We all know that our dogs aren’t meant to eat too much “people food” if we want them to maintain optimal levels of health. But what about natural foods you’d find out in the wilderness? Is it safe for dogs to have a bit of fun eating fungi?
If your canine companion has ever given you those hard-to-resist puppy dog eyes while you’re chowing down on a dish chock-full of mushrooms, you may have found yourself contemplating, are mushrooms good for dogs?
The short answer is sometimes. Certain types of mushrooms can provide nutritional benefits to our canine companions, but other toxic mushroom species can pose health risks for dogs and should be avoided.
Read on to learn more about how your furry friend can safely consume this natural ingredient and reap their possible health benefits as a result.
Do Dogs Even Like Mushrooms?
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty details of how mushrooms can impact the health of your dog, let’s first address the elephant in the room: Do dogs even like mushrooms?
Similar to most food items, the answer will depend on the unique taste preferences of your pooch—certain pups may enjoy the taste of cooked mushrooms, while others may not. Does that mean your dog will miss out on this ingredient’s potential benefits?
Certainly not!
An important consideration to keep in mind is the fact that this ingredient can be ingested through alternative methods, such as dietary supplements.
Supplements that come in tablet form are a quick and simple way to give your dog a serving of mushrooms without having to convince them to acquire a taste for forest fungi. Tablets can be ingested orally with the help of a treat or simply crumbled over your dog’s food.
The bottom line is this: whether or not your dog enjoys the taste of real mushrooms, you can still incorporate this ingredient into their diet quite easily.
The Potential Health Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms for Dogs
Certain medicinal mushroom species can prove beneficial to the nutritional profile and health of our furry friends.
Just as humans often utilize medicinal mushrooms as natural remedies for different bodily ailments, dogs too may enjoy enhanced wellness as a result of the positive properties contained within mushrooms.
According to studies, many different mushroom species may offer various health benefits, such as:
- Bolstered immune health1
- Supported immune responses
- Mood and cognition regulation2
While studies show promise as to the efficacy of medicinal mushrooms for healthy canine consumption, research is still ongoing in this area, and you should always consult with a qualified veterinarian before incorporating this ingredient into your dog’s diet.
The Potential Risks of Mushrooms for Dogs
A good rule of thumb to keep in mind when it comes to serving mushrooms to your dog is to avoid wild mushrooms (a.k.a. mushrooms you encounter out in nature). This is because there’s no way to be sure a wild mushroom is safe due to mushroom toxicity.
If you’re exploring the great outdoors with your dog and notice that they’ve sniffed out a wild mushroom and are attempting to inspect or eat it, it’s best to immediately remove them from the area and extract the fungi from their mouth if they’ve already taken a bite.
Although some people think that dogs can identify toxic mushrooms by scent alone (and will, in turn, avoid them), this is not true. In fact, experts believe that wild toxic mushroom poisoning is actually an under-reported culprit behind many canine fatalities.3
If you notice or suspect that your dog has ingested a wild or poisonous mushroom, you should contact your veterinarian immediately. The sooner you get help for mushroom toxicity and mushroom poisoning, the better your pet’s chances of recovery will be.
Additionally, vets emphasize that while it’s difficult to tell mushrooms apart, the small percentage of raw mushrooms that are toxic tend to be extremely dangerous. This is why we advise dog owners to err on the side of caution and take their pets in for a check-up if contact is made with any wild mushrooms or poisonous mushroom species.
How Can Dogs Safely Eat Mushrooms?
So, if wild mushrooms are a no-go, how can your dog reap the potential benefits of this natural ingredient? Can dogs eat mushrooms
Store-bought mushrooms are generally safe for canine consumption. However, you shouldn’t start planning an extravagant mushroom feast for your dog quite yet. Just because the ingredient isn’t usually harmful to dogs on its own doesn’t mean that your pup can indulge in the mushroom-heavy meals that you might cook for yourself and other humans.
Ultimately, while store-bought, cooked mushrooms may not be known to disturb a dog’s health, other ingredients that we commonly use to season, cook, and flavor these fungi are.
For instance, let’s say you slathered some raw mushrooms in oil, topped them with salt, and saturated them in cream sauce. While this meal may sound delicious to you, it’s not safe or healthy to feed this dish to your dog. These types of ingredients (oil, salt, cream) can be harmful and even toxic to the canine body.
Fortunately, if you want your dog to experience the numerous potential health benefits offered by real mushrooms without having to worry about coaxing them to eat a bland, unseasoned piece of fungi, we have the ideal, clinically proven solution for you—the Vetericyn ALL-IN supplement.
This easy-to-ingest supplement is crafted with a powerful 5-Mushroom Blend that features:
- Lion’s Mane
- Chaga
- Reishi
- Maitake
- Tremella
These medicinal mushrooms, plus the vitamins, minerals, omegas, and prebiotics for dogs included in our ALL-IN formula, are easily absorbed into your dog’s body thanks to our innovative absorption technology.
The result?
Enhanced wellness, plus potential improvements in areas like:
- Muscle health
- Bone and joint health
- Skin health
- Gut health
- Immune system function
Available in yummy tablets designed for dogs of all shapes, sizes, and stages of life, our ALL-IN complete supplements are the perfect way to efficiently and effectively deliver the benefits of medicinal mushrooms to your beloved pet.
Even better, we recently reformulated this supplement to improve its health-promoting properties. Try it with your pet and experience the difference only a top-quality supplement can make.
Why Using Mushroom Supplements is Smart
If you’ve never given your dog a health supplement before, you may be wondering why this mode of ingestion is more effective than simply feeding your pet the plain mushrooms you bought from the grocery store.
There are a few key reasons why investing in a high-quality supplement can provide better results for your furry friend:
- Higher concentration – It may be unsafe to feed your dog an abundance of mushrooms, and overeating can give any pet a tummy ache. Supplements are carefully formulated so that the beneficial bioactive compounds that would normally be contained in many mushrooms can be consumed in just a single serving.
- Reliable safety – You can rest assured that trusted canine health supplements contain safe and consistent amounts of medicinal mushrooms. Instead of having to eyeball the amount of mushrooms you’re feeding your dog, simply follow the dosage instructions of the supplement to be sure they’re getting the exact right amount of the ingredient.
- Less calories – Dogs that experience significant weight gain and develop obesity can suffer from a slew of health issues as a result. This is why experts recommend that mushrooms should be included in your pet’s daily treat allowance, which should account for less than 10% of their daily calories.4 To avoid needing to count your dog’s calories when trying to introduce mushrooms to their diet, opt for a simple supplement instead.
Using a supplement is also simply safer for your dog because mushrooms and their stems can be quite large, posing a potential choking hazard to your pooch if they get excited and try to wolf their food down too fast.
Plus, you can never be sure if grocery store mushrooms of the non-organic variety may have come into contact with pesticides, and you certainly don’t want your dog ingesting any of these harmful chemicals.
Overall, it’s safer and easier to feed your dog a quality supplement than it is to introduce a large amount of mushrooms to their diet. With one concentrated tablet, they can absorb all the nutrients mushrooms have to offer—and potentially feel the benefits fast.
All of that said, it’s important to consult with your vet to find out if a health supplement containing medicinal mushrooms is appropriate for your pup.
Put Medicinal Mushrooms on Your Dog’s Menu with Vetericyn
Many people find that adding medicinal mushrooms to their own wellness routines helps support their health in various ways. Now, studies are showing that dogs may reap some of the same perks.
If you’re curious to learn whether your dog’s health might respond positively to medicinal mushrooms, there’s no better way to find out than by nourishing their body with a convenient supplement.
The Vetericyn ALL-IN complete dog supplement offers the benefits of 5 common medicinal mushrooms, as well as additional nutrients that are known to enrich canine health. Introduce mushrooms to your dog in a way you can be sure is safe and non-toxic with our trusted Vetericyn supplements.
Reviewed by C. Scott Van Winkle
Scott has been with Innovacyn for the past 11 years and has been working within the Burlingame portfolio of companies for the past 23 years. Scott brings a diverse background to Innovacyn. With an upbringing as the 5th generation on his families cattle ranch, Scott has a passion for animal health and the continuous improvement surrounding agricultural practices. Scott earned marketing and business management degrees from the University of Idaho and holds an Executive MBA from Pepperdine University.
Sources:
- PetMD. Medicinal mushrooms for dogs. https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/medicinal-mushrooms-for-dogs
- Animal Wellness. How your dog can benefit from medicinal mushrooms. https://animalwellnessmagazine.com/how-your-dog-can-benefit-from-medicinal-mushrooms/
- American Kennel Club. Can dogs eat mushrooms? https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/can-dogs-eat-mushrooms/
- Forbes. Are mushrooms good for dogs? https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-care/can-dogs-eat-mushrooms/
