Pet Emergencies | Mushrooms
This is a common and very serious problem for your pet. Not only do poisonous mushrooms grow in the wild, mushrooms toxic to pets can also grow in backyards at homes, unbeknownst to many pet owners. Dogs are at the highest risk because they are grazing animals and will often eat wild mushrooms in the yard along with lawn grasses. Eating the contents of garbage bags and compost piles can also lead to mushroom poisoning in pets. Dogs can sometimes become ill by licking a poisonous mushroom. Also, some dogs, like people, are allergic to edible, normally safe mushrooms.
Symptoms
Please take your dog to a veterinarian immediately if you see your pet ingest mushrooms, you suspect your pet has eaten mushrooms, or if you notice any of the following signs:
- Vomiting
- Diarrhea or excessive stool production
- Abdominal (belly) pain or tenderness
- Lethargy, weakness, or coma
- Seizures
- Excessive salivation
- Excessive urination
- Stumbling while walking or trembling
- Unable to stand without assistance
- Trouble breathing or purple gums
These signs usually occur about 6 to 8 hours after eating mushrooms, but can last for several days.
Treatment
Any animal that has eaten mushrooms must be treated immediately, whether or not they are showing symptoms of poisoning. Treatment at home is not advised because identifying mushroom species is extremely difficult. An incorrect identification could impede treatment. It is almost impossible for people to identify which species of mushrooms are poisonous, and very few individuals who are properly trained to identify wild mushrooms (mycologists) exist—and even these trained professionals cannot always identify a type of mushroom. Once mushrooms have been eaten and vomited up by the animal, they are almost impossible to identify. This means that any animal that eats a wild mushroom should be treated.
Your veterinarian will need to make your pet vomit to get the mushrooms out of the stomach. Your pet will also have to drink charcoal liquid to help absorb the toxins from the mushrooms and to help pass the mushrooms in the stool before they can cause health problems.
Blood tests will need to be performed to evaluate the health of your pet, but there is no specific blood test to determine if an animal has ingested mushrooms. Radiographs (x-rays) will need to be taken to determine if your pet has eaten anything that needs to be removed or to determine if your pet has another health problem, such as an intestinal obstruction. Your pet will most likely need to be hospitalized for treatment.