Which mushrooms are dangerous for dogs?

Dangerous Mushrooms for Dogs: These 8 Can Kill Your Dog

Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, but one of the major downsides is that dangerous mushrooms for dogs pop up everywhere.

They can really take some of the fun out of all those wonderful fall activities like long walks, hikes, corn mazes and pumpkin patches!

All about dangerous mushrooms for dogs

Disclaimer: This blog post was originally published in 2015 and has been updated in 2023. It contains affiliate links I may earn compensation through at no additional cost to you. 

Do you remember the media buzz around Dwayne Johnson and his pup Brutus after he had ingested a toxic mushroom?

As a result, Brutus passed!

It was a tragic reminder about the fact that many mushrooms can kill our dogs, which led me to put together a list of the 8 deadliest. 

8 Dangerous Mushrooms for Dogs

The following 8 mushrooms are the most dangerous, i.e. toxic, ones for dogs!

  • Amanita Muscaria, more commonly known as โ€œFly Agaricโ€œ. It has a bright, red cap with white spots. Apparently is emits a fishy odor which attracts dogs.
  • Helvella Lacunosa, more commonly known as โ€œElfโ€™s Saddleโ€œ. It has a grey saddle-like cap and an off-white/greyish stem.
  • Amanita Phalloides, more commonly known as โ€œDeath Capโ€œ. It has a white/greenish cap and causes liver & kidney failure.
  • Amanita Gemmata, more commonly known as โ€œJeweled Death Capโ€œ. It has a yellow/brownish cap with white spots.
  • Galerina Marginata, more commonly known as โ€œAutumn Galerinaโ€. It has a brown cap, and belongs to the category of โ€œlittle brown mushroomsโ€. It pops up on lawns and in forests, especially after heavy rain.
  • Inocybe Mushrooms. They have small, conical caps, which flatten with age, and can be frayed. They emit a musty odor, and contain muscarine, a natural product which is toxic.
  • Clitocybe Mushrooms. They have sloping heads with whitish gills running down the stems. They also contain the natural, toxic product muscarine.
  • False Morel. This mushroom resembles the edible morel, but is toxic! Unlike the morel, the stem & cap of the false morel arenโ€™t connected and are hollow. The stems are covered with white mycelium.
8 dangerous mushrooms for dogs

Symptoms of Mushroom Poisoning in Dogs

If your dog ate a bad mushroom, expect to see any of these symptoms anywhere between 15 minutes to 6 hours after he ate it:

  • Stomach upset: Vomiting & diarrhea
  • Weakness
  • Lack of coordination
  • Tremors
  • Disorientation
  • Seizures

How Canine Mushroom Poisoning is Classified

The degree of the toxicity determines how a case of canine mushroom poisoning is classified.

There are 4 groups of mushroom poisoning:

  • A covers the most toxic mushrooms, which destroy the cells of the liver & the kidney, and are ultimately deadly.
  • B & C disturb the nervous system, causing shaking, convulsions, weakness, drooling, and collapse.
  • D affects the gastrointestinal system, causing vomiting, (bloody) diarrhea, and abdominal cramps.

Help, My Dog Ate A Mushroom In The Grass!

If you suspect that your dog has ingested a potentially toxic mushroom, especially if displaying one or several of the above mentioned symptoms, take him to your vet ASAP. 

Induce Vomiting with 3% Hydrogen Peroxide

If your pup is conscious and you have 3% Hydrogen Peroxide handy, you can induce vomiting to help your pup get rid of as much of the mushroom as possible.

This can be done up to an hour after he ingested the mushroom.

See about feeding your pup a small amount of food, that will help bring up the stomach contents with the 3% Hydrogen Peroxide.

Give 1-2 teaspoons for every 10lbs of body weight. It’s easiest to administer it with a feeding syringe for dogs.

Try to Bring a Specimen of the Mushroom for Analysis

Wrap it in a moist paper towel or place it in a paper bag, but do not use a plastic bag.

That’s because mushrooms break down quickly in plastic.

Your vet might send it in to a mycologist (a mushroom expert).

You can also bring some of your dog’s vomit if he threw up.

Tip: If your pup is experiencing mild gastrointestinal symptoms, you can also give them slippery elm syrup.

You can make it at home from slippery elm bark powder.

It soothes your pup’s digestive system by coating the digestive tract.

Making frozen slippery elm syrup pops for dogs
Slippery elm bark syrup

Veterinary Treatment for Mushroom Poisoning

Your vet may also give your dog activated charcoal in order to absorb the toxins in the stomach and the gastrointestinal area.

Another treatment approach are fluids in order to rehydrate and to increase the need to urinate.

This helps flush out the toxins from the dogโ€™s system.

Depending on the severity of the intoxication, the vet may induce vomiting to remove as much of the mushroom(s) from your dog’s system.

Your vet may also do bloodwork to monitor your pup’s liver and kidney values.

Dangerous Mushrooms for Dogs: Prevention Tips

  • Check your yard and other exterior areas your dog frequents for mushrooms on a regular, daily basis, and remove them.
  • You might want to increase that frequency when it’s pouring rain because thatโ€™s when many mushroom species pop up.
  • Be on the lookout for wild mushrooms when out hiking and walking, especially if your dog is roaming around off-leash. Consider keeping your pup on a long leash instead.
  • Teach your dog a solid “leave it” command as a backup plan should he sniff one out before you can remove it.
  • Have 3% Hydrogen Peroxide in your pet first aid kit.

Mushrooms In My NC Yard

When I do yard work here in the Piedmont part of North Carolina, I often remove a bunch of mushrooms that I come across when I’m raking pine needles and leaves.

Did you know that there are 7 mushrooms that can kill your dog?

I tried to do some research about the mushrooms I’m typically dealing with, and I believe I may have been able to identify 2 species:

1) Phylloporus Leucomycelinus. Commonly known as a bolete with gill-like pores.

It’s an edible mushroom occurring in North America (as well as in the Philipines), which grows near beech and oak trees.

We have 2 oak trees in our yard, so that would make sense. Their distinctive feature is the white mycelium at the base of their stems (mycelium is the vegetative part of the fungus).

Did you know that there are 7 mushrooms that can kill your dog?

2) Xerocomus Subtomentosus. Commonly known as the โ€œYellow-Cracked Boleteโ€œ, it has a tan cap and yellow pores underneath.

It’s also an edible mushroom in the family of the Boletaceae, and is found in North America, as well as in Eurasia & Australia.

It occurs around cone-bearing trees, such as pines, cedars, douglas-firs, firs, etc.

We have 12 pine trees in our yard, so this would make sense as well.

I also often remove little brown mushrooms, as well as white ones, which I wasnโ€™t able to identify. The brown mushrooms in our yard do not look like the toxic ones I mentioned above.

Mushrooms on a fall walk

Either way, I wonโ€™t let potentially toxic mushrooms spoil our packโ€™s fall fun, but I will check our yard on a daily basis, and also be alert on our walks & hikes! 

Happy fall everyone!

If you want to know for sure what youโ€™re dealing with, be proactive and send in the mushroom(s) in question to a mycologist.

Most universities have such a department.

Related Fall Reading:

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Barbara launched her blog K9sOverCoffee in 2014 and has been feeding her dogs raw dog food since 2015. As a former professional dog walker, she’s passionate about balancing species-appropriate exercise with healthy dog nutrition. Barbara is raw dog food nutrition certified from “Dogs Naturally Magazine” and the author of several e-books about minimally processed, balanced raw dog food.


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16 responses to “Dangerous Mushrooms for Dogs: These 8 Can Kill Your Dog”

  1. Dawn Avatar

    I’ve seen the Clitocybes and death caps in our yard before. I didn’t know they were poisonous, but didn’t take any chances and got rid of them as soon as possible. Maya would so eat them, if given half a chance.

    1. Barbara Rivers Avatar

      Oh wow! I haven’t seen any poisonous ones in our backyard so far…at least not knowingly…I’ve been patrolling our yard like a crazy person lately and pulling out each and every mushroom I’ve noticed! Our pups have never shown any interest in mushrooms as of yet, but I’m not taking any chances!!

