So hops are fatal for dogs, what about other household pets?

[Flomaster]

my bitch Kahlua doesn't like beer but I'll keep the hops away from here after brew day for sure after reading this thread.

-=Jason=-

 

[Andybc555]

SumnerH - He was a rescue. We know his mom was mostly beagle, but his father must have run off and skipped town so we're not sure about his paternal lineage. He doesn't have the look of a greyhound, but who knows.

Yes, losing him would have been tough on me, and probably even more so on my pregnant wife. It probably would have dealt a death blow to my homebrewing.

 

[petey_c]

Sir Humpsalot, Actually dogs can choke on hamsters, if they're trying to eat them too quickly...

 

[Jayman931]

I had no idea....glad I don't have a dog!

 

[AustinBrewDawg]

My dog has been known to happily scarf down rotten birds, colored nylon rope as well as other animals' vomit and feces, but now I find out that chocolate, grapes AND hops are potentially lethal.

Funny creatures.

 

[8pawsbrewing]

Just be careful with beer and dogs...one of mine drank half a DFH 90 min IPA off a coffee table one NYE & was visibly drunk. Said dog also ate an entire pair of pantyhose, which was $1200 to surgically remove later.

 

[Jayman931]

I have plenty of friends that give their dogs beer....I think it has something to do with the hops that have already been boiled that makes them deadly...I doubt that a dog would eat a fresh raw hop....but maybe i'm wrong...

 

[JWS]

David-42 - actually telling someone they have nothing to worry about can also lead to problems. Simply quoting online text about a condition doesn't prove that it is or is not harmless. I will pipe in on this discussion, being a vet tech I can give an actual account of the problems. As stated before it is not known why the reaction occurs, but dogs that ingest hops, whether they have been boiled or not, is possibly harmful to the pet. Obviously, it depends on the matter of the occurance, size, type of dog, amount of hops ingested, all sorts of variables. I can personally tell that hops have been the reason for 5 canine deaths and 4 more pumped stomachs in 7 years at my ER clinic. To cover the talk about after boiled or not, I have seen both cases, either as said before spread around after boil, or simply the dog got the hops while the owner wasn't paying attention during prep for boil.

But to cover someone elses, question, I have not seen a cat yet with the problem. I would chalk it up to the fact that dogs will eat just about anything, where a cat is usually a little more picky.

 

[Jayman931]

I know I brought this back from the depths...but even thought I don't have a dog...I just kinda wanted to do my part....

 

[upperNY01brewer]

I had a Cocker Spaniel that had epilepsy and when it drank beer its seizures were less frequent and shorter, where as when he took the medicines the vet gave him they didnt work as well...Hmmm always wondered about that

 

[Bru]

While we're on the topic of dogs and beer...If Im not mistaken beer or anything alcoholic is very bad for dogs (and young children). Something to do with their not being able to metabolise the alcohol properly.
Maybe one of the vets can comment on this.

 

[JWS]

While we're on the topic of dogs and beer...If Im not mistaken beer or anything alcoholic is very bad for dogs (and young children). Something to do with their not being able to metabolise the alcohol properly.
Maybe one of the vets can comment on this.

Basically, without going into a long boring explanation, you are sort of correct. Basically, in humans, the ethanol is broken down by ADH into acetaldehyde, which is poisonous, and which is usually the cause of some people being allergic to alcohol. The acetaldehyde is then broken down by ALDH into Acetate which then is broken down into water (pee) and carbon dioxide (burps) to get it out of our system. Basically the dogs system does the same but is not able to break down the acetaldehye as quickly as humans, which means the poison is leaking into their system the whole time it is being broken down.

It obviously depends on the breed of dog, type of alcohol and amount taken in. That being said, some dogs don't really get affected. I have two dogs, one I found out loves Scotch, after she drank out of my glass one night. Sadly it was a REALLY good single malt which she decided to lap up. I have also heard that a full stomach helps if the dog has drank alcohol, but usually it has to eat first or eat right after because once they begin feelling sick, they will not want to eat.

 

[SHOOK]

"We're drinking Labrador, maaaaaaaan?"

 

[Jayman931]

From what I have read...greyhounds are effected alot if they eat Hops...I think the article said 7 of the 9 dogs that were studied after they died were greyhounds...so if you have greyhounds...act accordingly

 

[DerCribben]

Nobody ever replied to the actual question that this thread posed, are hops dangerous for animals ASIDE from dogs?

 

[MisterTipsy]

If you have a pet wolf or bear, don't feed it hops.

 

[FATC1TY]

My dog drinks beer. He loves ANY beer, but mostly craft beer, and he really loves stouts and IPA's.

How do I know? Because I pour a beer, and might get up to do something, and come back, and my beagle will have quietly emptied my glass without tipping it over or making a noise. He'll get drunk off his tail, and I hate when he does it, because he's obnoxious as a drunk.

That said, he's never gotten terminally ill, and only gets the runs and burps alot. I don't let him get near the hops in raw form though, urban legend or not, I love my little buddy, and wouldn't risk it.

 

[DerCribben]

If you have a pet wolf or bear, don't feed it hops.

My wife and I have pet rabbits and they ACTIVELY search out any vegetable matter that hits the floor. I found this thread while looking for toxicity information for rabbits because I had heard that they are poisonous to dogs. I was jsut racking to secondary/dry hopping today and as usual a few of the whole dried codes and or leaves hit the floor. I tried to make sure I didn't miss anything but you never know what may fall under a piece of furniture.

I definitely wouldn't ever feed them to them, thats pretty expensive rabbit food!