Is it true that green walnuts can be severely toxic to dogs?

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Screenshot by mimikama.org
Screenshot by mimikama.org

Deadly game with walnuts

Playing with green walnuts can be fatal for dogs. The fungus Penicillium crustosum often lives invisibly on the green cover. The active ingredient in the mushroom is called Roquefortin C, which is comparable to strychnine and has a strong neurotoxic effect.

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The fact check

Mimikama colleague Anke is a veterinarian and knows the answer:

In a nutshell – YES !

If the green shell of the walnuts is colonized with this fungus, then yes.

This fungus, which is a mold, produces a poison that is highly neurotoxic even in small quantities. [1]

The walnut and the black walnut itself, i.e. peeled, without the hull or shell, are not poisonous to dogs. [2]

The fungus that attacks the shell is called Penicillium crustosum and belongs to the brush fungi.

It usually grows blue-green but may not always be visible and is one of the most common fungi that contribute to food spoilage.
The poison of this mushroom, roquefortine C, is highly neurotoxic and actually has a similar effect to the mother-in-law poison, strychnine. [ 3 ]

This mushroom poison is one reason why you shouldn't let dogs play with walnuts, chestnuts, acorns, etc.
Another important reason is the possibility that dogs can quickly swallow these “toys” whole and then suffer an intestinal obstruction.

Every year I'm allowed to remove some nuts and chestnuts from dog intestines so that the animals survive and unfortunately that doesn't always work, so avoid the dangerous game with acorns, walnuts and chestnuts and instead give the dog a walnut to crack and the nut from time to time feed yourself.


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Notes:
1) This content reflects the current state of affairs at the time of publication. The reproduction of individual images, screenshots, embeds or video sequences serves to discuss the topic. 2) Individual contributions were created through the use of machine assistance and were carefully checked by the Mimikama editorial team before publication. ( Reason )