit of being immune to a severe fungus disease, dogwood anthracnose canker, that threatens native dogwoods.
