[Libertarian]

Is garlic safe to feed to a dog? I know that some foods we eat are bad for them (chocolate). I think that I once heard that garlic was too.

[SageTheRage]

I have given my dogs chewable garlic tabs (for pets) in the past. Smells like garlic bread...very inviting aroma.

Sprinkling garlic powder (not garlic salt) on their food is good for intestinal worms and IIRC, it is a natural flea/tick repellant. Perhaps not 100% effective (such as to prevent against lyme disease) but fairly good for use during the off season and in non-heavily infested areas.

[DarkRose]

I went looking for a site because I wanted to verify that onions are toxic before I posted it here. But the site aso says that garlic is toxic and I didn't think that was so. :confused:

It also says broccoli is toxic and my cat eats that all the time. She's crazy about it!

http://www.petalia.com.au/Templates/StoryTemplate_Process.cfm?specie=Dogs&story_no=257#RelatedProducts

[goatlady]

I have been sprinkling garlic granules on my dog's food for over 30 years and it's never been a problem, in fact, it is a natural flea and tick repellant. My dogs also eat broccoli and onions and every once in a while a taste of DARK chocolate when they get to lick the ice cream bowl with residual hot fudge sauce. It's the MILK chocolate that's the really bad stuff. All my dogs have lived healthily for a very long time, usually 14-16 years, which is excellent for German Shepards.

[Delta Lady]

My shepard ate an ENTIRE bag of Dove dark chocolate pieces once, wrappers and all.

We watched him closely for a day, and no unusual symptoms appeared.

[Herbmountain]

For the dog that ste chocolate? He is one lucky dog. The chocolate can and I say can, cause DIC. This is an inability to cooagulate the blood and it moves out of the vessles and floods the stomach and other cavitys. So chocolate is bad period for dogs.

As for garlic? The best way to add garlic to your dogs food is to brown one pound of hamburger and add 2 cloves of garlic. You can freeze the hamburger in little one serving bags and add to your dogs food each day. My mom raised Shelties and they were all very healthy. She swore on the garlic. My mom was also cherokee. She did lots of things before their time of popularity.

[Libertarian]

Cool! Thanks Herbie. What about onions?

[Hansa44]

Cool! Thanks Herbie. What about onions?



Considering what onions do to me and lots of other people I wouldn't push my luck. lol

[Annmarie]

I give my little toy fox terrier garlic when I give her chicken broth (homemade). The garlic is simmered along with other ingredients in the soup. She loves it and I have never seen it affect her badly. I have never puposely given her onions, but I am sure she must have had bits of them at one time or another. I have never noticed an adverse reaction.

[Hansa44]

My dog has gotten plenty of cooked onions in leftovers or scraps. I think raw onions is the problem.
Just want to mention here that my uncle and cousin are both veterinarians.
They always told me that the healthiest dogs were the ones that were given the same foods you eat. This does not include junk foods. We are talking some veggies, meats, grains, dairy products like eggs.
My daughter has a cocker spaniel. He was 10 years old and dying. Terrible colic, didn't want to eat etc. She gave him the best quality dog food you could buy and just took super good care of him. He got vitamins and plenty of love. She took him to a vet over and over trying to find out what was wrong with him. They just didn't know.
I suggested one more time to give him some of what she was eating. (She's a real health nut when it comes to food).
So she started adding some egg, veggies, a little grains, meats etc. to his food. Within days his colic was gone and today he 15 years old aand still happy and lively.

[Ginger Quill]

Libertarian,

Here's an article about giving garlic to pets. Basically, it stated that they could find nothing to substantiate any harmful effects if you give your pet garlic.

http://www.provet.co.uk/petfacts/healthtips/garlic.htm

There are some foods that can be lethal or harmful to your pets.

http://dogs.about.com/cs/disableddogs/a/poison_food.htm

Foods that can kill your dog:

Chocolate: staggering, laboured breathing, vomiting, diarhea, abdominal pain, tremours, fever, heart rate increase, arrythmia, seizures, coma, death

Coffee/Cocoa: staggering, laboured breathing, vomiting, diarhea, abdominal pain, tremours, fever, heart rate increase, arrythmia, seizures, coma, death

Onions: Hemolytic Anemia, laboured breathing, liver damage, vomiting, diarhea, discoloured urine

Mushrooms: abdominal pain, drooling, liver damage, kidney damage, vomiting diarhea, convulsions, coma, death

Grapes/Raisins: vomiting, diarhea, abdominal pain, lethargy

Hansa44 - I would be careful with the onions, even if they are cooked. I always hand pick onion pieces from doggie bags and other things I cook before I add it to their food.

[Hansa44]

Thanks Ginger Quill. Good advice

[Libertarian]

So I should stop feeding the dogs fried onions and mushrooms in chocolate sauce with raisins?

Thanks for the list.

[SageTheRage]

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[SmartAZ]

They always told me that the healthiest dogs were the ones that were given the same foods you eat.
Well that is the first time I've heard that idea. Everybody else seems to think it's an established fact that commercial pet foods are always better than table scraps.

[big kumara]

We have a huge German Shephard at work (guard dog) who scares the bejeesus out of everyone except me. She even let me have the possum she caught a couple of weeks ago. We're good friends because I used to sneak her garlic bread sticks after lunch just about every day as she was growing up. That dog is just crazy for garlic bread, lol (shhhh...don't tell the burglars).

I've also used garlic as an appetite stimulant for convalecing cats who've gone off their feed.

There's nothing wrong with feeding cats/dogs "people food" if the meals are nutritionally balanced and not too high (or too low) in fat. The trick is finding the right foods, portion size and number of calories for the animal. A good, commercial dry food is easier to work with and definitely more convenient.

[Herbmountain]

I put onions in everything. Not jello but most our veggies and meats are cooked with onions. I pulled out my old Veterinary Emergency Manual and could find nothing toxic on onions usless they were the wild variety.

When I give my Peety scraps of our dinner, they always have onions in them. I think if they are cooked it is OK.