Dogs and hops

just wanted to remind everyone that hops are EXTREMELY poisonous to some dogs. My dog ate 2 or 3 pellets last night and had to be taken to the emergency vet. He started heavily panting at midnight, about 4 hours after ingesting the hops and still had not stopped when we brought him to the vet at 6am. Hops cause a rapid increase in body temperature and rapid heartbeat. I should have brought him to the vet sooner, but did not make the connection until early in the morning.

Once again, malignant hyperthermia is a rare genetic disease. Without a muscle biopsy, it cannot be diagnosed.

As a greyhound owner, I have researched this deeply.

I hope you little buddy recovers with no lasting harm.
What breed is he?
Also, how certain that he ate hops and how much he ate?

david_42 said:

Once again, malignant hyperthermia is a rare genetic disease. Without a muscle biopsy, it cannot be diagnosed.

As a greyhound owner, I have researched this deeply.

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Not trying to get in to a medical argument, just warning fellow homebrewers of the possible dangers...

HairyDogBrewing said:

I hope you little buddy recovers with no lasting harm.
What breed is he?
Also, how certain that he ate hops and how much he ate?

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Black lab. I was portioning out some hops and he hopped on the counter and tipped the bowl over. I saw him grab one pellet off the counter and one that fell on the floor.

shoebag22 said:

Not trying to get in to a medical argument, just warning fellow homebrewers of the possible dangers...

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This is much like warning people about autism and vaccines. The greyhound cases quoted by Wikipedia all occurred in 1999 and NONE of them were substantiated according to the National Poison Control Center.

My dog runs from the bowl I put the hops in.

What's intersting is that there are several "remedies" you can buy for Dogs at Petsmart that contain hops and/or hop oil as an ingredient... maybe it's medicinal in extremely low doses? I've never purchased any of these, but stumbled on them while browsing products at petsmart.

jrfuda said:

What's intersting is that there are several "remedies" you can buy for Dogs at Petsmart that contain hops and/or hop oil as an ingredient... maybe it's medicinal in extremely low doses? I've never purchased any of these, but stumbled on them while browsing products at petsmart.

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The problems are essentially like an allergy.


IE, saying Hops are poisonous to dogs is like saying peanuts are poisonous to people.

david_42 said:

This is much like warning people about autism and vaccines. The greyhound cases quoted by Wikipedia all occurred in 1999 and NONE of them were substantiated according to the National Poison Control Center.

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I agree with you, but I am warning people because I saw first hand the damage ingesting hops had on my dog. I read some threads about dogs eating hops with no ill effects, but I just wanted to give people a heads up. I called the animal poison control hotline and they instructed the vet on how best to treat my dog, so I don't think this is a totally rare occurence. i know from now on that Porter will be in his crate when i am brewing and would instruct others to be cautious and to know the warning signs if some are ingested. The money spent on this vet bill could have bought some mighty fine homebrew equipment.

Synovia said:

The problems are essentially like an allergy.


IE, saying Hops are poisonous to dogs is like saying peanuts are poisonous to people.

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I would say this is a fine assumption but the difference is that people are tested for allergies, dogs aren't for the most part. I keep my GSD away from them not because I know they will affect her but because I'm not sure if they won't.

i had a black lab that used to steal beer all the time,she loved it and she lived a long healthy life.

gmtech825 said:

i had a black lab that used to steal beer all the time,she loved it and she lived a long healthy life.

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I think raw hops are the only issue here, I've never seen or heard of a dog getting sick from drilnking spilled beer.

I have a Yellow Lab and a Red Border Collie. I ordered 10 hop rhizomes this year to plant in about a month. I guess tonight, I'll have to "offer" them a pellet to see if they turn their noses or try to eat it. If they show interest and want to eat it I may have to consider ditching the whole grow your own hops idea. I'd rather have my dogs than plants.

steinsato said:

I think raw hops are the only issue here, I've never seen or heard of a dog getting sick from drilnking spilled beer.

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No, its the dog, not the hops. Its a genetic problem that hops can, but don't always, aggravate. Chances are, at some point, something else will aggravate his dog.


Everything from caffeine to diets with too much calcium can set this off.


Hops don't bother dogs. Some dogs have a serious genetic condition that hops can aggravate.

I grow hops and have dogs; but that doesnt mean I wouldn't be worried if I saw one of them eating hops. I would probably take them to the vet even if they werent showing symptoms. There is just no way for you to know if your dog is allergic or have a genetic condition like mentioned above. Fact: some dogs die from eating hops.

