dogs & mushrooms

As far as I know, grocery store mushrooms are fine. But mushrooms in the yard are a total danger! Be sure she's catching any wild mushrooms that pop up because so many of them taste great but will kill the dog. Amanitas are rampant here, and unless you induce vomiting it will kill any mammal that eats it. It destroys the liver.

I had a scare the other day with Sofia, when I thought she might have eaten a mushroom. Luckily, she was okay. Whew!

I just pulled 6 mushrooms from my yard last night and brought them in to my husband to look up on the internet to see if they were poisionous to dogs.  He couldn't find a similar mushroom online.  I don't think Wrigley has shown an interest in them, but he is occasionally in our backyard unattended (pretty short periods of time).  I am in Louisville, KY.  How much should I worry about this?  BTW, I pulled everything I could find.  How quickly do they grow?

IME, they grow FAST, but I don't know how to stop them from coming back.

From [linkhttp://www.aspca.org/site/PageServer?pagename=pro_apcc_dyk#13]Animal Poison Control Center[/link]

Certain species of mushrooms are considered to be relatively non-toxic, while other species can be very toxic. Of the toxic species, some can potentially cause liver or kidney damage, while others may produce severe gastrointestinal or even neurological effects. Toxic mushrooms can often be found growing right alongside non-toxic ones. Because of this, identifying each type of mushroom existing on your property can be very difficult. The ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center advises keeping all wild mushrooms out of the reach of pets, and recommends that all wild mushroom ingestions should be treated very seriously. If accidental exposures to wild mushrooms occur, seek immediate veterinary assistance by contacting your local veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center.

Thanks Kelly.  I will keep checking the yard.

There is anouther thread just like this one already
[linkhttp://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=156028&mpage=1&key=𦏨]http://forum.dog.com/asp/tm.asp?m=156028&mpage=1&key=𦏨[/link]

I'll just quote myself so I don't have to retype what I said

Most people who get poiesened by mushrooms get poisened by "Amanitas" which are the most toxic species. The base of the stem curves out. Stops your liver from functioning and you die in a few days.



Here is less toxic version of a differnt amamita that doesn't contain liver toxins but will still make you sick.


It was the irish (or some nothern europien clan) that would eat the less toxic aminitas before battle because it made them not fear death. It's also thought to be the shroom in the Mario Brothers games that makes mario stronger[]

There are other toxic mushrooms but they are not as common as the very toxic amanita. One of the best ways to identify what shrooms are what is to take a spore print. Either way, it's safer not to eat what you don't know.  

What a mushroom is, is a fruit of a fungus. The fungus lives underground and when ready to reporduce it will fruit certain times of the year to spread spors. Picking a shroom only removes the fruit and not the fungus which means it's likely for the fungus to produce more fruit (mushrooms).


I don't know exactly how to get rid of the fungus but my best guess is you could try a fungicide or something similar that you can find in a garden section. I'de also check to see how safe that is to have around your dog. I've only grown them in bio lab, I've never had to get rid of them.   

If your dog eats a mushroom do NOT WAIT. IMMEDIATELY induce vomiting. Mushrooms will not damage the esophagus on the way back up. IMMEDIATELY INDUCE VOMITING. It's a long, slow death if you don't. If you wait the symptoms of the amanitas go like this:

1. They'll be fine for up to 12 hours after ingesting toxic mushrooms. No symptoms.

2. Then they start having violent vomiting and diarrhea, and abdominal pain.

3. After the severe vomiting and diarrhea, it seems like they are getting better. There is then a latency period where everything looks like it is going to be okay. But what is going on is that the liver is quietly being destroyed.

4. After this quiet period, the animal, or human, dies painfully.

From the Cornell University website, concerning human poisonings:http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/amanita/amanita.html#symptoms

"The final phase consists of the final degradation of the liver and kidney until, between the fourth and eighth day after ingestion, the patient lapses into hepatic coma combined with renal failure, ending in death. All this from a dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight or even lower. That's not much mushroom to kill a person!"

Convulsions are not uncommon.

Sometimes humans can get a liver transplant. It is their only hope in many cases. In humans, these four stages can take from 4 to eight days. In dogs I suspect it would be shorter.

My friends Lab had a really bad seizure a few weeks ago, she has never had them before. They rushed her to the emergency vet and she had another one on the way. the vet thinks she might have eaten a mushroom in the yard. She has been fine since then, but gave the owners quite a scare.