When it comes to garlic and dogs, there are a lot of conflicting arguments. There are some articles out there that say small amounts of garlic are fine and even beneficial for dogs, while others might say that you should avoid garlic for your dog at all costs. Soit must be confusing for you to decide and you must be in wonder of the question Can I Feed My Dog Food With Garlic?
With all these conflicting accounts, it can be hard for dog owners to decide whether a certain food is fine for their dog. There are times where you might be tempted to feed your dog food with garlic, but you first need to make sure it’s completely safe.
We’re here to give a definitive answer. Garlic is part of the allium family. All members of the allium family have significant amounts of disulfide and thiosulphate, which are toxins for dogs. These compounds attack their red blood cells and can result in a lot of health complications.
While some dogs might be able to tolerate these toxins, a lot of them won’t. So, to avoid the risk, we recommend keeping food with garlic, onions, and other members of the allium family as far away from your dog as possible.
In this guide, we get into more details about feeding your dog food with garlic, whether you should do it, the risks, and more.
How Much Garlic Is Toxic For Dogs?
The amount of garlic needed to be toxic for your dog depends on a number of factors. Your dog’s size, breed, weight, and age all determine how they can handle garlic. Certain breeds, such as the Shiba Inu and a couple of other Japanese breeds are known to be extra sensitive to garlic poisoning, while some dogs may even be able to handle it in small amounts.
However, since there isn’t a definitive amount of garlic that can be classified as toxic for dogs, it’s best to keep your pet away from the ingredient as much as possible.
Is Garlic Bread Safe for Dogs?
Since garlic bread only contains very small amounts of garlic, some dog owners feed it to their pets. We heavily advise against this. While the garlic in garlic bread may be too small to cause some damage, it isn’t worth the risk.
On top of that, garlic bread contains other compounds such as fat and salt. Too much fat and salt can result in obesity and other health problems in dogs. So, while feeding them garlic bread once might not be too bad, it’s best not to start the habit.
Why Can’t I Feed My Dog Food With Garlic?
As we mentioned earlier, garlic is part of the allium family. All members of this family contain toxins and compounds that damage a dog’s red blood cells. The red blood cells are responsible for carrying oxygen and oxygenated blood to different parts of the body, and damaged red blood cells can pose a lot of problems.
For starters, garlic poisoning can start with lethargy, vomiting, and diarrhea. All of these are unpleasant experiences for your dog, and you wouldn’t want your pet to go through them. However, while symptoms can pass naturally after some time, this can sometimes develop into something more serious. In extreme cases, dogs have developed hemolytic anemia because of garlic poisoning, which is something you need to avoid at all costs.
Hemolytic anemia on its own is rarely fatal, but it can bring about other problems. A lot of the time, these problems are very serious and can result in some detrimental consequences for your pet.
Does Garlic Have Benefits for Dogs?
There are some articles out there that say that garlic can actually benefit dogs. Some of these articles are even backed up by clinical studies. However, while the clinical studies have brought about consistent positive results, the results are far from conclusive.
While the debate is still up there about whether or not small amounts of garlic are safe for dogs, most scientists agree that too much garlic can cause problems. So, if you want to see if garlic actually has benefits for your dogs, we recommend waiting a bit longer for more information.
Check this great article on how and why garlic is bad for your dog, which you can read here: whatthepup.spotandtango.com/is-garlic-bad-for-dogs/
Conclusion
If you catch your dog eating garlic, make sure to stop them and keep a close eye on them during the next couple of days. If they start vomiting and showing other symptoms, we recommend calling your vet as they will know exactly what to do.
Usually, vets will recommend just observing your dog for 1-2 days. In a lot of cases, the symptoms disappear after 24-48 hours since the dog’s body was able to handle it on its own. However, in extreme cases, the symptoms will persist for much longer.
In this case, you need to take more action. If symptoms of garlic poisoning persist in your dog, we recommend scheduling a vet visit immediately to treat their condition.