Dogs most likely will not eat them off the ground or off the bine. They will, however, eat spent hops soaked with wort.

Yeah. I know it's not all dogs, but I keep my dog away from my raw hops just in case. Besides, I don't wanna waste a single cone if I can avoid it!

Other things to avoid your dogs getting: Grapes and raisins, onions, garlic and tomatoes. A bit at a time is fine, but if you dog ate a box of raisins you need to call a vet FAST.

HoppyDaze said:

Fact: some dogs die from eating hops.

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Could you please post a substantiated case.


I can find none. I can find 8 unsubstantiated cases, all of which are greyhounds.

do a HBT search...there are at least two members here who have lost their dogs after they ate hops. Thats enough for me; Im not going to debate anything here. Just putting in my two cents is all...

HoppyDaze said:

do a HBT search...there are at least two members here who have lost their dogs after they ate hops. Thats enough for me; Im not going to debate anything here. Just putting in my two cents is all...

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I have done several searches. All I can find is people like you saying "someone on this forum lost a dog" without any actual references.

look harder...surely you can find it. Try using the same methods you used when you found the eight "unsubstantiated" claims.

or just look two posts down. Funny how more effort isn't being put into finding information contrary to your stance...

ChshreCat said:

Yeah. I know it's not all dogs, but I keep my dog away from my raw hops just in case. Besides, I don't wanna waste a single cone if I can avoid it!

Other things to avoid your dogs getting: Grapes and raisins, onions, garlic and tomatoes. A bit at a time is fine, but if you dog ate a box of raisins you need to call a vet FAST.

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Just so everyone knows, grapes (and raisins of course) shut down their kidneys. Very serious stuff so I wouldn't take a chance at all.


Synovia: I'm not saying a dog would die from it but if you can avoid potential problems, why wouldn't you?

just talked to the vet and I will be able to pick him up tonight. I don't yet know exactly what steps they took, but I know they had him hooked to an IV to replenish fluids and bring his temp down. I don't know what would have happened if he had gotten to the full ounce or worse, the full pound, but only a couple pellets gave him problems. Maybe he would not have reacted any worse, but it's not an experiment I want to try.
I understand the healthy debate this topic has brought about and certainly don't want to add fuel. THere does seem to be a lot of second hand information out there, some of it is probaby false, but I wish I had known about this issue last night because I would not have waited so long to get him to the vet.
As someone poster earlier, this is probably similar to a peanut or bee allergy. I am not allergic to either, but my mom is allergic to bee stings. My dog is allergic to hops, your dog may not be.

Neonsilver said:

Synovia: I'm not saying a dog would die from it but if you can avoid potential problems, why wouldn't you?

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If I avoided every potential unsubstantiated problem, I'd never go outside, let alone drink alcohol.

so this thread is an unsubstantiated claim? You don't believe this happened? Maybe you have something to prove?

HoppyDaze said:

so this thread is an unsubstantiated claim? You don't believe this happened? Maybe you have something to prove?

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I thought you weren't going to debate?

ChshreCat said:

Other things to avoid your dogs getting: Grapes and raisins, onions, garlic and tomatoes. A bit at a time is fine, but if you dog ate a box of raisins you need to call a vet FAST.

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I thought it was the leaves from ripe tomatoes not the tomatoes themselves. My weim eats everything but leaves alone things I know she shouldn't have. Like she knows or something.

broadbill said:

I thought you weren't going to debate?

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nothing....

Synovia said:

No, its the dog, not the hops. Its a genetic problem that hops can, but don't always, aggravate. Chances are, at some point, something else will aggravate his dog.


Everything from caffeine to diets with too much calcium can set this off.


Hops don't bother dogs. Some dogs have a serious genetic condition that hops can aggravate.

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So if a dog that has problems with eating raw hops drinks a beer is he going to have the same problems? Or is it just the raw hops?

Synovia said:

If I avoided every potential unsubstantiated problem, I'd never go outside, let alone drink alcohol.

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So go ahead and feed every dog you have hops and see if you can substantiate it. Either way, I don't take risks when it comes to my dog.


Shoebag: Glad to hear your dog is doing alright.

steinsato said:

So if a dog that has problems with eating raw hops drinks a beer is he going to have the same problems? Or is it just the raw hops?

