Can Dogs Eat Holly Berries?

Holly berries are a common sight around the winter holidays, whether from festive decorations or garden holly bushes, and while they're not among the most severely toxic plants on this list, the saponins they contain are genuinely irritating to a dog's digestive tract and can cause a fairly unpleasant bout of vomiting and diarrhoea if enough are eaten. Because holly is so often brought indoors as decoration during winter, the risk of exposure spikes noticeably during the festive season compared to the rest of the year, when a dog might otherwise only encounter it in an outdoor hedge. A dog that eats just a couple of berries out of curiosity is unlikely to have more than mild, self-limiting stomach upset, but a dog that gets into a whole bowl of decorative berries or a fallen branch loaded with them has eaten considerably more and is more likely to need veterinary attention. Keeping holly decorations up out of reach during the holidays is a simple and effective prevention.