It's pretty easy to check the Internet with your first question......any number of sites will indicate that dogs and acorns do not mix. The other questions should be discernible from online research also. Oaks generally need some maturity before they develop acorns, the acorns of red oaks take 2 years to mature and ripen or drop in fall. How extensive the acorn production may be is dependent on a lot of variables - some years are much more prolific than others.

The wise choice would be to plant your oak tree well away from where your puppy is inclined or allowed to play freely (front yard perhaps?) and to be vigilant in removing any acorns that may appear before your dog is grown and trained out of the "eat everything they find" stage.

Yes, they are toxic to dogs.

Age of acorn production varies by tree species and well... age of the tree.

Chances are your red oak isn't going to be producing acorns in the year or two that it takes for your pup to become an adolescent dog. Just do a through yard cleanup regularly and don't let puppy play unsupervised. (Whether you got acorns or not)

I apologize for posting when a quick internet search would (and have) yielded the results. I wish there were a way to edit posts.

Online research has definitely informed me on the dangers of acorns to dogs. Online research has not satisfied my question into the time it takes acorns to develop or how often they develop. I have read anywhere from 20-50 years until they start producing acorns. At the same time, a search of this site produces results of 2-5 years of tree life until they start producing.

I have also read mixed opinions on how often they produce. From what I have read, the acorns drop just prior to the leaves dropping. But I have read mixed reviews from annual drops to every 3 years.

I would definitely put the tree in my front yard now that I know that they are harmful to pups. My concern is, if these trees produce something that is this harmful to dogs, should they be planted in someone's yard at all? If another person is walking their dog past my house and grab a few, it could hurt them as well. I don't want to only look out for myself and my pets, but others as well.

Thanks for everyone's opinions and thoughts on this so far.

I wouldn't be too overly concerned. There are literally millions of oaks in this country, and many of them are in front yards or in the tree lawn, and we don't have dogs dropping dead all the time from it. No worries.

Now, if the tree was shedding asbestos I'd be worried LOL but acorns for trees in the front yard or on the street are not a big issue. They are a very common tree.

"I have read anywhere from 20-50 years until they start producing acorns. At the same time, a search of this site produces results of 2-5 years of tree life until they start producing"

The difference is between producing the first one or two acorns in exceptionally favourable conditions (around 5 years, but only very rarely), and producing regular sizable crops (20-50 years).

I'd agree with Krycek, no need to be worried.

Resin

but everyone agrees, it should go in the front yard

Not me. Plant it wherever you want.
Dogs don't normally eat acorns just the same as they don't normally eat rocks, they don't eat leaves (many of which are also toxic) and they don't eat the carpet off the floor.

You don't need to apologize for posting this question here. If it weren't for people posting questions online, there would be no answers online.

Ahhh, but puppies can and often will eat or chew on just about anything they come into contact with (she says as the 'mother/caretaker' to innumerable puppies over the years!) Shoes, carpets, electrical wires, light bulbs, rocks, organic fertilizers, dead slugs, various houseplants and anything in the garden is fair game for an inquisitive, active puppy. For your peace of mind and the health of the puppy, I'd keep the tree to the front yard or where the puppy is unlikely to come into unsupervised contact with it. And it may not be the consumption of acorns that is of immediate concern but the consumption or destruction of the young tree itself.

You don't leave a puppy to it's own devices in a backyard whether there is a tree there or not.

The tree isn't going to drop acorns in two years unless this is one big tree. And actually that's too bad. If there were acorns, you could teach the puppy to leave them alone. When they are puppies is a very good time to teach what is food, what is a toy and what isn't.

Something else to consider when deciding where to place this or other good sized tree is the direction from which the sun is coming in the hottest part of the day. Smart placement of a shade tree can be extremely helpful in reducing the costs of cooling.

Some very good comments in this thread!

Dogs don't normally eat acorns just the same as they don't normally eat rocks, they don't eat leaves (many of which are also toxic) and they don't eat the carpet off the floor.

:p I have Labrador Retrievers, and they have eaten or attempted to eat all of those things. LOL! And so much more. And this is in spite of *extremely* close supervision. Puppies can hoover something off the ground so fast, you'd have to follow them around the yard with two hands hovering inches above their head to stop it, and even then you might not be that fast.

However, I know many, many dog owners for whom eating random things isn't a problem at all. It was never an issue with my last dog. It's a big problem with Retrievers, though, in general, because of the breed's natural tendency to pick things up with their mouths. Labs are considered "walking stomachs," and combined with their tendency to want to pick things up that they will then eat because they are always starving even if they have just eaten...Suffice it to say I have ended up doing a lot of reading about toxic plants in the past few years. :)

I don't see a mention of Oak or acorns in either of my toxic plant books (one of which was written as a guide for veterinarians with specific info on animal poisonings). ASPCA Poison Control Center lists it as poisonous to horses:

"Poisonings can occur when horses graze on oak due to lack of adequate forage. Abdominal pain, constipation which can be followed by diarrhea (occasionally bloody), depression, frequent urination discolored urine and jaundice are all potential clinical effects."

