Dogs and hops

I'm glad your dog is doing ok now! What a worry.

And for those of you who are arguing about some wording, shame on you! Someone is sharing their own experience, and you're arguing semantics here.

Many things can be toxic to dogs, from chocolate to antifreeze. Telling someone that their experience is invalid because you don't agree with their telling of it is ridiculous. Stop arguing. Do what your mother always told you- "If you can't say something nice, then don't say anything at all."
Signed,
Mom

I'm glad this was mentioned. I've got a greyhound also, and although they are typically extremely healthy dogs, they are more sensitive/susceptible to some things than other breeds. A lot of vets aren't even aware of this because they aren't dogs that you see everyday (unless you have a really bad gambling problem and spend a lot of time at the track). Luckily my boy is usually crapped out on the couch the whole time I'm brewing. He does love to steal any booze that may be at head level. I've read that sometimes after races the handlers will rub liquor on their gums to help them calm down, so maybe they develop a taste for booze early on. Either way, I still think its good to know that a dog COULD react to something, even if it probably won't. Better safe than dead.

Although the dogs in the original case file were Greyhounds, it is true of all dogs. It is neither an allergy nor a genetic flaw in dogs that causes hyperthermia, it is however their reaction to unknown compounds in the hops that does cause the inability to regulate and control (and lower) their body core temperature.

My lab ingested my post-boil discard, threw up several hours later; I called the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) at 800-548-2423 (keep this number for reference) and was told, "you have a serious problem, take down this case number, and rush your dog to the nearest Emergency Vet clinic. Give them this number and have them call us for instructions, because they won't know how to treat."

I did and they didn't (know) - the treatment involved charcoal, cold saline, ice packs - trying to keep my dog's temp from running beyond 104. He made it and was fine in about a day and a half.

There is an actual no-****, non--Wikipedia study done at UC Davis veterinary school, published in January 1, 1997 edition of JAVMA, titled "Malignant hyperthermia-like reaction secondary to ingestion of hops in five dogs". I believe that JAVMA is a more credible source than Wiki (although Wiki for sure got it right).

Hyperthermia can occur in all dogs, cats, horses and pigs. I have it (the article reprint) on my other computer.

For the poster who discounted the OP because of Wiki (500 monkeys...), sorry, you're plain wrong. Don't mix dogs and hops.

steinsato said:

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.

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Probably not the best way to test it. My dog will eat just about anything if i hand it to him. One example is baby carrots. If I give it to him, he will eat it. If he randomly comes across one, he wont pay it any attention.

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.

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As a new home brewer, I have just learned this fact the hard way, and have realized that not nearly enough people are aware of this. After completing a batch of IPA, I disposed of the grains and hops in our compost bin which seemed a perfectly appropriate thing to do. One of our dogs, a 9 year Lab who was prone to eat just about anything, and had always survived the consequences , broke into the bin and ingested the equivalent of about 8 ounces of dried hops. By the time she was showing symptoms it was too late. She died the following morning. Our second dog, a mix, ate a small bit, but recovered quickly. All I can do now is beat the drum and try to inform everyone I encounter who home brews, or has family members that home brew, to take every precaution if they have dogs - particularly Labs and Hounds that hops are particularly poisonous to. Of the people I have talked to about this, not a single one was aware of the danger. We all need to work to change that.

I'm not sure how many breeds are affected.
There's another thread about a brewer who lost his golden retriever.
To be safe, no dog should ever eat hops in any form.

There is a sticky in the 'General Beer Discussion' forum.
Could we have a new sticky in the 'Beginning Brewers' forum?