Garlic for Dogs: Home Remedies and Safety Issues

I just started giving my dogs garlic six days ago for flea prevention. One of my dogs weighs about 100 lbs. so I gave him 4 teaspoons of Brewers Yeast with Garlic on Sat, then 2 cloves fresh garlic on Sunday, then on Monday and Tuesday back to the 4 teaspoons of Brewers Yeast and Wed. 2 cloves of fresh garlic with his morning food. By Wed. night he was starting to look ill to me and today - he is sick!! No energy, breathing hard, and crying a little. I am taking him to the vet tomorrow. What do you think - could it be the garlic? My other dog is doing great. (I am very worried!)

Where do you buy your Garlic Powder, Jean?

I was just wondering if garlic or any other natural remedy has to be given raw or if it's ok that we bake them in treats or homemade dry dog food.

It was probably the MSG in the Chinese food that made your dog sick

You say that you gave your dog Brewers Yeast tablets with Garlic?? Well that is where you went wrong because yeast isn't good for your dog.

I appreciate this wonderful website! I have 6 Scottish Collies & 2 Border Collie dogs. I was using a very expensive wormer, 1 pill every month., for all my Collies, because I was told that Ivomec would kill them. That is not true, if given in the correct dosage for the weight. BUT I now give ALL of them 1/4 tsp. granulated Garlic( not just any garlic! ) ONLY regular Garlic, per day. I sprinkle it on their food, they stand back for me to sprinkle it on their food.

It got rid of all the worms & eggs! in 5 days. NOW my dogs have a shiny coat & are gaining weight.

My vet says tape worms won't really hurt my dogs, just round worms & hookworms. YUK.

I really like the information on this website & the information shared from the people who write on about their experiences! Thank you all. Jean in Ga.

I would just like to say thank you for all the info on feeding garlic to your dog. I am new to looking into supplemental foods for dogs as our 10 yr old Border Collie was recently diagnosed with cancer and I am re-working his diet.

For about a week I have spent a lot of time scouring the internet for info and advice and I can honestly say that until I found this website everything I saw about Garlic stated it shouldn't be given to dogs due to the high toxicity as with onions.

I am relieved this site puts such a reasonable argument for it, and I'm sure I'm not the only one slightly irritated by people who clearly haven't read all the info on garlic before adding their comments about its dangers - especially when they haven't experienced the drawbacks themselves.

Thank you!

There is a logic fallacy in extending onion's toxicity to all onion family members. A further example of this would be saying that potatoes and tomatos are toxic because they are in the same botanical family as deadly nightshade. Potatoes and tomatos indeed carry some of the toxin, especially in their non-edible plant parts. The tubers and fruits that we eat don't carry enough of the toxin to be poisonous. I believe moderation as has been already suggested is key.

I recently started using minced fresh garlic on my 6 month old collie for fleas, heartworm. This was recommended by a friend whom is very knowledgeable on animal care. Just use very little (minced) from fresh garlic bulb, 5 times a week. You might want to use an eye drop of Black walnut from a health store to get rid of fleas with the garlic. Hope this helps.

YES GARLIC MAKES THE BLOOD TASTE AND SMELL FOUL TO FLEAS TICKS MOSQITOES!!!

Garlic Oil: I give my 130lb shepherd/dane 3 tablets 2 times a day and when I ran out the fleas where horrible, he had sores and all. started back on the regimene and within 3 days a drastic improvement

I use Garlic gel caps for my Australian Shepard, and my Father used it for his dogs when I was growing up. Also my Father used Sevin Powder for Vegetables, that is also safe for Dogs. It looks like Baby Powder =)

We recently rescued 2 mini schnauzers...however, they had worms!! At first we didnt have money for worm treatment, so we decided to try garlic. After a few days the worms seemed to be disappearing (of course w worms leaving, means bloody poddy, gross but at least theyre leaving!) So this treatment works WONDERS on dogs, probably wouldnt try on cats though. The only side effects seem to be: bad garlic breath (naturally!), and it seems to come through thier coat just a little bit and i can smell it on my hands after petting them...but this garlic treatment definetly works!!! i cut up a small piece of clove and put it in with thier dog food, add a little bit of dry oats (to thicken up thier stool) and a couple little spoons full of gravy and they eat it right up!!

