Red bryony is extremely toxic for dogs
Bryonia dioica 
The red bryony is a perennial, climbing vine with a turnip-like root. The climbing winding tendrils can grow up to 4 m long. The dark green, pentagonal leaves are up to 10 cm in diameter and hairy. The flowers are relatively inconspicuous and grow in racemes. They are yellowish-white to greenish-white. The berries are green at first and turn scarlet with a size of about 7 mm in diameter.
All parts of the red bryony are very poisonous to dogs, but especially the root and the fruits. Red bryony contains cucurbitacins and saponins that are toxic to dogs.
Red bryony is also known as:
- white bryony
- English mandrake
- ladies' seal
What should I do if my dog ate Red bryony?
How toxic is Red bryony?
| Toxicity: | (extremely toxic) |
| Toxic parts: | All parts of the red bryony are very poisonous to dogs, but especially the root and the fruits. |
| Toxic time: | winter, spring, summer, autumn |
| Antidote: | Unknown |
If your dog shows symptoms of poisoning, it is always an emergency! Time is critical for your dog's life. You should immediately call your vet or the animal emergency services and make sure that a vet is on site and then go there immediately. For the treatment, it helps the vet a lot to know what your dog has ingested.
Occurrence Red bryony
| Plant species: | Garden and wild plant, perennial |
| Occurrence: | Gardens, Forests |
| Areas: | Europe |
| Flowering time: | summer, autumn |
| Fruit ripening: | summer, autumn |
Symptoms
The following symptoms may occur in case of poisoning with the red bryony:
- nausea
- vomiting
- stomach pain
- diarrhoea, sometimes bloody
- increased thirst
- blood in the urine
- failure to pass urine
- movement and consciousness disorders
- cramps
- shortness of breath
- heart palpitations up to circulatory collapse
- death may occur due to respiratory paralysis
Treatment
The vet will always try to remove the ingested poison from the body and alleviate the specific symptoms of poisoning.
There are different methods to remove the poison from the body:
1. ACTIVATED CHARCOAL: Activated charcoal can absorb toxins. If possible, it should be administered within 2 hours after ingestion of the poison, so that the toxin does not enter the bloodstream.
2. LAXATIVES: The vet may combine the administration of activated charcoal with a laxative.
3. VOMITING: The vet can also induce vomiting using medication to remove the toxin from the body.
In case of severe poisoning, the vet may give additional infusions and e.g. anti-nausea medication and check the kidney function.
More information on dog poisonings can be found here:
Preventing, identifying and treating poisoning in dogs
Further poisonous plants from A to Z
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