Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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When Rocky was at the vet today, I mentioned that I was going to start him on power mushrooms. I brought a print out from the Health Concerns website showing the ingredients and possible benefits, which was a good thing because my vet had never heard of them.
She was concerned about Rocky taking these because she said some types of mushrooms are toxic to dogs. I told her some of the dogs here had used the mushrooms with good results.
She said she did check out the mushrooms on the website (while Rocky and I were waiting in the other room) and said I could start Rocky on the mushrooms if I wanted to. She also said she would research it a bit more and get back with me if she found any additional information.
So I guess I'm just wondering if there's a posibility of causing harm to Rocky by starting him on the power mushrooms. Right now he's doing really well, and now I don't know if I want to take the chance of something going wrong.
Any thoughts?
Michelle
Considering Pam (aka: tazziedog) is a vet, and she gave Tazzie Power Mushrooms as part of her canine cancer treatment, I am certain there is no need to be concerned about toxicity in any of the natural mushroom derivative cancer therapies for dogs.
Also, be sure to check out the information and compare prices at all the online sources for Power Mushrooms we just posted in the new Tripawds Nutrition blog !
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I was also a little wary of starting the mushrooms, since my dog Tazzie had a history of liver disease and some mushrooms are toxic to the liver. My holistic vet assured me that they were safe and I monitored Tazzie's liver enzymes monthly. She never had any problems and she felt great while on them. My only regret is that I didn't start them sooner!
Your vet can research the product on VIN (veterinary info network). Lots of holistic vets recommend mushroom therapy for any type of cancer.
Pam
Pam,
Since Rocky has never had any sort of issue with his liver, would he require enzyme monitoring if he were to begin taking power mushrooms?
Thanks,
Michelle
I would not monitor his enzymes if he is only taking mushrooms. If he is taking any sort of NSAID like Rimadyl or Metacam then he should have his liver and kidney enzymes monitored every 6-12 months.
Pam
Hi Rocky and Michelle
I am not a vet (the other Tazzie – Pam – is a vet), but my Tazzie was on Power Mushrooms for about 8 – 10 weeks. His Alk Phos did rise at the end. There is a possibility that it might have been related to the use of mushrooms, although I could find no evidence for that and did not ask the company. Most likely, the increase in Alk Phos was related to his cancer. Based on the symptoms he showed the last night and morning, I suspect the "C" was in his bones, which would give a high Alk Phos. His other blood results were fine.
A couple of weeks ago, I did dig around on the web to find out if any of the four mushrooms included in Power Mushrooms were potentially toxic. I could not find anything that indicated that they were.
Tazzie was starting to have mobility problems around 8-10 weeks ago due to his tumor (I'd have to check my records to confirm the date). As soon as I gave him the Power Mushrooms, he had an enormous surge of energy, surefootedness and overall happy demeanor. He started to have mobility problems again around 2 weeks ago. Given the Gargantuan (near a watermelon by the end) size of the bloody tumor on his leg, it was kind of amazing he did well that long. I am guessing that the mushrooms helped delay the final onset of those symptoms. They also seemed to satisfy his wolfish appetite a bit.
Keep in mind that K9 immunity is also a mushroom blend. The type of mushroom that is most often reported to be toxic are species from the genus Amanita (see below for something I found on mushroom poisoning in dogs). That type of mushroom is not in Power Mushrooms or in K9 Immunity . Plus a holistic vet prescribed the Power Mushrooms for Pam the vet. I believe that is where we tripups first encountered this product.
The directions on the power mushroom bottle is for humans. Use a lower dose for dogs. Tazzie, 35 kg (76 lbs), was on 2 pills per day (considered very low dose), although I think I added a 3rd for a couple of days at the end.
Susan
"Mushroom toxicity does occur in dogs and it can be fatal if certain species of mushrooms are eaten. Amanita phalloides is the most commonly reported severely toxic species of mushroom in the US but other Amanita species are toxic. Symptoms include Abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting diarrhea, convulsions, coma, death."
p.s. I see Pam and Admin got to you by the time I posted my long-winded reply! Good luck, Rocky!
Thanks Pam and Susan,
I think I will start Rocky on one per day (he is 88 lbs) and see how things go. He does tend to have a sensitive stomach and is prone to diarrhea, so I want to start slow.
Michelle
Hi Michelle
The only small 'bad' thing I noticed was that Tazzie would drool a lot when I gave him an mushroom pill, but I think that only happened when I gave it to him at the very same time as his Glucosamine Chondroiton pill. I have no insight into why this would happen, but mention it in case it is worthwhile. So I gave it at a differen time than the Gluc. Chond. I expect you will increase to two pills after a couple of days (the recommendation would be more like 2 pills twice per day, but we did not get that high or seem to need that much).
One friend called Tazzie "Dopamine Dog" when they saw how happy he seemed to be. But he would act normal and settle down so it did not seem to be a bad thing.
Susan
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