Growing hops with dogs.

FSR402 · Dec 2, 2007

When I started brewing I started with extract kits and they all said to keep the hops away from dogs because it could kill them.
Is this true?
I'm thinking of growing some hops this coming spring but the only good spot I have to do this is in my back yard where my dogs get to run.
I could fence some of it off to keep them out of it but there is always a chance that they could still get in there if they really wanted to. I'm just not so sure I want to risk it.

MikeFlynn74 · Dec 2, 2007

I doubt the dogs will chew on the grown hops. Thats just weird

david_42 · Dec 2, 2007

I've seen documentation of exactly one case of a dog eating hops and those were post-boil hops placed on a compost heap. I suspect the malt sugar had something to do with it. My greyhounds have shown zero interest in the hops and I know many other homebrewers with dogs & hop plants.

cheezydemon · Dec 2, 2007

The danger is real I assure you. Hops do kill dogs.

It happens when some poor bastard has babied a hop vine for2 years, the first year yielding .12 ounces of hops, but he is hopeful for this year.
The dog is barking at the landscapers that the people next door have hired and, barking like a freak from hell, barrels head long into the hop vine which has been planted by the fence, severing it at the ground (it was in full bloom, the scent of cascades wafting on the breeze) . Said "would be" hops grower bludgeons the dog with his gas grill which happened to be nearby, thus killing the dog.

And so you see,......consider carefully planting hops where a dog might concieveably kill it, thus killing himself.

Fingers · Dec 2, 2007

You killed Old Yeller?

cheezydemon · Dec 2, 2007

Not me....it was the guy in the story! Damn it pay attention!

Fingers · Dec 2, 2007

You killed the guy in the story?

gogoplata · Dec 2, 2007

I always heard that and wondered as well. Figured there had to be some sort of truth behind it but it could also be breed specific (like chocolate and dogs). Some are just more sensitive than others.

Baldy_Beer_Brewery · Dec 2, 2007

Fingers said:
You killed the guy in the story?

The guy in the story had it coming to him for abusing a grill like that.

CodeRage · Dec 2, 2007

Back to the topic. I have my yard fenced in with an invisible fence. I plan on branching off the fence and creating another no go zone around the hops. May work for you too.

FSR402 · Dec 3, 2007

I have two 12 pound Italian Greyhounds. They are small but damn fast. They have a top speed of 30mph and can reach that in less then 10 feet. So the invisible fencing does not work for them. They could be thru it to fast, and I tell you what, when they are locked onto a squirrel you could hit them with a hammer and it would not stop them. lol

The other problem is that they will eat anything at least twice.

Maybe what I will do is to do a double fence one close to the hops and one about a foot away from that.

cheezydemon · Dec 3, 2007

Are we sure that there is any basis for this? Do dogs have a bad reaction to hemp or pot? ( I am certain that they do not react well to grills, so I thought I was on topic)

CodeRage · Dec 3, 2007

FSR402 said:
Maybe what I will do is to do a double fence one close to the hops and one about a foot away from that.

The one I have sends a signal 3 ft out from either side of the fence/antenna. So it gives yah a 6 foot barrier. You can loop the antenna around 3 feet outside an inner loop and you'll have 12 feet. You would have to be very determined to get through that

.

FSR402 · Dec 3, 2007

Virtuous said:
The one I have sends a signal 3 ft out from either side of the fence/antenna. So it gives yah a 6 foot barrier. You can loop the antenna around 3 feet outside an inner loop and you'll have 12 feet. You would have to be very determined to get through that .

Have you ever seen a sight hound go after something that's moving? There is nothing in the world more determined then that. Some times I feel sorry for my cat, good thing she's pointy on 5 ends.

david_42 · Dec 3, 2007

The other problem is that they will eat anything at least twice.

Iggies weren't bred for brains.

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/comlist.html Humulus lupulus is not listed on this rather comprehensive list. Nor does http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/ site have anything on it.

FSR402 · Dec 3, 2007

david_42 said:
Iggies weren't bred for brains.

http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/comlist.html Humulus lupulus is not listed on this rather comprehensive list. Nor does http://www.vet.ohio-state.edu/ site have anything on it.

No they are not. If they were not so damn cute I would have killed them a long time ago.

I'll start working on how and where I will grow the hops and see what I can come up with to keep them out of it just in case. I also have someone with some big greenhouses that is talking about growing some for me.

JnJ · Dec 3, 2007

Vet friends have told me they(hop plants) can kill dogs. I mentioned to one vet that I was homebrewing and the firt things she said was "keep the hops away from your dogs".

FSR402 · Dec 3, 2007

JnJ said:
Vet friends have told me they(hop plants) can kill dogs. I mentioned to one vet that I was homebrewing and the firt things she said was "keep the hops away from your dogs".

