ToyDragon

Just curious, I know that feeding garlic to horses can help ward off flies, ticks, etc, but what about for my dog? If so how much would I have to give an eight pound dog to be effective?

Sarah

From what I've seen garlic always shows up on the list of foods on what not to feed your dog. It can be toxic. I'm sure in small amounts it would be fine but I personally would never use. I have heard raw garlic is more dangerous, if it's cooked in with food in small amounts the dog should be fine. This is just something I've heard from other dog owners. Maybe someone else has some links or articles for you that have more info.

Luv2byte

Do some net research on this. Some say its bad others say not bad in standard amounts, not excessive amounts. From what I personally have read, and am under the belief, is that is lower amounts it is perfectly fine & dogs love it. I do use it in my homemade treats, this is the only way they get the garlic & it is in low amounts since a couple cloves go in to a treat mix that once chopped up fill a gallon baggy. So they get enough for taste enhancement & a tiny bit of added flavor.

This is my choice, my belief from all the reading but since there is controversy around it I really feel you need to read up on what is available & make your choice.

Mikey

I just wouldn't-it is Toxic. The ingredient is Thiosulfate and there is no LD50 established for it-meaning they don't know how much will kill your dog.

Symptoms sound lovely: Symptoms: Weakness, diarhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, pale/blue gums, increased heart rate, death

Yes some dogs seem fine on it. A parellel is only 1/3 of smokers die of smoking related illness. Yet you would not 'smoke just a bit' and think that's ok.

We dictate what we give to our dogs, so there should be no trouble avoiding it.

It's fine if your dog has a nip of something with garlic in it by accident-most likely fine. I would strongly encourage you not to give it regularly as a flea preventative as the way it acts is over time.

Like I said-some sources say fine in small amounts-and it's how you interpret that. It's not fine to give in small amounts every day over the course of their life because that's not small amounts. Even second hand smokers die of lung disease. It's fine if they accidentily get hold of something with garlic in it-but I certainly wouldn't dose them with it.

Also the evidence that it works as a flea preventative is hinky-if you'd like a natural remedy look into diatamasceous earth (sure you've heard of that if you have horses!)

Diatomaceous Earth and Dogs
Diatomaceous Earth - Food Grade Diatomaceous Earth Health Benefits

On garlic
Toxins that Affect Dogs - Veterinary Information
Onion and Garlic Toxicity in Dogs and Cats
Toxic Foods and Plants for Dogs
etc-you can google and find many results.

ToyDragon

Okay, I am just looking for an alternative to traditional flea preventive as most of them make me break out in a rash if I touch my dog or anything he has laid on after treatment. As said above some sources said garlic would be okay, others said that it wouldn't be okay and it was all kind of confusing.

pawsforthought

garlic apparently contains the same toxins as onions....??

anyway apparently you would have to give a dog a VERY large amount for it to have any effect. it is used as a flavouring in many dog treats because it is almost hamless in small amounts.

however don't just take my word for it. ask your vet!!!

Mikey

If ANY source says something is not ok-just don't give it. It's simply not worth the risk. These are our babies


Go for diatamasceaous earth-its basicallly fossilized single celled organisms and they work because they are super small but also sharp-so the fleas get cut up on them. In reality its dust and not a problem at all (just don't breath it in) It's awesome, natural (While I don't fall on the natural bandwagon easily-heroin IS in fact natural-in this case it's truly natural and a good thing), and works.

I would absolutely steer clear of garlic especially as it has to be given over a period of time.

The reason there is discrepency -some saying it's ok and some saying it's not-is in high enough doses garlic can kill your dog by causing hemolytic or heinz body anemia. That said if your dog scarfs a bit of fettucine alfredo it's likely not the end of the world. If you dosed your dog with garlic purposely over time-yes you are endangering his life. Make sense?


YEs-it's thiosulfate, and like I stated there is no set LD50 -so no known dose that will cause problems-in small amounts occaisionally it seems fine-but not for every dog. I wouldn't worry if they accidentily get some occaisionally. But don't purposely feed anything that has it in it-just avoid

It doesn't HAVE to be large amounts-it depends on the dog's metabolism and as such-just avoid where possible.

Anyways here's a bit more information:

Onions & Garlic-Avoid/Potentially Toxic-Ingredient Thiosulfate. Have been episodes of death-causes hemolytic anemia in high quantities.(Symptoms: Weakness, diarhea, lethargy, difficulty breathing, pale/blue gums, increased heart rate, death)[Treatment: supportive treatment, removal from source).

ToyDragon

Where is a good and reliable place to buy it from?

Mikey

Do you have a farm feed place near you-one of those all in one farmer stops -that carry animal feed and the like? That would be where I would go. It's heavy so I wouldn't order it online. Not sure where in Michigan you are but you could google feed shops etc

Luv2byte

Lots of commercial dogs treats have garlic in them as well.