I want to grow some hops in my backyard, but wanted to check if it would be a problem with my dogs. I watched Brewing TV and I know they have dogs of there own and grow there hops in there yards. Just wanted some opinions. thanks
I pretty sure that only SPENT hops are dangerous to dogs. I could be mistaken though.
Unused hops are potentially equally dangerous, but dogs don’t seem to care about them. They go for the spent hops due to the sweet wort in them.
[quote=“Denny”]
Unused hops are potentially equally dangerous, but dogs don’t seem to care about them. They go for the spent hops due to the sweet wort in them.[/quote]
+1, my dogs show no interest in my growing hop plants
My dog doesn’t even try to water the hop plants like he does with everything else he can lift his leg to reach. No interest at all.
Same here, no interest from wife, dogs, squirrels or rabbits.
Good to hear. I was thinking about posting a thread along this same line. Glad I can grow some Cascade and not threaten my puppies life!
Denny’s right, hops are not interesting to dogs without the sweetness from the wort. There are a few case reports of dogs dying from a condition called malignant hyperthermia after eating spent hops. Other causes of the condition are certain types of anesthetic which are not much anymore, and only certain dogs with a certain genetic susceptibility would get it. That means that most dogs are probably not at risk, but there is not really any way to know which ones are beforehand, so it is best to keep spent hops out of the dog’s reach. I put my hops into a compost bin with a lid that locks down to keep the critters out.
My two dogs smell my plants alot but don’t seem to bother them at all.
My dog likes IPA’s.
And I think hops are more dangerous for certain breeds, ?greyhounds?
There have been more greyhounds affected than any other breed, but the numbers are small, so that could be a coincidence.
The only issue I had with my dog and hops is when I initially planted them and harvest. He liked the soft soil on his paws and when I came home from work, there were a few Chinook rhizomes in the front yard. Put up a small fence around the first year plants and there has been no problems after the soil compacted.
During harvest he likes to take off with the bines and chew on them. There was a problem there. Piece of hard bine got stuck in his belly but after a vet visit and my dog doing his business in the yard, all good.
one of my beagles will eat any plant he can get including my hop plants, i have a small fence around mine. moles are bitch too.
