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dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

Last post 10-20-2008 5:23 PM by janet_rose. 9 replies.
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  • 10-14-2008 7:28 PM

    • brandy76
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    dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    My bf took my dog (13lbs) for a walk this afternoon where she picked up a mushroom & ran away from him, he couldn't tell if she ate it or not.  Now 3 hours later she threw up a lot of brown stuff (4 times) and some mucus like stuff.  Should I be worried?? Are all wild mushrooms poisonous?

     She just drank a lot of water, but she still seems out of it.  What sign should I look for that mean I should take her to a doctor?

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  • 10-14-2008 8:35 PM In reply to brandy76

    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    I just found a site that doesn't sound very good.  You should maybe take her to an emergency vet, especially if she is acting weird.  Better safe than sorry!  Some people on this site are saying their dogs suffered kidney and liver failure after eating wild mushroom.  I would go to e vet straight away, vomiting brown liquid doesn't sound good.

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  • 10-14-2008 8:38 PM In reply to l.michelle

    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    Personally the fact that she seems "out of it" 3 hours after eating the mushroom would concern me alone! Add brown vomit to that and I'd be on my way to the vet! I'd give the emergency clinic nearest you a call and let them know what happened. Most likely they'll tell you to bring her right in.

    I hope everything goes well for you both!

    Monsters are real, ghosts are real too. They live inside us & sometimes they win. ~ Stephen King




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  • 10-14-2008 8:39 PM In reply to l.michelle

    • brandy76
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    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    I just took her out to walk thinking she would have diaharrea, but all she wanted to do was play. Now she just scarfed down her dinner........I'm so confused.  Did the vomitting help her?  Does Kidney/liver failure sneak up on a dog or would it be happening now??  My vet said to wait & observe her for a while.

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  • 10-14-2008 8:39 PM In reply to brandy76

    • Kyda
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    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    I agree with the E-vet idea. Wild mushrooms can be very bad for people and I would imagine the same with dogs.
    Pygmy Goat
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  • 10-14-2008 10:33 PM In reply to brandy76

    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    The majority of wild mushrooms are harmless. But, some are poisonous, a very few are deadly in small amounts. Unfortunately, unless you know what kind of mushroom your dog ate, there is no way for the vet to know whether it was poisonous or not. If one suspects mushroom poisoning, it won't do any additional damage to induce vomiting/pump the stomach, so often vets will do that as a precaution, even though it may not be necessary. The fact that your dog vomitted on her own is probably a good thing. If it has been several hours since she ate the mushroom, then further voiding of stomach contents probably won't do much good, since whatever she may have consumed is now in the intestinal tract. PERHAPS a laxative to encourage rapid passage of any potentially poisonous mushrooms might maybe (am I equivocating enough yet?) be slightly beneficial. The most common type of mushroom toxin in North America is muscarine (NOT to be confused with muscimol, which is an entirely different type of mushroom toxin). Muscarine is found in several different types of mushrooms, and there is no one single feature that will tell you whether a mushroom contains this toxin or not. One has to be able to identify the species of mushroom to know. Muscarine can cause vomiting and diarrhea, and it's most dramatic symptoms are that it stimulates the sweat glands, tear ducts, and salivary glands. In dogs, this translates into lots of drooling. Lots and lots and lots of drooling. I speak from personal experience with one of my dogs on this one. LOTS of drooling. The biggest danger of muscarine is that it also depresses the heart rate. Usually people and dogs that are poisoned by muscarine recover with no long term damage. A few hours of unpleasantness, lethargy due to the lower heart rate, and then full recovery. Obviously though, anything that depresses the heart rate can be dangerous if the dosage is excessive, or the patient already has heart problems. So, it's important to monitor that. On the other hand, and this is important, be EXTREMELY CAUTIOUS about administering any sort of heart stimulant like atropine, unless it is a true emergency. Other mushrooms contain different toxins that can act synergistically with atropine and overstimulate the heart. Unless one knows for sure that the mushroom consumed contains muscarine, it may do far more harm than good to administer stimulants.
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  • 10-14-2008 11:24 PM In reply to buster the show dog

    • brandy76
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    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    Thanks for all the tips.  I decided to go to the Emergency vet. They did all her bloodwork and said everything looks fine.  Her vitals were also fine. I have to call back tomorrow to check the liver & kidney panels that they sent out.  So hopefully we're in the clear. 

    She still seems exhausted though.....

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  • 10-18-2008 3:03 AM In reply to brandy76

    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    brandy76:
    I have to call back tomorrow to check the liver & kidney panels that they sent out.  So hopefully we're in the clear. 

    How is she doing?

    I hope your BF now knows how to induce vomiting!!  hydrogen peroxide (3% solution) - 2 tsp per 30 lbs every 15 min (up to 3 doses)

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  • 10-20-2008 3:45 PM In reply to janet_rose

    • brandy76
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    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    Thank goodness she threw up herself, but I'm gonna write that info about the hydrogen peroxide on the fridge - thanks

     All her other tests came back negative thank goodness.  I'm just surprised how expensive bloodwork/exam at the emergency vet was $430

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  • 10-20-2008 5:23 PM In reply to brandy76

    Re: dog ate wild mushroom - should I be worried???

    brandy76:
    I'm gonna write that info about the hydrogen peroxide on the fridge

    Glad to hear that she is doing OK!  While you are putting info on the fridge, you might want to also put info about Benadryl for allergic reactions (1-2 mg/lb of body weight 2-4 times daily) and cotton balls (real cotton only) for sharp objects.

    See http://www.k911.biz/Petsafety/DogAteChickenBone.htm for the number of cotton balls to use.

    See http://community.dog.com/forums/p/84786/664165.aspx#664165 for more first aid info.

    Keep a children's dosage syringe with the hydrogen peroxide.  Don't forget to check the expiration date on the bottle!

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