I have learned that many poisonous plants are mostly a danger to cattle and other grazing animals because they must be eaten in large quantity for effect. It helped me relax a little to learn that. Still, I have landscaped my backyard using only plants that are known to be non-toxic, because hey, why take a chance, right?

I do think acorns are poisonous, but I think it might be one of those things that you'd have to eat a lot of. Apple seeds contain cyanide - but it's in such small amounts, and one would have to thoroughly chew the seeds to release it. I think it may be the same with acorns.

We have an Oak in our front yard, and I am glad it's in the front yard. But I don't worry too much about it. I think a bigger risk with acorns, especially for a small puppy, would be a choking hazard.

Congrats on your new puppy! Goldens are the most wonderful dogs - I hope to have one someday. :)

So when your dog has eaten rocks, carpet and acorns, what happened to the dog?

When it comes to tree litter people opt not to plant some really great trees because they drop nuts and acorns but the reality is unless you have a wooded yard, you're more than likely maintaining your yard. Mowing, raking and one of the best inventions of the century, the leaf blower, which in a matter of minutes will roundup all the leaves and acorns.
And very regular yard cleanup is a fact of life for responsible dog owners anyway. Might as well pull out the leaf blower and take care of acorns during the time of year that requires cleanup. That's some food for thought 30 years from now when the tree starts producing acorns.

Veterinarian here.
In 30+ years of practice and diagnostic pathology service, I have never seen - or read of, for that matter - a case of acorn toxicosis in a dog. Common in cattle, occurs occasionally in horses, but virtually unheard of, to my knowledge, in companion animals.

Yes, indiscriminate consumption of inappropriate objects can be a problem with some dogs - puppies, in particular. Visited a friend/vet school classmate earlier this week who had a dog in for the THIRD enterotomy surgery in two weeks' time, as the dog had swallowed several golfballs, a black walnut, and some rocks. If I were that owner, after the FIRST time, I'd have done a thorough search for anything else this dumb pup could swallow that might not pass through.

I'd have no qualms about planting an oak - of any species - in my yard, and truthfully, would have more concern about the dog damaging the tree than vice-versa.
Most all of my bur oak and various white oak group hybrids have begun producing acorns at 6-8 yrs, with regular, heavy crops ensuing not long after - I've gathered 5-10 gallons of acorns from beneath each of two 16-yr old bur oaks here in the yard just the past couple of weeks, with more to drop yet. But, some 4-yr old northern red oaks planted at the same time, show no sign of impending acorn production.

My dogs have eaten acorns from my Burr oak nad have never had a problem. Bluejays and squirrels get the most any ways . The pup will eat anything that doesn't move. Dead mice,dead birds etc. Take them away but sure I don't get them all. They are both Shih Tzus. I do think the green cherry tomatoes made them a bit sick.

Sorry for this hijack: OMG, three surgeries in two weeks! Holy cow, those poor people.

We had one bowel obstruction (which was, incidentally, caused by a Greenie, something I thought was safe - so there ya go). Anyway, I remember my vet telling me after it was over that many times, if a dog has to have one of these, it's not the last. Once an eater of inappropriate objects, always an eater...etc. I remember telling him that it was definitely going to be our last one. He was nine months old when he had the surgery. He turned six in August, and we haven't had another incident (knock on wood). But I really had to supervise him very closely those first two or three years.

Someone on my Lab forum has had four or five obstructions with their dog.

I have 2 puppies both age of 4 months we have a 20 year old Texas Red Oak in our backyard and I have noticed my puppies eating acorns on occasion, so I am very worried about my pups getting toxicity from them. I will be picking up acorns from now on and I'll keep everyone posted if anything happens.

deer love the acorn, but sometimes (during droughts) they over consume the red oak acorn and they die. Coyotes live in the wild. You've got to "assume" in times of need they will eat acorns to survive. Acorns have been around perhaps thousands of years sharing our woods with animals that consume them. The animals still exists. Just make sure your puppy, dog, pets in general are well fed.

Dogs have the thinking ability of a two year old child. Some are curious. This describes of our lab. For the first years of his life, he was constantly doing something; sticking his noise is a wasp nest, into a birds nest, etc. each time we became quite concerned, but like a two year child, he healed and learned. He learned not to chase cars, when he ran into one had had to be medicated. Like a two year old he had many "learning" experiences, but he learned and did not repeat those things when he hurt himself.

Once he got past the puppy stage he was a great dog, he watched the house, He barked at strangers until he was told why they were on the property, and was a good companion to my daughter while they were growing up.