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Toxic to dogs. The ASPCA lists yarrow as toxic to dogs. Yarrow is a stomach and spirits listing. Expect drooling, vomiting and a quiet, off food dog after real grazing, and call for advice; a small dog that cannot keep water down, or signs that run past a day, should be seen.
Yarrow is the flat headed, feathery leaved perennial of drought gardens, wildflower meadows and road verges, in white, yellow, pink and red. The ASPCA lists Achillea millefolium, under yarrow and its other name milfoil, as toxic to dogs. It is also a famous folk herb, which earns it the same warning as every herb in this database: a remedy shelf reputation is not a dog safety verdict.
The ASPCA names the toxic principle of yarrow as Glycoalkaloids (achillein), monoterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones. Yarrow is chemically busy for a cottage garden flower: the ASPCA names three principle groups, a glycoalkaloid called achillein, aromatic monoterpenes, and sesquiterpene lactones, the bitter compounds behind many daisy family reactions. Together they irritate the gut and depress the dog, producing the listed pattern of vomiting, diarrhea, depression, loss of appetite and heavy salivation. It is a grazing quantity plant, not a single stem emergency.
The clinical signs the ASPCA lists for yarrow are: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, anorexia (loss of appetite) and hypersalivation. The grazing pattern dominates. Yarrow is planted in drifts and self seeds into lawns and verges, so a dog that crops greenery meets it stem after stem rather than as a single taste. The salivation in the sign list is the early tell owners notice, a dog drooling and lip licking along the border, before the vomiting and diarrhea that follow a real session. Herbal use adds a second route: yarrow teas, tinctures and powders made for people should never be shared with a dog, and a shared remedy should be reported as a product, with its container, not as grazing.
Most dangerous part: The feathery leaves and flower heads of a plant grazed repeatedly in a border, a meadow planting or a roadside verge.
Identification has a dangerous neighbor problem. Yarrow's feathery leaves and flat white flower heads invite comparison with wild carrot and, far worse, with poison hemlock, which shares its roadsides. The flowers will not settle it for a worried owner, and they do not need to: any dog ill after grazing a white flowered verge plant should be described to the poison line by place and photograph, not by a confident name offered at home.
Call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 right away, even if your dog looks fine. Some poisons take hours or days to show their worst effects. Do not make your dog vomit unless a veterinarian tells you to, and keep the packaging, a photo, or a sample of what was eaten to show the clinic.
Keep a grazing dog out of yarrow drifts in borders and meadow plantings, mow yarrow out of lawn areas the dog crops, and store herbal yarrow products with medicines, out of reach and never on the dog's menu. On verge walks, a shorter lead past flowering patches breaks the grazing habit at its source.
For flat headed summer flowers the ASPCA lists as non-toxic to dogs, zinnia and sunflower are on its non-toxic list. Verify by scientific name; Achillea is the genus being kept out of grazing reach. Whatever you plant next, check it on the toxic plants index approach: confirm the plant on the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic list under its scientific name, Achillea millefolium is the name to avoid here, before it goes in the ground or on the shelf.
Yes. The ASPCA lists yarrow (Achillea millefolium) as toxic to dogs. Its toxic principle is Glycoalkaloids (achillein), monoterpenes and sesquiterpene lactones, and the signs it lists include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, anorexia (loss of appetite) and hypersalivation.
Call your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 straight away. Note what part of the plant was eaten and roughly how much, keep any remaining plant material to show the clinic, and do not make your dog vomit unless a veterinarian tells you to.
The feathery leaves and flower heads of a plant grazed repeatedly in a border, a meadow planting or a roadside verge.
Traditional use is by people, at measured doses, and it settles nothing for a dog grazing the raw plant. The ASPCA lists yarrow as toxic to dogs on three named principle groups, with vomiting, diarrhea, depression and salivation as the signs.
Yes, hypersalivation is on the ASPCA's list for yarrow, and drooling during border time is a grazing clue. Break the access first, and call for advice if vomiting or diarrhea follows.
This page is general information drawn from the published guidance of the organizations listed under Sources below. It is not veterinary advice, and it does not replace your own veterinarian, who knows your dog. If your dog has eaten something toxic, contact your veterinarian, the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center on (888) 426-4435, or the Pet Poison Helpline on (855) 764-7661 straight away. A consultation fee may apply on the helplines.
Last updated: November 2026. Every verdict on this page was checked against the sources listed above. How we work: our methodology.
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