Do mushrooms poison dogs in Canberra ?

Marilyn Shaw said :

Yes, dogs can be poisoned by certain mushrooms. The ones that contain the toxins, ibotenic acid and muscimol would cause symptoms similar to epilepsy. I don’t have time right now to go into great detail, but the most common species are Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric, and Amanita pantherina, the panther cap. Please do an online search for descriptions of these. Amanita muscaria is easy to identify. It is a large white mushroom with a red (usually) cap which has white warts on it. They grow essentially all over the world. Dogs seem to love them. They grow with coniferous trees in a symbiotic relationship with them. These amanitas DO NOT contain toxins which affect the liver, as do some other species of amanita. To see the symptoms check the toxicology link on namyco.org. Dr. Michael Beug and I have recently published an article on the subject of dogs eating these species. It is available by searching for “McIlvainea Vol 18”. The white mushrooms in lawns “with gray underneath” (more likely dark brown underneath) are probably Agaricus species, and would not be involved. I am a mycology consultant to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver, Colorado, USA, on call 24/365 and have been for 25 years or more. This type of poisoning is very common, both in dogs and humans. While frightening these poisonings, properly handled, should cause no lasting effects. Recovery usually occurs in approximately 10 hours. Do not overtreat the hyper state (this can cause excessive CNS depression), do not use atropine (in spite of the name, these are not muscarine poisonings),do not euthanize while in the coma-like state, protect against aspirating vomit.

After 25 years I’ve learned not to make remote diagnoses and not to change the evidence.
A. muscaria is relatively common in Canberra, under Pinus radiata and other conifers such as Cedrus deodar and C. atlantica. However it is also found as a mycorrhyzal species associated with oaks and alder. A. pantherina is not recorded to my knowledge. the only verified record of a poisoning in dogs by mushroom ingestion was that of A. phalloides (and fatal as I recall). The common mushroom found on Canberra’s sports grounds with greyish gills is almost certainly a Collybia species, not an Agaricus (though the A. xanthoderma group may be greyish in unopened specimens). Interestingly Agaricus xanthoderma type mushrooms are a cause of violent emesis in a very small proportion of the population and they are extremely common in Canberra

If your dog ate deathcap mushrooms (common hereabouts), seizures probably wouldn’t be the sole manifestation of poisoning.

Yes, dogs can be poisoned by certain mushrooms. The ones that contain the toxins, ibotenic acid and muscimol would cause symptoms similar to epilepsy. I don’t have time right now to go into great detail, but the most common species are Amanita muscaria, the fly agaric, and Amanita pantherina, the panther cap. Please do an online search for descriptions of these. Amanita muscaria is easy to identify. It is a large white mushroom with a red (usually) cap which has white warts on it. They grow essentially all over the world. Dogs seem to love them. They grow with coniferous trees in a symbiotic relationship with them. These amanitas DO NOT contain toxins which affect the liver, as do some other species of amanita. To see the symptoms check the toxicology link on namyco.org. Dr. Michael Beug and I have recently published an article on the subject of dogs eating these species. It is available by searching for “McIlvainea Vol 18”. The white mushrooms in lawns “with gray underneath” (more likely dark brown underneath) are probably Agaricus species, and would not be involved. I am a mycology consultant to the Rocky Mountain Poison and Drug Center in Denver, Colorado, USA, on call 24/365 and have been for 25 years or more. This type of poisoning is very common, both in dogs and humans. While frightening these poisonings, properly handled, should cause no lasting effects. Recovery usually occurs in approximately 10 hours. Do not overtreat the hyper state (this can cause excessive CNS depression), do not use atropine (in spite of the name, these are not muscarine poisonings),do not euthanize while in the coma-like state, protect against aspirating vomit.

yes – malcolm at Tuggeranong vet hospital in Fadden is fantastic. Such a caring, sympathetic man AND an excellant vet

Yes, there have been cases of fatal mushroom poisoning in Canberra, it happened to my friend’s dog 🙁

That said, I don’t think it’s really the season for it at the moment, and the death cap mushrooms are usually found around oak trees.

Good luck with your little guy.

I second the recommendation for Inner South Veterinary Centre. I try to see Isabelle or Amanda when I take my pets there but all their vets are fabulous.

indigoid said :

If you get frustrated with vets in Canberra there’s a fantastic vet hospital at Sydney Uni, in Camperdown. We took one of our Burmese there for surgery last year. He was treated very well.

It took us a while to find a Canberra vet that we trusted and that didn’t seem to be flailing around in the dark. Eventually we settled on Matt Almond at Small Friends in Amaroo. Worth driving to what feels like the other end of the earth — we live in Weston Creek!

Hope you find out what’s going on. Sounds nasty 🙁

You don’t need to drive to ‘the end of the earth’; Tuggeranong Vet Hospital in Fadden is fantastic. I have seen a few different vets there, and they are the best.

So is Hargreaves now going to ban mushrooms since they cause dog distress?

Thanks for all the feedback everyone, it’s very useful.

The mushrooms I have seen on Scullin oval are just Champignons (spelling) which are just the same we buy in the supermarket. So they should not cause that sort of a reaction in your puppy. Really good vet in canberra (and excellent diagnostician) Sandy Hume at Inner South Vet Hospital, Jerrabomberra Ave, Narrabundah.
For advice on canberra flora that might be causing this I’d contact Jan Spate in Hall, she’s been here for ever and has basically been there, done that. So she could have an idea.
Best of luck with the little guy!