Mold Is Bad For Your Dog

Mold is bad for your dog.Molds  are small fungi which grow on plants and fibers, particularly in warm humid environments. 

You'll no doubt have seen mold on foodstuffs such as bread and fruit; you can also find mold growing on the damp walls of your home. 

There are thousands of species of molds in the world. Not all molds are dangerous; in fact the antibiotic penicillin is derived from a species of mold called Penicillium.

Molds produce chemicals called mycotoxins, and it is these mycotoxins which are responsible for poisoning in your dog. 

Stachybotrys is the species of mold which grows on your walls after a hurricane or flood. Mycotoxins produced by Stachybotrys can cause a general ill health in your dog, but they can also specifically affect the lungs. 

If a dog breathes in mold while living in a damp home, there is damage to the walls of the tiny blood vessels in the lungs. 

When your dog's breathing is stressed, such as when exercising or when under a general anesthesia, these tiny blood vessels break down, resulting in bleeding into the lungs.

Treatment of lung bleeding is the use of medication to stabilize the blood vessel walls and stop the bleeding, and antibiotics to prevent bacterial infection in the lung. 

Bacteria grow very well in blood. However, your dog may not recover.


The second source of mycotoxins that can poison your dog is moldy food. The main species of mold which grows on foods your dog may eat is Aspergillus, and the toxin is called aflatoxin. 

Aflatoxin is one of the most poisonous substances found in nature. A sudden high dose of aflatoxin causes severe liver damage, with depression, vomiting, bloody diarrhea, yellowing of the gums and death within 3 days of eating the moldy food.  Mold is bad for your dog, so you wil need to seek the advice of your Vet. as soon as possible.

Often though, if Aspergillus is growing on the grains in your dog food, for example, your dog will be eating a little aflatoxin every day. 

Your dog will be depressed, off his food, weak and he may drink a lot of water. This can also be fatal. 

Some veterinarians believe that this slow poisoning by low doses of aflatoxin is under diagnosed, and occurs more frequently than we think.

Prevention of illness due to Stachybotrys involves preventing the growth of black molds on your home after flooding or thunderstorms. 

This isn't always easy so it can only take a couple of days after your home is damp for the mold to grow.

Controlling aflatoxicosis may be more difficult. While we can avoid giving our dog moldy food, we don't have a lot of control over commercial pet foods.

There have been cases of aflatoxicosis reported in dogs after eating moldy dry food.

So you can see, mold is bad for your dog,  and should be avolded at all costs.

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