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very good question that I doubt you will find a solid answer to. My dog has stolen some of my homebrew in the past with no ill effects, but I will be paying closer attention. not sure what would happen if he got some brew that was dry hoppped. I have never heard of a dog having the symptoms mine had after consuming beer... just be sure to keep him away from miller lite, that stuff is triple hopped

there is a stickey on this subject:

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f14/dangers-hops-your-pets-108935/

shoebag22 said:

just wanted to remind everyone that hops are EXTREMELY poisonous to some dogs. My dog ate 2 or 3 pellets last night and had to be taken to the emergency vet. He started heavily panting at midnight, about 4 hours after ingesting the hops and still had not stopped when we brought him to the vet at 6am. Hops cause a rapid increase in body temperature and rapid heartbeat. I should have brought him to the vet sooner, but did not make the connection until early in the morning.


From Wikipedia:
Hops, a plant used in making beer, can cause very bad things in dogs, usually with fatal results. Certain breeds, such as Greyhounds, seem particularly sensitive to hop toxicity, but hops should be kept away from all dogs. Even small amounts of hops can trigger a potentially deadly reaction, even if the hops are "spent" after use in brewing.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_health

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I think alot of this argument could have been avoided if the OP did not falsely quote Wikipedia and change "malignant hyperthermia" to "very bad things." I think it is bringing about images of hops being some kind of universal dangerous poison to dogs. Let people know the facts and then leave it up to them to decide how they want to handle their own situation. I suggest you edit that, shoebag22, for future readers of this thread.

Cheers!!

My dog also ate a mouthfull of hops, spent ones and I too had to rush her to the vet. My dog is a Boxer so its not just greyhounds, she began panting very heavily and her temp shot up as well. The vet didn't know anything about hops being poisonous to dogs so he call an animal poison control hotline. It turns out hops ARE very poisonous to dogs. Unused hops are worse then spent ones, but nonetheless keep all hops away from dogs, it cost me a couple hundred dollars to find this out. For those that don't believe hops are poisonous to dogs check out the ASPCA website
http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/71/Foods-That-Are-Hazardous-to-Dogs-.aspx or call the animal poison control hotline.

^^^^ yet another "unsubstantiated" claim....only if we had real proof

Quan said:

I think alot of this argument could have been avoided if the OP did not falsely quote Wikipedia and change "malignant hyperthermia" to "very bad things." I think it is bringing about images of hops being some kind of universal dangerous poison to dogs. Let people know the facts and then leave it up to them to decide how they want to handle their own situation. I suggest you edit that, shoebag22, for future readers of this thread.

Cheers!!

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I changed the quote after I was corrected regarding MH. I honestly don't care what the official diagnosis is, I just care that my dog reacted negatively to eating some hops. I will remove the wikipedia quote.

I think most of this debate was around the wording and the wikipedia isn't entirely correct; while the overall warning is good, the specifics are not. I don't think hops are poisonous to dogs, but they can trigger a strong allergic reaction. As mentioned earlier, peanuts arent poisonous, but some people are very allergic. Poison suggests that every dog that eats hops will get sick and this is obviously not true.
My dog did, your dog may not. It certainly made for an expensive batch of beer.

jrfuda said:

What's intersting is that there are several "remedies" you can buy for Dogs at Petsmart that contain hops and/or hop oil as an ingredient... maybe it's medicinal in extremely low doses? I've never purchased any of these, but stumbled on them while browsing products at petsmart.

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There's some crap at walmart they call dog food also
be careful!

shoebag22 said:

I changed the quote after I was corrected regarding MH. I honestly don't care what the official diagnosis is, I just care that my dog reacted negatively to eating some hops. I will remove the wikipedia quote.

I think most of this debate was around the wording and the wikipedia isn't entirely correct; while the overall warning is good, the specifics are not. I don't think hops are poisonous to dogs, but they can trigger a strong allergic reaction. As mentioned earlier, peanuts arent poisonous, but some people are very allergic. Poison suggests that every dog that eats hops will get sick and this is obviously not true.
My dog did, your dog may not. It certainly made for an expensive batch of beer.

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Im for one am glad you brought it up. anyway.

Hops
Cultivated hops used for brewing beer have been associated with potentially life-threatening signs in dogs who have ingested them. Both fresh and spent (cooked) hops have been implicated in poisoning dogs. Affected dogs develop an uncontrollably high body temperature (often greater than 108 degrees Fahrenheit), which results in damage to and failure of multiple organ systems. Dogs poisoned by hops become restless, pant excessively, and may have muscle tremors and seizures. Prompt veterinary intervention is necessary to prevent death in these dogs.

chef90 said:

There's some crap at walmart they call dog food also
be careful!

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YUP
LOL


But being serious it can be a problem so be careful. i know i am very careful when i weigh out hops.its not worth the risk of hurting the animal i care about

And another thing dogs are alergic to mushrooms so be careful with those too