Hops and Dogs

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Mutilated1

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Seems like a read somewhere that hops may be toxic to dogs. Is this true ?

I kind of doubt my dog would eat them anyway, but she's allergic to everything in the world anyway and I don't want to make her sick.

The reason I was wondering is because I have an 7ft tall chainlink dog kennel out in my backyard thats kind of an eyesore, SWMBO and I were thinking that it might be pretty if I let the hops overgrow it. Give them something to climb on, and make the dog pen less of an eyesore.

Good idea ?
 
No, hops are not a problem.

I have greyhounds. I've done the research. On Vet sites, not forums.
 
alot of the kits that you order say that hops are fatal to dogs. i seen some natural meds in petco yesterday and the #2 ingerident on the bottle was dried hops so im not sure who to belive.
 
Mutilated1 said:
Seems like a read somewhere that hops may be toxic to dogs. Is this true ?

I kind of doubt my dog would eat them anyway, but she's allergic to everything in the world anyway and I don't want to make her sick.

The reason I was wondering is because I have an 7ft tall chainlink dog kennel out in my backyard thats kind of an eyesore, SWMBO and I were thinking that it might be pretty if I let the hops overgrow it. Give them something to climb on, and make the dog pen less of an eyesore.

Good idea ?

I think the toxicity was to greyhounds mostly, and one unconfirmed Golden, if I remember correctly. I think Malignant Hyperthermia was the result....

My dogs have gotten into hops before without problems. The scent is like a T-bone to them. I'd take David's advice.
 
My references are the Ohio State vet school, the Oregon University Vet school and the National Animal Poison Control Center. They all say no.

Malignant Hyperthermia is a genetic disease.
 
I agree to not worry. I've not done the research on large amounts of hops being eaten by dogs causing issues. But I plan to grow the hops anyway even with a dog, I'm pretty sure he won't try to eat well... any plant.

The only concern would be spent hops since they are covered with sugar, those I just put somewhat deeply in the compost pile.
 
David 42:
As i do some of my own research on this issue I have come across your posts in several threads. Here is my story:

My 65 lb, mixed breed dog is currently spending the night at the emergency vet after ingesting spent hop pellets that i was using as compost in my garden.

Last night I brewed a batch, and when i was done spread the spent hops and grains in my garden. This morning my wife got up before me and let the dog out around 9am. She left home to run errands before I got up. When I did get up I noticed the dog was lying around being a bit lethargic and panting excessively. We hadn't made it out for our walk the day before, so I figured he might need some exercise. We went for a walk and he had a BM that was a bit loose and slightly greenish. We came home and he laid back down and continued the panting. This was around 1pm.

My wife came home around 2pm and took notice of the fact that he was panting and not acting like himself. At this point she told me that he had gotten into something in the garden. I started to make the connection between his symptoms and him getting into the garden where I had just dumped the spent hops, but since he has eaten many odd things in the two years we've had him I figured it would run through his system eventually just like everything else had before.

At about 4:30-5 the panting had gotten heavier and his ears were hot. He couldn't seem to cool off, and was unable to relax. If you've had a dog you can look in their face and tell that something is wrong. I looked online and got concerned after reading about hops causing hyperthermia: the symptoms seemed to fit so we took him to the emergency vet. They called animal poison control who CONFIRMED THAT HOPS ARE TOXIC TO DOGS. It was too late to induce vomiting they told me so they would try to flush out what they could and keep him overnight.

I just got off the phone at 10pm with the vet and my dog is not out of the woods yet. They have administered an IV and catheter and are monitoring him. Temperature is still high, and heart rate is fast.

Not that its about money, but I've already spent $1200, and expect to spend more to get him through this.

Apparently some breads are more susceptible to suffering adverse effects from ingesting hops. REGARDLESS, YOU SHOULD ASSUME HOPS ARE TOXIC FOR YOUR DOG.
 
I think the problem is with spent hops. That is hops that have already been used in your recipie

Dogs are more likely to eat the used hops because they've soaked up the sweet wort.

Hops do not cause Malignant Hyperthermia, but they can set it off if your dog has it. Grayhounds are prone to Malignant Hyperthermia, but the odds are that your non grayhound is not. Personally, I fence off the area that I grow my hops so that my shepard/lab can't get to them. I'm sure nothing would happen if he did, but I don't want to take the chance. This summer, I'm going to be more worried about the tomatoes because he decided they taste great off the vine.
 
I think we go through this every year, so here is my two cents worth! My dog died from ingesting FRESH hops from my vines! The vet did a necropsy and found them in her stomach and ruled it the cause of death due to malignant hyperthermia. She was a border collie, lab mix. It can happen to any dog!

Here is some reading for everyone.

Hops, a plant used in making beer, can cause malignant hyperthermia 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

Unbeknownst to most vets, at least eight cases of hop toxicity in dogs have been recorded by the National Animal Poison Control Center at the University of Illinois in Urbana, IL. Seven of the dogs have been Greyhounds, with one remaining case being a Labrador Retriever cross.

http://www.fallbright.com/HopToxicity.htm

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f92/growing-hops-dogs-46706/

This is a warning that the ingestion of used hops from home brewing can be fatal to dogs. Some breeds have a toxic reaction that triggers the onset of Malignant Hyperthermia (MH), a life threatening condition in which the body uncontrollably overheats. Do not mulch your used hops - seal them in a container and dispose of in the trash!

http://www.bme.ogi.edu/~ericwan/DOG/hops.html

A study conducted by the National Animal Poison Control Center, University of Illinois in Urbana in 1995 showed this to be true. Of the eight dogs, seven were Greyhounds, one was a Labrador Retriever, all cases were fatal. The dogs had ingested spent hops. Dogs are attracted to the sweet wort covering the hops.

http://www.brewersfriend.com/2010/05/09/hops-and-dogs/

http://www.thebrewingnetwork.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=11353

http://www.examiner.com/beer-in-national/poisoned-after-brewing-beer-used-hops-can-kill-your-dog

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/6010680/brewers_beware_hops_poisoning_in_dogs.html

http://www.mountainupdate.com/mountain_brew_club/2010/01/spent-hops-can-kill-your-dog.html

http://beeradvocate.com/forum/read/1319080



This might make a good sticky!
 
chemman14: Rather than argue about the nuances of Malignant Hyperthermia can we all just agree to recommend that hops be kept away from dogs?

thantos: Sorry for your loss. Thanks for the resources.
 
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