First, take your dog to the vet or the emergency vet center in your area. The sooner the better, so they can induce vomiting (if your dog didn't vomit already).

When you get there, your vet will likely have no clue about hop toxicity. Call the National Animal Poison Control Center (NAPCC) at 800-548-2423 and have them talk to your vet about treatment. When I called them and told them that my dog ate hops, the vet on call said, "You've got a big problem".

Eating hops causes hyperthermia, the opposite of hypothermia, and their temperature will skyrocket and if left untreated, their temp will get out of control. My dog's got to 104.1, but in some case studies the dogs temps got to 108 (then they died).

Pellet hop ingestion seems to be slightly less harmful than whole/plug hop ingestion, but all forms can kill.

My dog survived - my lab ate about 5 oz of hops coated in wort that for some reason I thought I'd spread out in the yard rather than dump in the trash as I usually do. He threw up about 3 hours later, and recognizing hop pellet residue when I saw it, I started researching what I needed to do. I actually found some sites that said hop-toxicity was false. They were wrong.

$500 later plus the $60 flat consulting fee paid to the Poison Control Center, an overnight stay at the emergency vet, Kuai is back home and doing fine.

Wow, glad to hear your dog is okay.

As a guy who is planning on getting a dog in the next year or so, this is great info to have.

For those who grow their own hops at home, how do you protect them from your dogs (or vice versa)? Do they readily seek out the vines given the free-roaming opportunity?

Generally, hops on the bine aren't of interest to dogs. What they really like is hops that have been soaked in sweet wort.

Is this just an issue with dogs?

Is this just an issue with dogs?

No- i like hops and sweet wort too.

Please tell us you don't lick your uhhhh, well never mind.

Bob, as far as I know it's just dogs. And certain breeds (sight hounds, greyhounds) seem to be more susceptible to it than others for some reason.

I have a German Short Haired Pointer and three cats. The cats don't seem to be too interested when I brew but the dog is right in there with me. She likes to clean up the spills. The hop issue with dogs makes me wonder about letting her have wort or beer at all. She never gets very much and I haven't really seen an adverse reaction.

You funny Slim Sparty!

Any form of alcohol is not good for animals.

"Any form of alcohol is not good for animals. "

Humans included.

I'll have to take a little more care so she doesn't work clean-up duty. Now I'll have to mop the floor!

I'm glad you posted this. I compost my hops and the dogs can get to them. I'll be more careful. Suprised they have not got them they eat plastic and everything else. I do question the chocolete thing after they went through a lb or so. They got in the xmass presents.

Dogs+too much Christmas Chocolate = not pretty

Onions and ibuprofen/acetominiphen too.
(The latter would seem common sense, but most animals can tolerate small doses of the drugs whereas it's very very toxic to dogs.)

WOW- We don't have a pooch, but neighbors do. I'll have to remember to not leave hops out.

From my understanding-NO chocolate for dogs!

Mike!

When i looked that the thread titlle, before i clicked into it, i thought it was gonna be some kind of joke type thread...expected to see summit like...Get the shot gun out, swing the dog round by his tail like a helicopter.......hold him over the brew kettle for 60 mins...or even ask the misses for some for money....along them lines! Im gald the dogs ok! Just a few bucks lighter..YOU WONT BE ABLE TO BUY ANY HOPS NOW??


Richard

Well, I'll still be able to buy hops, but the dog is almost at his lifetime deductible!

I'm with Richard, I was going to suggest "get a cat" but seeing how much you care for your dog I didn't say that. Oh,
the chocolate thing? My daughter has a yellow lab, I swear the dog has ADD, which ate two pounds of German chocolate. Yep, a trip to the aniamal emergency room and many dollars later the dog came home.

Thanks for posting this.

I am new to brewing and have a dog that sits in the basement with me when I brew. I wasn't aware that hops are toxic to (some/all?) dogs.

Also was thinking about following the dog around with a baggie (ala Chong)

Glad your dog's ok

Thanks, guys for the sentiments.

Someone asked if it was just dogs, or other species. I had the ASPCA fax me the report that appeared in the January 1, 1997 edition of JAVMA, titled "Malignant hyperthermia-like reaction secondary to ingestion of hops in five dogs".

Hyperthermia can occur in all dogs, cats, horses and pigs.

Cat the other white meat..... Don't get a creepy sneaky kniving cat.... save your furniture.... Besides cat's don't go hunting...

Hi Mike, could you please explain what treatments your dog had to undergo at the vet? Is there anything we can do prior to arrival at the clinic, other than trying to induce vomiting, such as cold packs? Thank you, very glad your dog is O.K.

"Besides cat's don't go hunting..."

Yeah, well I have a yellow lab and doberman mix. Both of them are afraid of gunshots.

I accidentally left a bag of whole leaf hops out one night and my dog tore a corner off the bag but did not eat any of the hops. I'm pretty sure the only reason they go after them in first place is because their covered with sweet wort. So I wouldn't worry about hop plants.

Also, I saw someone mentioned Ibuprofen. Yeah, extremely toxic to dogs. A year later I'm still paying off the credit cards for that one.

Hey Malone,
I suppose you could try ice packs but if you catch it right away, but I would just head for the vet. They can take your dog's temp and assess if that's necessary. Not sure how you'd get your dog to lie still to ice-pack him anyway.

The treatment involved induced vomitting, charcoal, rapid IV, and this drug: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyproheptadine

Mike can you post their information in detail? I'd like to have it available, just in case.

"assess if that's necessary."

I think there always necessary. lol

"Also was thinking about following the dog around with a baggie (ala Chong)"

"I think its got some Labrador in it..."

ROFLOL Lab n Chinook... really it is ocifer...

"Besides cat's don't go hunting..."

Mine does. He went into the basement and hunted up a few mice that were trying to get at my grain. I think that's a good enough reason to have him around.

My dog doesn't seem to be too interested in the hops, but Bernie's took a trip to the animal ER when the doberman ate a few ounces. It was after hours and on a weekend so I think the bill ran around $1500.