Watch out for wild mushrooms

When I came home today and let the dogs out into our yard (yard being a generous terms for what is really a patio w/ some dirt around it), I noticed them hanging out next to a planter and it looked like they were eating something. To my horror, I found a huge wild mushroom growing next to the planter and it had several small pieces missing and a bunch of doggy teeth marks. I immediately called the vet and they told me to bring both of them in right away. So, Lucy and Charlie Brown are both at the vet right now being forced to vomit because they don't know if the mushroom is toxic and apparently it is very difficult to tell just by looking at the mushroom. I am so lucky that I noticed them eating it. Can you imagine if they had eaten it and I hadn't seen it it? I shudder at the thought. We have never had mushrooms grow in our yard (like I said it is barely a yard) but I am going to go out and search every square inch of it now to make sure there are no other mushrooms. My poor babies!

You must have gotten an awful fright - hope eveyone is ok.

The pups are home and $244 later all seems to be ok. The vet said she didn't see any large pieces of mushroom in their stomach contents but that they still could have had smaller pieces that she couldn't see. She thinks that means if they ate any it wasn't much. Anyway, she said she thought they should be fine but to watch for any signs of vomiting, diarrhea, drooling etc....

I have combed the yard and don't see any signs of additional mushrooms but I will be checking it daily from now on, especially during these damp months. We are planning to redo the patio this spring and have the entire thing paved except a small patch of dirt where we will plant dog friendly flowers or bushes.

Hi Aimee, I am glad everyone seems to be better. If you ever need to induce vomiting in the future, you do so by forcing them to ingest hydrogen peroxide. I've had to do it before, and animal poison control will tell you the same thing (after you pay them $60.00 with a credit card! ). Just draw up about 2 tablespoons into a syringe and make them take it. If that doesn't work, do it again in 5 minutes. I'd still recommend calling the vet for advice, but you can get whatever is in their system out right away instead of waiting for the vet's office to do it.

I actually knew about the Hydrogen Peroxide, had to do it once on our old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. But, I was afraid to do it on the puppy because he is only 4 months old and wasn't sure how much was safe to give to a small dog either. Our Chessie was 85 lbs. Thanks for the tip though...I may save myself the $200 vet bill in the future.

LucyDog said:

I actually knew about the Hydrogen Peroxide, had to do it once on our old Chesapeake Bay Retriever. But, I was afraid to do it on the puppy because he is only 4 months old and wasn't sure how much was safe to give to a small dog either. Our Chessie was 85 lbs. Thanks for the tip though...I may save myself the $200 vet bill in the future.

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Actually, you probably would want to reduce the amount. That amount I quoted was what I was told to give my 100 lb. dogs. Since they vomit it up, I doubt there are harmful effects to giving "too much", but you might want to find that out and have the knowledge handy.