This blog will serve to bust the myth of garlic toxicity for canines by reviewing the following need-to-know information:
Garlic (Allium sativum) is a vegetable that belongs to the Allium family, the same family as onions, chives, leeks, and shallots ( in there lies much confusion, which we will discuss later).
For centuries, garlic has been used to flavor food and cure various ailments in humans and animals alike. Ancient Egyptians regularly fed garlic to enslaved people to boost their immunity; Chinese doctors and Native Americans frequently used garlic to treat diseases ranging from scurvy to earache.
Garlic is high in inulin, amino acids, sulfur, zinc, potassium, and phosphorus. It also contains vitamins A, C, calcium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, germanium, and B-complex vitamins. While most of these play their role in detoxifying the body, it is the fact garlic contains the bioactive ingredients Allicin and Ajoene that it gets its fame as a near-medicine.
Garlic contains multiple sulfur-inclusive compounds – alliin, a noted sulfoxide; and alliinase, an enzyme. When garlic is chopped, crushed, minced, or chewed, the alliinase enzyme is activated and combines with the alliin protein to produce allicin, the therapeutic component of garlic. Heat inactivates enzymes, so the therapeutic value is maximized by waiting at least ten minutes after chopping, so the enzyme has completed the reaction with the alliin. Allicin is heat stable.
Garlic’s pungent energy warms the body. Pungent herbs move energy upwards and outwards to the body’s surface, improving circulation. Garlic also has an affinity for the lungs, large intestine, spleen, and stomach.
Garlic helps detoxify the body. Garlic supports beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract while eliminating harmful bacteria. It is great in the fall, winter, and early spring to detox and balances the digestive system.
As a liver enhancer, garlic breaks down wastes before they enter the bloodstream. It also helps the dog assimilate nutrients and eliminate wastes through the entire digestive tract. Garlic is known to have detoxifying effects, which can help the liver get rid of toxins from the body.
The amount of garlic in the Volhard Diets is small but just enough to reap the benefits. We have never had an issue in 40+ years with a dog or health issues related to garlic.
But Wait- there’s more…
Lower blood sugar Lower cholesterol. Most have heard it’s “great for the blood” because it has been used to fight various blood infections and reduce blood pressure.
Garlic has other uses in addition to these health benefits: Garlic as a Flea and Tick Repellent for your dog. 2
The truth of the matter is that fleas prefer weakened animals – the very young, the very old, the sick, and the unhealthy. A flea issue on a healthy, immunologically robust dog is an infrequent occurrence. Most Volhard Dog Nutrition feeding pet owners go their whole life without seeing a single one.
Garlic may help you fight fleas and ticks if you feed it to your dogs during flea and tick season. It takes a couple of weeks for garlic to build up in your dog’s natural coat oil, so start feeding it before the bug season starts. Garlic is often used to repel ticks in pets, as research suggests it has anti-tick qualities in humans. 3The sulfur in the raw garlic eliminates those pesky insects by excreting through the dog’s skin. It takes a couple of weeks before working, so it’s recommended to start feeding small doses of garlic before the tick season starts.
We mentioned above that there are benefits of Allicin-
Here are some of the well-established benefits of raw garlic, albeit the studies largely involve human participants. However, we expect to see most, if not all, of the advantages* in canines too.
The benefits are:
Note: *There are some medicine contraindications with garlic which are expected to be similar across species as well. We mention these at the end of the blog.
Why Do Dog Owners Avoid Garlic?
Why do people still think garlic is unsafe for dogs with all these benefits?
This common bias comes from the fact that garlic belongs to the same Allium family as onion, leek, chive, and shallot. All of these contain a variety of sulfur-based compounds, but only onion, leek, chive, and shallot that possess a lot of the worrying compound thiosulfate. This compound is toxic for canines (but not for humans).
When ingested in a large amount in canines, this thiosulfate causes oxidative damage in red blood cells, resulting in “Heinz Bodies” that the body rejects and expels from the bloodstream. Over time this can result in Hemolytic Anemia and may even cause death.
Can Dogs Have Garlic Powder or Garlic Salt?
Garlic salt and powder are more concentrated forms of garlic. This means that smaller amounts of these substances can lead to toxic effects for your pet. Most toxicities noted in pets are caused by garlic used in these forms in food.
Dogs should not have garlic bread, since it contains a toxic ingredient, and the butter and fat are not good for your dog, either.
Garlic toxicity depends on how much garlic was consumed compared to the size of the pet. Garlic bread typically contains a lower amount of garlic compared to foods cooked with garlic or garlic salt/powder and is therefore less toxic.
While garlic is the only toxic ingredient typically used in garlic bread, it also has ingredients like butter and cheese, which are both high in fat and salt. Pets are not accustomed to eating rich foods such as this, and it may lead to vomiting, diarrhea, or pancreatitis.
Can Dogs Eat Garlic (7 KEY Benefits Say Yes)
If you are trolling the internet, then you have seen countless sites vilifying garlic as a poisonous ingredient for dogs. Unfortunately, there are also vets online and in their offices that have echoed this concern. You are here reading this blog because you do not want to do anything that will harm your dog, and we appreciate the chance to share with you what we have found to be true about dogs and garlic.
Learn and understand the myths surrounding garlic and its supposed toxicity, and discover the many health benefits it offers dogs
The first question is, when there is nothing in the literature to indicate garlic is toxic for canines, how does the popularity of unsubstantiated information proliferate so quickly? The conversation about garlic and dogs is somewhat misleading, and I will tell you why. This misleading information is because most research studies base their findings on the effects of garlic extracts, excessive dosages, and unnatural delivery methods. Researchers rarely use fresh garlic for dogs because measuring variances in whole plant medicine is challenging.
When it comes to your dogs’ health, whether preventatively or curatively, you need the most up-to-date and accurate information about safety and benefits. Garlic, long used as a beneficial herb, and listed by the FDA as approved for pet food, is still under attack despite a 2004 follow-up study recommending garlic for dogs by the majority of scientists involved in the 2000 study done by Japan. The Japanese study was the catalyst that cultivated garlic’s reputation as a food that can harm your dog. This study by K W Lee et al. fed 5 grams of garlic per kilo per day to the dogs. That’s an excessive amount equivalent to feeding about four full heads of garlic (or 60 cloves) to a 75 lb Golden Retriever or 23 grams of garlic (6 to 8 cloves) to a 10 lb dog before they’d experience any adverse effects. Definitely don’t feed this amount!
Like nettle and turmeric, the evidence suggests that small doses of raw garlic should be medicine for dogs.