Some pets ingest anything in sight, whether that be your shoelaces, trash, dirt, or miscellaneous plants on their Monday morning walk. This can be seriously detrimental to their health, especially if they ingest things that are not meant to be ingested, like poisonous mushrooms!
To avoid any unwanted emergencies and protect your pet’s health, it’s good to be cautious about your pet eating anything other than what you feed it. However, this is not always possible. In any case, here are a few tips on how to identify which mushrooms could hurt your pet:
- Look out for Amanita mushrooms. The dangerous Amanita mushroom starts as an egg-shaped puffball with gills inside, and if ingested, it can bring on death or serious sickness. A few identification tips for Amanita mushrooms include looking for warts or scales on a parasol or umbrella-shaped cap.
- Avoid pretty mushrooms. Colorful mushrooms often signal that they’re poisonous!
- Avoid mushrooms with fishy odors. Most mushrooms with fishy odors are attractive to dogs and cats, but many of these are poisonous!
- Check out this list of poisonous mushrooms. Although there are many varieties, here’s a list of six types of mushrooms that are specifically poisonous to dogs. However, we don’t recommend letting any of your pets ingest these.
To be safe instead of sorry, try your best to avoid letting your pet ingesting any type of mushroom.
If you think your pet has ingested poisonous mushrooms or is dealing with any other health condition, call Caudle Vet Clinic at (615) 227-6230 to have our professionals examine and treat your pet right away! We have a pharmacy, surgery suite with state-of-the-art technology, on-site digital x-ray capabilities, and more to give your pet the quality care it deserves.