How to Protect Your Dog from Toxic Mushrooms
To protect your dog from toxic mushrooms, carefully inspect the ground for mushrooms and remove any that you find before letting your dog roam freely. When you take your dog for a walk, firmly direct it away from any wild mushrooms you encounter. Even though toxic mushrooms are rare, they often smell especially attractive to dogs. If your dog eats a wild mushroom, call your veterinarian, an emergency pet hospital, or an animal poison control center, even if it doesn't appear to be reacting badly. Before you leave the site, collect any pieces of the mushroom you can and put them in a paper bag. Identifying the mushroom your dog ate will help with your dog's treatment.
Direct dogs away from mushrooms. When taking your dog for a walk, don't let it get too close to wild mushrooms. Your dog may pull and be insistent about wanting to sniff, or chomp, a mushroom, but you should be firm and resolute about keeping it away. Most mushrooms you will come into contact with will not be poisonous. In fact, ninety nine percent are not toxic. However, one percent are and those will make your dog very ill, or even kill it. Don't assume that your dog will know the difference between edible and toxic mushrooms. There are some toxic mushrooms that are especially attractive to dogs, as they smell "fishy." Inspect areas for mushrooms. If you are going to let your dog roam free in an area, you should be sure it is free of hazards, including mushrooms. It is easy to do this in a small yard, as you can do a routine scan of the area quickly. However, for a large yard or an unenclosed area, this can be difficult. Remove any mushrooms that you find in your yard. It is best to eliminate the risk of your dog taking interest in them if you can. Learn about different strains of mushrooms. If you are interested in mushrooms and want to keep your dog away from toxic ones, spend some time studying different types of mushrooms and their properties. If you become a skilled mushroom expert, you will be able to protect your dog more effectively from mushrooms. To begin with, there are four main types of mushrooms that cause distinct issues. These include: Hepatotoxic: This category includes death cap mushrooms and they usually cause liver failure within six to twelve hours and death between one to two days. This type of mushroom is especially dangerous because the symptoms are delayed, so a dog owner may think that everything is alright when it is not. Neurotoxic: These mushrooms will rapidly cause neurological problems, such as seizures, weakness, hallucinations, lethargy, and tremors. Additionally, they cause gastrointestinal problems. Gastrointestinal: There are many types of mushrooms that will give your dog intestinal and digestive problems. These symptoms will usually come on very rapidly, sometimes as quick as fifteen minutes after eating the mushroom. Nephrotoxic: The toxicity of these mushrooms in dogs is up for debate. However, they are said to cause symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and dehydration long after ingestion, usually after about twelve hours. Identify toxic mushrooms in your area. If you are going to protect your dog from toxic mushrooms, you should focus on being able to identify those toxic mushrooms that are common in your area. Knowing what will, and what won't, hurt your dog is a key way of protecting it. There are mycological societies in many towns and cities. Contact your local mycological society for information on mushroom identification classes or for specific information about species in your area. Collect any pieces of the mushroom you can. Identifying the mushroom your dog ate will help with your dog's treatment. Place the pieces of mushroom in a paper bag and refrigerate it if possible. Avoid putting the mushroom in a plastic bag. This will cause the mushroom to decay too quickly. You will also want to note where the mushroom was and what conditions it was growing in. This will help in identifying it. Call your veterinarian, an emergency pet hospital, or an animal poison control center. If your dog eats a wild mushroom, get professional advice on how to proceed. They will advise you what you should do. Usually, if you are unsure what type of mushroom your dog ingested, you will be advised to bring your dog and a specimen of the mushroom in for evaluation. If your veterinary office is open, call them, especially if the office is close by. If there is a veterinary hospital close by, you may want to take your dog there instead of your normal clinic, if that is far away. If you have no veterinary services close by, then calling the animal poison control center will be your best bet. Take your dog in for treatment. Even if your dog does not have symptoms right away, it's important to have your dog seen by a veterinarian to be safe. Bring your dog, and whatever piece of the mushroom you could get your hands on, into your veterinary office. If your veterinary office is closed, you should take your dog to an emergency veterinary hospital. You may have a vet bill because your dog ate a non-toxic mushroom, but on the other hand it could save your dog's life. If your dog has no symptoms, your veterinarian may still make it throw up, give it charcoal pills, and may run some blood tests to look for toxins. If it is confirmed that your dog has eaten a toxic mushroom, your veterinarian will give it appropriate treatment for the type of toxin infested. This may include anything from surgical decontamination to simply supportive care until symptoms subside. 
Direct dogs away from mushrooms. Inspect areas for mushrooms. Learn about different strains of mushrooms. Identify toxic mushrooms in your area. Collect any pieces of the mushroom you can. Call your veterinarian, an emergency pet hospital, or an animal poison control center. Take your dog in for treatment. 