Maybe I could feed some to the dog a few streets away that likes to bark at me when I run at night. And then just sit back and wait to see what it does. :cross:

kinison_fan · Dec 3, 2007

I seem to recall reading it gives them heart palpitations or heart failure.
That said, I've had some hop vines for several years, and neither of my dogs have showed any interest in the vines.

mcaustin · Dec 3, 2007

MikeFlynn74 said:
I doubt the dogs will chew on the grown hops. Thats just weird

It may sound weird, but I caught our dogs (English and French Bulldogs) trying to steal hop buds from my hops when they were growing up my deck posts this past summer. They also tried to eat the leaves before any hops had a chance to bud.

Austin

Austinhomebrew · Dec 3, 2007

If I remember correctly it only applies to certain breeds but I would be extremely careful. The hops cause their body temperature to go up until they die. I don't allow any dogs in my store.

If ound this on the interweb:

BREWERS ALERT:

Dispose of sparged hops in a secure and safe fashion.

Hops Toxicity in Dogs:

We have received a report from a brewer whose dog died as a result of eating the spent hops from a 15-gallon batch of Irish Stout.

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.

Ingestion of hops results in malignant hyperthermia, an uncontrollable fever. The first symptom to become obvious to an owner is heavy panting. Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) will also be present, at up to 200 beats per minute. Temperature may rise as quickly as a 2 degrees F every five minutes. Carbon dioxide levels in the blood rise dramatically. Recommended treatment seems to be cold water baths to keep temperatures down, and a quick trip to the vet for temperature control and antibiotics.
Forrest

david_42 · Dec 3, 2007

Malignant hyperthermia is a RARE genetic disease of muscle tissue, so it is extremely unlikely that this report is valid. The only treatment is an injection of the muscle relaxant Dantrolene. The only test for the problem is a muscle biopsy. Greyhounds owners tend to be "associative" hypochondriacs and panic at the smallest problem. (I see this all the time on greyhound boards and at meetings). More likely, the greyhounds were stressing from over-eating.

Philip1993 · Dec 3, 2007

FSR402 said:
I have two 12 pound Italian Greyhounds. They are small but damn fast. They have a top speed of 30mph and can reach that in less then 10 feet. So the invisible fencing does not work for them. They could be thru it to fast

Try the wireless version. When they cross it, it doesn't stop until they come home...

Austinhomebrew · Dec 4, 2007

david_42 said:
Malignant hyperthermia is a RARE genetic disease of muscle tissue, so it is extremely unlikely that this report is valid. The only treatment is an injection of the muscle relaxant Dantrolene. The only test for the problem is a muscle biopsy. Greyhounds owners tend to be "associative" hypochondriacs and panic at the smallest problem. (I see this all the time on greyhound boards and at meetings). More likely, the greyhounds were stressing from over-eating.

I would err on the side of caution. I found this on Wikipedia with a credible source:

Hops are particularly dangerous and even small quantities can lead to malignant hyperthermia.[42]

[42]: ^ Duncan, K. L.; W. R. Hare and W. B. Buck (1997-01-01). "Malignant hyperthermia-like reaction secondary to ingestion of hops in five dogs". Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 210 (1): 51-4. PubMed.

Germey · Dec 4, 2007

Man,
Hops are gettin more like pot every day this year.
Payin' a days pay for a dime bag, and now I gotta hide it from the kids too.

Chris_Dog · Dec 4, 2007

Germey said:
Man,
Hops are gettin more like pot every day this year.
Payin' a days pay for a dime bag, and now I gotta hide it from the kids too.

LOL... Also when you get a pound you need to weigh it out a put them in baggies

Chris_Dog · Dec 4, 2007

Sorry that was a bit off topic and I am really interested in this thread. l would hate to see it go off the rails.

FSR402 · Dec 4, 2007

Austinhomebrew said:
If I remember correctly it only applies to certain breeds but I would be extremely careful. The hops cause their body temperature to go up until they die. I don't allow any dogs in my store.

If ound this on the interweb:

BREWERS ALERT:

Dispose of sparged hops in a secure and safe fashion.

Hops Toxicity in Dogs:

We have received a report from a brewer whose dog died as a result of eating the spent hops from a 15-gallon batch of Irish Stout.

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.

Ingestion of hops results in malignant hyperthermia, an uncontrollable fever. The first symptom to become obvious to an owner is heavy panting. Tachycardia (rapid heartbeat) will also be present, at up to 200 beats per minute. Temperature may rise as quickly as a 2 degrees F every five minutes. Carbon dioxide levels in the blood rise dramatically. Recommended treatment seems to be cold water baths to keep temperatures down, and a quick trip to the vet for temperature control and antibiotics.
Forrest

Thanks for the info.
Thats what the paper in the brewers best kits say it does.

I'm going to figure out how I can keep them out of it without making it a huge pain to get my car in and out of the back garage.

FSR402 · Dec 4, 2007

I think this is the site you were at? LINKY

Chris_Dog · Dec 4, 2007

Do we know if horses can have a similar reaction?

Growing hops with dogs.

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