I have been wanting to try the garlic for my dogs. My husband picked up galic oil from the health food store today. Is it okay to use garlic oil? And if so how much to put on there food or give orally??? The information would be greatly appreaciated!! Thank you

I give my 95 lb. Golden Retriever a full teaspoon of minced garlic in his food every morning. I have only seen 1 tick on him that was not yet into his skin, but only crawling on his fur. I also do Frontline Plus for flea prevention, but in Houston, nothing ever dies. The vet says he is very healthy. I found him as a stray and back then he was coated with fleas and ticks. Not anymore, and I believe it's due to the garlic!

Could someone please list the amount of garlic recommended for the weight of the dog, ie 1 clove per x amount of weight. I have a Great Pyr at 120 pounds and a mixed shepard breed at 45 pounds. What would be correct amount and how often. Thanks!! I LOVE this site!!!

Many false posts on the internet about the supposed deadly side effects of garlic for dogs. It seems quite obvious to me that the companies that sell the flea medication formulas started the rumors. As always, the internet feeds false information like an insipid virus when it is copied from one web site to another without any real research done on the subject. Hopefully websites like this one prove that garlic in moderation is safe for dogs AND a great healing tool. I have used garlic for many years on my canines and none of them have ever experienced any (and I mean ANY) side effects.

Large quantities of Garlic can be harmful to you pet, but in MODERATION they should be fine. Owners should responsible enough to keep their pet's treats or anything that could be poisonous out of reach. It's just like any other thing in this world- EG; calcium is good for us, but too much can lead to calcium deposits on our bones. Too much of anything can be harmful. Garlic can be beneficial to a dog.

How come so many people believe garlic is bad for dogs? -Outside of the fact that they are related to the onion which is harmful to pets. Anywhere else online you say that you give your dog garlic and give you death threats. What's with all the misinformed people?

I have an 11-12 lb, almost 2 year old Shih Tzu and would like to give her fresh garlic for fleas. What would be the amount I should give her. 1 Clove sounds like a lot for such a small dog. Any recommendations? Thanks!

I used to give my dogs Brewers Yeast tablets with Garlic and 2 of the dogs ended up with anemia. The one dog passed away from it and the other dog was lucky enough to survive through it.

As far as my experience with giving dogs garlic, I would NEVER reccomend that anyone give their dogs garlic. The vet that owns the animal hospital that I took both of my anemic dogs to said that it was unheard of for someone to have 2 dogs become anemic shortly one right after another. Now I realize that giving the dogs so many garlic pills for fleas daily may have contributed to their medical problem. I have always regretted giving my dogs these pills and wish I knew then what I know now. My one dog may still be alive if I did.

Thanks,
Barb

Did you even read the article? Onions and garlic are related but have an considerable difference in thiosulphate. Did you feed your dog onions or garlic? I supose there could be different veriteties of garlic that could have different levels of thiosulphates, depending on the level oh sulphates in the dirt and disposition from onions. Just a small dose will go a long way with dogs, so don't go feeding them a bulb of garlic a day. Unless they "yo quedo taco bell".

My adult boxer ate two-thirds of a bag of treats made in part with garlic powder that were accidentally left on the counter and ended up in the ER with blood in his lungs and around his heart. He was having trouble breathing and was coughing and spitting up blood. He has runny stools, as well, and is (was - he's getting better) very lethargic. When first in the ER, it was believed his condition was some type of pulmonary edema until they began questioning whether he had gotten into any plant fertilizer, mouse poison, weed killer, garlic, onions. Bingo! Garlic flavored treats with garlic powder. In small doses, ie., one treat a day, two a day I'm sure it's fine, but the several ounces he ate could have killed him. We will from this point forward always check ingredients on all treats we give our dog to ensure garlic/onion and associated powders are not included. It concerns me that online I'm reading that so many people give their dogs garlic and companies sell products that contain garlic. We won't take that chance again.

Garlic (__________) cured a bad infection in my dog, 2 capsules at night the infection and swelling was gone by morning. I used the ____ garlic supplement and contunue to give it to her daily. She is a 65lb pit bull that I use to think was allergic to fleas but since she is now flea free, she continues to scratch herself w/her back legs till she tears open the skin, I have an e-collar on her to keep her from chewing holes in her skin but now she uses her back feet and did considerable damage, her neck was dripping blood w/a huge knot the size of an avacado it was so infected I almost took her to the emergency pet hospital but decided to clean it up w/peroxide and neem oil then give her 2 capsules of the ___ garlic extract instead and glad I did because the infection and swelling was gone by morning, I continue to give it to her and even give her fresh garlic when I have it but it has not had any ill effects on her and she does not smell or have foul breath, she scratches lightly every now and again but not to the effect that she was so I will try to take the e-collar off her and see how she does, I also use the neem oil as a flea repellant, it must be working, her bald spots are filling in again.

Garlic has been great for my 10 lb., 4 1/2 yr. old Shih Tzu/Poodle mix. I rescued Charlie nearly two years ago. When originally rescued by the rescue group, he was covered in oozing, bleeding hot spots. The poor little guy is highly allergic to flea bites and has a host of allergy problems. The crap on the market that passes for anti-flea and tick medicine that you place between the dog's shoulder blades was costing me a fortune; I applied the medication twice per month and he would have a flea on him 2-3 days later. He was on prednisone to relieve the horrible itching and scratching. He really suffered (and so did I, because I couldn't figure out what to do to help him). In March, I started feeding him one clove of garlic in his daily, evening meal (minced through a garlic press and stirred into his dog food). It's mid July and my sweetie has had no fleas or horrible scratching problems. Okay, he still scratches occasionally (like I said, he has plenty of allergy problems), but believe me, he doesn't have a hot spot on him and he is one healthy and happy dog.

Charlie also had very highly-concentrated, yellow urine (doctor tests him regularly and has found no problem) - he said some dogs have stronger smelling urine than others. Charlie's urine was really strong. After 4 1/2 months of being on garlic, Charlie's urine no longer has that foul odor to it. AMAZING!

Update on my CD/AD Cooter and Garlic! I have been using a grocery store brand dried minced garlic in Cooter's food at every meal. I only use a very small amount, about 1/8 tsp mixed in his food. He eats twice a day. I switched him to a holistic vet in Knoxville and made her aware that I used the garlic. She searched him for fleas or flea debris and could not find even a trace of a flea or tick! She has concurred with the amount I'm giving him,and that it is totally working but did remind me of the negative publicity about garlic, just in case! It is now mid-June here in East Tennessee, and the air is full of gnats, flies, mosquitoes and fleas & ticks abound! I have not seen a single one of any of these on Cooter except to buzz by and move on!!!! So My Answer is a resounding YEA! I even started adding garlic to the meats I cook for the Human part of the family, and even though I am usually a mosquito MAGNET, I have only had 2-3 bites this whole year, despite spending alot of time outside in mosquitoY conditions!!!!

Most chinese restaurants add MSG to the food too, don't forget. I can't believe it was the garlic that would cause the diarrhea.We give our dogs garlic all the time and never have problems.

While I am grateful for all of this information; I must add: I've spent most of today, cleaning up after my poor Boston Terrier, because my husband (innocently) gave him too much chicken from his Chinese Garlic chicken with broccoli, last night. Poor Georgie is suffering, and it's not his fault, what happened to the carpet, while he was home, alone! He's not only got diarrhea, but he looks like he's straining with a bad stomach ache, while he's outside, 'going'. All my furbabies love their dry kibbles (they get good ones), and good canned food, as well...Don't know if there's a difference with the specific garlic; but we'll never give our precious Georgie any more of our Chinese food, that's for sure!

I have two dogs. A Black Lab (115 lbs) and a Rhodesian Ridgeback Boxer (55 lbs). I have been reading about giving the dogs garlic protection from fleas, ticks and mosquitos. Can I give them garlic pills rather than garlic? They are very picky eaters and I know they won't like the garlic in their food. If I give them the pills, what would the dosage be? How often would I give them the pills? What would be the best pills to buy? I use the orderless garlic softgels (10mg, equivalent to 1000mg of fresh garlic. My friend gives her lab 300mg (1 X daily) Kyolic Garlic. Can I use these? I do not want to use Frontline or Advantage for the fleas and I have not heard a lot of good things regarding Heart Guard for heartworms. I try to stay away from all the chemicals I can for myself and would prefer to do the same for my dogs. (I also have a twenty pound cat, too, that showed up at my door one day. Can I give her garlic too?) So any advise anyone would have regarding garlic or anything else natural would be appreciated. Thank you!

I just discovered that my 160 lb rottie/chow mix has ticks! I've always heard that garlic will keep them from getting worms, and it only makes sense, that ticks would not like the flavor, either. The products like Frontline, etc. are so expensive! I am going to start putting garlic powder in his food. I found that after he got neutered, and had to take pain pills, that if I put the pill inside a big dollop of peanut butter, I had no problem getting him to take the pills. I think I'll try it with fresh garlic, I cannot bare to live with gross ticks! I've had him for 6 years, and we have never had fleas or ticks, I think they must be coming from my new neighbor's dogs. I also bought some organic flea/tick dip, I'm going to give that a try, too. Has anyone had success with fresh garlic to keep ticks off their dog?