  2. Karen Goodman Avatar

    The timing of this is perfect. I actually snapped an Instagram photo of a front yard that I walk by on our daily walks every day that was filled with mushrooms. Without seeing a lot more pictures, I can’t know if they are the same as the toxic brown ones, but I like your philosophy of keeping the dogs away from all mushrooms just to be safe.

    Question – are edible vs toxic mushrooms the same for dogs and people?

    1. Barbara Rivers Avatar

      It seems to be really hard to differentiate between different species of mushrooms, especially those “Little Brown Mushrooms”, as the different kinds really do look very similar! That’s a really good question, and I’m still trying to answer that one myself. The 7 toxic mushrooms I listed in the article are toxic for both humans AND dogs. I couldn’t find a trustworthy source stating that those mushrooms which are edible for us are also ok to eat for dogs. I have never heard of or read anywhere that dogs could/should actually eat mushrooms, so I’m erring on the side of caution. We should be able to get a decent answer from a vet and a mycologist…I will stay on this!

  3. MilitaryWifeandPugLife Avatar

    Oh yes. These damn things pop up in the yard after a rain. BabyBelle has accidentally ate them and gotten sick. I normally get them all up but of course I have pugs who eat faster than I can move!! I hate mushrooms!

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      Oh no, poor Baby Belle…yes, with the amount of rain we’ve been having lately they are all over our yard.

  4. Julie Smith Avatar
    Julie Smith

    This is good information to know. Especially if you have a dog that likes to put everything in their mouth like Cocoa!! With all the rain I’ll bet the issue is really bad in some places.

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      Exactly – I have a few client dogs who are just like Cocoa. Thankfully my pups are no longer in that phase, but I still pick up every single mushroom I see in our yard…avoiding extra vet expenses whenever I can ๐Ÿ˜‰

  5. De Hufford Avatar

    Mushrooms can be pretty bad!

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      Yes – pretty scary that such a little plant can wreak such havoc.

  6. Elaine Avatar

    Haley’s never bothered mushrooms before either but I’m definitely going to pick and remove them from the yard now. They only show up a few times a year but I would hate for her to eat one and get sick (or worse). Thanks for putting this together!

    I just realized a little while ago that my Feedly hasn’t been updating your RSS feed for some reason. I even refreshed it, but the last one that shows up is from the end of September. All the other blogs I follow are updating, but it still could be something on my end maybe.

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      Haley sounds like Missy & Buzz, but it’s always a good idea to be safe rather than sorry ๐Ÿ™‚

      Thank you so much for letting me know about the RSS feed – I was using a mediocre RSS widget that may have stopped being compatible with the new theme I started using a few weeks ago! I switched over to FeedBurner now.

  7. Diana Avatar
    Diana

    I lost my little pup Donato, a 6 month old Bernese Mt. Dog to a Deathcap. Since then I’ve been trying to spread the word about mushroom toxicity and have been passing out posters and mushroom alert cards…and have started a blog. http://www.mushrooms911.blogspot.com

    Thanks for writing this article and getting the word out.

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      Oh my gosh, Diana, I am so, so sorry to hear about Donato’s passing. Thank you very much for sharing your blog about mushroom toxicity – I will spread the word about it as well. I keep removing mushrooms from my dog walking clients’ yards (and our own, of course) whenever I see one – I bag them in poop bags since I always have those on me, and then throw them out. Not taking any chances!!

  8. Jan K, Wag N Woof Pets Avatar
    Jan K, Wag N Woof Pets

    I remember another blog, I think they have pugs, who lost one of their young dogs to a poisonous mushroom. Most of the ones I see in our yard aren’t as colorful or obvious as the ones you showed here, but I pull up any I see anyway, just to be on the safe side!

    1. K9sOverCoffee Avatar

      That’s just terrible. I see the Jeweled Death Caps every year when out on hikes in forests, but also in people’s yards!! There are a lot of pine trees here in the Piedmont part of NC and apparently those mushrooms really like to grow near them. Whenever I see some, I pull them out too.

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