Can Dogs Eat Foxglove?

Foxglove is a striking, tall garden flower that contains cardiac glycosides, compounds chemically related to digitalis, the same class of substance used medically to treat certain heart conditions in very carefully controlled doses. In an uncontrolled dose from a dog chewing on the plant, these compounds instead disrupt normal heart rhythm and function, and the effects can range from digestive upset in a milder exposure to genuinely dangerous cardiac arrhythmias if enough is eaten. All parts of the plant, including the leaves, flowers, and seeds, carry this risk, and because foxglove is a popular and widely grown garden flower, it's a realistic hazard for dogs with access to gardens or allotments where it's planted. Given how serious the cardiac effects of foxglove poisoning can be, and how they can develop with a smaller amount than some other toxic plants, any known ingestion should be treated as an emergency rather than watched at home.