Mushrooms that are edible or therapeutic for humans are also safe for dogs & cats to eat. Having said that, it’s important to always be conservative when adding anything to your pets’ diet.
Start with half dosage for 3-5 days before increasing to full dosage. Pet dosages are listed on the side of the label.
Mushrooms and their extracts are considered to be “functional foods”. The bioactive molecules in mushrooms that provide much of its potency are the beta glucans. These modified sugar molecules, which are not digested, but which act as signals to “wake up” the cells of the immune system, have been labeled as GRAS or “Generally Recognized As Safe” by the FDA for humans.
The GRAS designation has not yet been extended to animals. This is because currently the FDA does not recognize mushrooms as legitimate food ingredients for pets. This is not because they are unsafe, but simply because their use in animals is so new that the regulatory work has not been conducted to allow the FDA to permit their use as food ingredients for pets.
There are some species of mushrooms that are not safe for dogs to eat because they are poisonous or toxic. Unless you are an expert mycologist, never feed your dog or cat wild mushrooms.
The 6 mushrooms that can have the most benefit & are safe for your pet include:
- Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
- Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
- Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
- Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
- Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
- Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris)