August 12th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
Last night Rach and I hurried up to finish all our work so we could sit down and watch the Olympics. You may not know this but Rach is a national champion gymnast and gets very excited when the Olympics come on.
We ordered some Chinese food (love moo shu chicken) and sat down to watch. During one commercial break I fired up my laptop to check for an email that I was waiting for and was blown away by what I saw. My inbox was flooded with questions about garlic.
In yesterday’s email, I stated that I have been feeding my dogs garlic for years to combat fleas and for other health reasons. I have been doing this for so long that I took it for granted that everyone else did the same.
The overwhelming response that I received shows that this is not the case. So let me share some info on garlic with you. I started feeding my dogs garlic after reading “Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats.”
Let me state right up front that there are a lot of people out their in internet land that say garlic is not good for your dogs and that it does nothing to keep away fleas. All I can say is that I have used it for years and don’t use any type of commercial flea repellent, and have never had a flea problem, and my dogs are also very healthy.
However if you don’t feel comfortable feeding garlic don’t do it. To quote Dr. Pitcairn from his on-line forum after someone posted a negative response to garlic:
“I already said I have not seen problems with garlic in the amounts recommended in the recipes I have used. However, don’t use it if it frightens you. Why make a problem for yourself? Not that important.”
If you want to feed garlic here is what Dr. Pitcairn recommends:
1/8 tsp to each cup of food.
You have different options when it comes to garlic. You can get it in pill form, powder, you can chop it yourself, or you can buy it already chopped.
I buy the big jugs of garlic. I just scoop it right out of the jar and toss it on my dog’s food.
He also recommends slowly introducing the garlic. Here is a list of benefits of garlic:
As I stated earlier, I have been feeding it to my dogs for years with no problems. As with any drug or herb that you feed your dog, you should watch for any sensitivities.
Wishing you and your dog all the best.
Eric
Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States and has been training dogs for over 20 years, teaching regular, average, every-day owners all over the world how to get the training results they want as fast as possible. Eric is also the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Improve Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
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Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training techniques that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
My dog had recently been diagnosed with cancer and since then I have been feeding him garlic in his meals. He seems to love the taste, and honestly I think it has helped his immune system and help to slow the growth of his tumor. I am totally in favor of feeding dogs garlic, in the right amount of course.
How much garlic is appropriate to feed a dog? I have a female retriever mix who is almost 3 years and weighs 75 lbs. I also have a male border collie who is almost 3 years and weighs about 48 lbs.
My dog has irritable bowel syndrome and she is taking a prescription sulphasalazine. Does anyone know if garlic would be beneficial for this condition to reduce or possible drop the prescription?
Thanks for your comments Michele.
Hi Dean,
Dr. Pitcairn recommends: 1/8 tsp to each cup of food.
Thanks,
Eric
Hi Faye,
I would check with a vet on this one. Dr. Pitcairn who I write about in this post does have a forum where you can ask questions. Here is the link:
http://www.minimum.com/bb/viewforum.php?f=42
Good luck!
Eric
I forward your information to our DOGs of Vernon group (our Dog Park) group. Another member posted with the following info:
Onions and “garlic” are other dangerous food ingredients that cause sickness in dogs, cats and also livestock. Onions and garlic contain the toxic ingredient thiosulphate. Onions are more of a danger.
Pets affected by onion toxicity will develop haemolytic anaemia, where the pet’s red blood cells burst while circulating in its body.
At first, pets affected by onion poisoning show gastroenteritis with vomiting and diarrhoea. They will show no interest in food and will be dull and weak. The red pigment from the burst blood cells appears in an affected animal’s urine and it becomes breathless. The breathlessness occurs because the red blood cells that carry oxygen through the body are reduced in number.
The poisoning occurs a few days after the pet has eaten the onion. All forms of onion can be a problem including dehydrated onions, raw onions, cooked onions and table scraps containing cooked onions and/or garlic. Left over pizza, Chinese dishes and commercial baby food containing onion, sometimes fed as a supplement to young pets, can cause illness.
Onion poisoning can occur with a single ingestion of large quantities or with repeated meals containing small amounts of onion. A single meal of 600 to 800 grams of raw onion can be dangerous whereas a ten-kilogram dog, fed 150 grams of onion for several days, is also likely to develop anaemia. The condition improves once the dog is prevented from eating any further onion
While garlic also contains the toxic ingredient thiosulphate, it seems that garlic is less toxic and large amounts would need to be eaten to cause illness.
Ok, imagine a human eats 1kg onion or garlic at one meal or day, i think can be uncomfortable =) so please be real, almost everything in life in huge amounts is toxic and dangerous.
Eric,
You said “I …don’t use any type of commercial flea repellent”
I like the idea of garlic and want to try it.
Q1: what age do puppies need to be to start with garlic, due to developing digestive tracks.
Also:
Q2: Have you heard of using ivermectum orally for flea control? Ex: 3/4 cc for 60 lbs 1 time per month.
I love how you’ve balanced your ADHD into dog training. It’s Amazing!
Bob
Hi Bob,
I usually wait until the puppy is about six months old before giving garlic.
I have never heard of ivermectum but I am going to look into it.
Thanks for your comment and kind words.
Best,
Eric
Any luck researching ivermectum?
