Comments on: Mushroom Poisoning In Dogs

By: Sue

Sue — Fri, 19 Jan 2024 00:45:44 +0000

In reply to Andrew. Thank you Andrew. It's good to be able to rule those things out. I will consider other diagnosis and causes.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 20:04:49 +0000

In reply to Sue Williams. Hi Sue. My opinion is that neither of your two possible explanations explain the ongoing symptoms. Mushroom poisoning should not produce ongoing effects, and as you say, side-effects from propalin would normally start when you started using it, not one year later. I think it’s worth an investigation for a third cause that is as yet undetermined. One comment I would add though: every day I see people who say their dogs are nauseous, and I always think “how on earth can you tell?” It’s worth thinking if there could be another explanation as well, such as anxiety, for example.

By: Sue Williams

Sue Williams — Thu, 18 Jan 2024 04:18:06 +0000

Thank you for this info Andrew. My kelpie X was very ill mid 2022 (15 YO at the time). All tests done, no reason found, vet thought she would die, she survived. A toxin was suggested. She’s not interested in mushrooms but always snuffling about looking for food and it was early winter with a lot of leaf litter in the yard so it’s possible she picked up some fungi.
She now suffers from nausea: rarely vomiting, some retching, much licking (within the mouth rather than the lips), open mouth yawning/gulping for air. Symptoms are continual and have been for well over 12 months so I’m wondering whether the nausea could be an ongoing effect of mushroom poisoning. (I thought it could be a side-effect of propalin but she started on that well over 12 months before nausea started.) I would value your thoughts. Thank you.

By: Jason Micallef

Jason Micallef — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 22:44:59 +0000

In reply to Andrew. Thanks for the reply. I heard that even some ‘safe’ mushrooms are only edible after cooking and not to be eaten raw. Thanks again for your advice.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sat, 04 Nov 2023 00:23:20 +0000

In reply to Jason Micallef. Hi Jason. I’ve deliberately been very vague about what is safe for dogs as there is so little information, but one would hope that if they are edible to humans, they are at least less dangerous.

By: Jason Micallef

Jason Micallef — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 21:44:09 +0000

Great post thank you. You have pictures of Coprinellus micaceus (shiny mica caps) in your post. I have these in my garden and they are listed as potentially edible to humans (not that I’ve tried). Are they poisonous to dogs?

By: Kris

Kris — Wed, 04 Oct 2023 20:11:12 +0000

We have been dealing with our German Shepherd eating these little brown mushrooms in our yard in Wisconsin. Almost daily she was dealing with bloat with vomiting but I couldn’t figure out what she was getting into. Then my daughter asked me to watch her little 12lb dog for a month. I caught her eating something with gusto so quickly ran out there in time to see her trying to scarf down a white mushroom before I could get it from her. I grabbed it and threw it over the fence. She seemed fine otherwise and I didn’t give it another thought. About 12 hours later she started acting weird and then I recognized the bloat symptoms. I gave her a dose of gas x and monitored her. She was lethargic and wouldn’t move. I remembered that she ate that mushroom and quickly looked up poisonous mushrooms to find the very ones she was eating. I remembered that I had activated charcoal and administered it. Within an hour she started perking up. I force fed water throughout this. She seems fine now but after reading this article I feel very fortunate that we didn’t lose her but I am worried about organ damage so I’ll have to have her bloodwork done.
I’ve since dug out as many mushrooms as I could find and continue to look for more and walk with my dogs as they are in the yard to prevent further ingestion.
It’s very unfortunate my daughter’s dog got so sick but it helped me to realize that my own dog was getting sick off of these mushrooms too!

I had never thought to check my yard for mushrooms so I’m thankful for this article and others.

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 22 May 2022 00:11:56 +0000

In reply to Beth S. Sorry to hear. Dogs often eat silly things without any good reason.

By: Beth S

Beth S — Sat, 21 May 2022 10:00:12 +0000

Our 12 year old kelpie ingested several mushrooms (identified in her vomit) and became ill within 2 hours. We attended a vet hospital and unfortunately we decided to have her put down as the damage had taken a toll on her and she was having difficulty breathing. What do you think would cause a dog to suddenly eat mushrooms?

By: Andrew

Andrew — Sun, 15 Nov 2020 10:39:37 +0000

In reply to Lana. Sorry Lana, photos don’t come through on the comments, and I won’t be able to identify fungi without having them in the hand. You should be able to find a local club or society who would love to help you.