Thx!
Ivermectin is a cattle wormer and is the main ingredient used in Heart Guard Heartworm medication! I use Interceptor for heartwormpPreventitive as it does not contain Ivermectin …. which is a cattle/sheep dewormer. When Heart Guard first was marketed it killed a large amount of dogs, especially the herding breeds. Interceptor is a far superior heart worm preventive. The Heart Guard people readjusted the quantity of Ivermectin that they use….but used with some other canine medication it can be lethal.
Do you know the garlic dosage by weight? I and a lot of my friends feed raw, so the recommended dosage is a bit difficult to implement. Also, even though my dogs weigh the same, one eats twice as much as the other.
Thanks,
Debbie
I tried fresh garlic on food for my dogs, and they wanted nothing to do with it, so I bought garlic pills recently, and crushed them up for their water. But how much of that should I use? The pills are 500 mgs each. And I free feed with a 30 lb beagle and a 65 lb lab…. Plus I have a cat that shares the water. I’m not really sure what to do, but I do know that frontline doesn’t work for me. Our dogs are infested every year, even after taking them for flea treatments, treating the yard, and the house while they are at the groomers… I need help! My lab has severe allergies to fleas, and will chew herself raw in places during the summers.
my mother and I started cooking for our cats after we read Dr. Pitcairn’s book in the early 1990′s. We started with extremely minimal amounts of garlic and then gradually increased it, so they would be eating 1 clove apiece a day. When we moved to the southern US, and there was a particularly rough flea season, we’d boost the garlic up to 3 cloves apiece – sometimes cooked, sometimes raw. Our cats breath smelled alot, and they definitely picked through their food (garlic pieces would be flung left and right) but they were always EXTREMELY healthy! They never had to see a vet, and they both enriched our lives together for EIGHTEEN years. We also fed them other stuff too (brown rice, peas, lentils, carrots, corn, tofu, tempeh, shiitake mushrooms, melon, cottage cheese, lemon-roasted chicken (we’re vegans, btw) salmon, tuna, cooked onions, seaweed, etc) . I seriously cannot recommend cooking for your pets enough. As long as you take into account what they need and what they like, you’ll find the right balance inbetween and end up with healthy happy kitties. Research and it pays off.
btw, initially to get our cats to eat garlic, we used a very tiny amount (about the size of 3 pencil tips worth) of garlic, then about an inch of a carrot (finely grated) and lots of tuna with tuna water (they’d eat anything w/ tuna water) as their special treat. We gradually increased the amounts from there, and then began integrating it into their daily meals.
Remove a Tick with ease… The easiest and safest way I found to remove a tick is take your finger and rotate the tick around in circles until it falls off. Usually 30-60 seconds. Dont twist it, just twirl your finger around it. It’s like drawing a circle around the tick using one finger but keep in contact (touching) the tick while doing this. It doesn’t bother the dog and the tick comes out whole. Use no heat nor chemicals required. You can comfort the dog with the other hand by peting it as ussual. So far… 3 out of 3 times it worke for me. I was suprised how easy it was.
Hi All,
As for fleas … pesky lil critters! I was told once that ALL dogs have a few fleas on them at any one time and it shows they are healthy …. pfftt to that one i think but anyhoo…
My old rotti x bullmastiff (RIP) only ever got a bad case of fleas twice in his 9 years. First time he was relatively small – about 6 months old – and i noticed it inbetween his toes where he was nibbling away at himself fairly early before he had too many on him (they seems pretty confined to his paws with only a few strays from that). My Grandma who’s dad used to have racing greyhounds said vinegar got rid of them – so off to the bath tub.
Now due to raw skin, its best to dilute it (i use about a 1 cup vinegar to 3-5 cups water). Get the dog wet, pour on the diluted vinegar, leave it on as long as your dog is comfortable as it will sting a tad, and then rinse well. I did this as an immediate treatment as i had no flea bath etc on me as was just on holidays at my grandma’s and the next day got a flea shampoo and treated once and the problem was solved.
2nd Time round he got em REALLY BAD. Vinegar was a minor help, went to the vets and got the ‘spot-on’ stuff, no change, back to the vets for a 2nd dose after two weeks, still no help, so i got creative…..
Bear in mind, by this time i had a very large (60Kg) Rotti. My solution……. leave them nowhere to hide!!!! It took hours and had to be done in small bursts but eventually i had one VERY bald Rotti. I shaved everything except his face (couldn’t shave those awesomely charismatic eyebrows in a million years!!!). although this may seem drastic, he adored his new look (we were in sunny queensland australia in the summer) and the pampering of keeping it bald for 2 weeks and the sunscreen that was needed to be rubbed in so we could still go to the park to play. If i’d have taken a photo i would have posted that somehow as he looked hillarious. All his hair grew back eventually and he looked like new. Funnily fleas dont like to be exposed, so i used that to my advantage.
So if you can put up with a funny lookin puppy for a few weeks, i suggest a good shave and some vinegar!!! Love to hear any comments you have on these options!
Cricket
South Australia
Whoa, great post. I just now found your site and I am already a fan.
Hey Dude,
Really your thought will be a great mainstream for those who are looking for Adequan For Dogs. As it sounds very good though i would like to light it at the wall of my facebook.
Hi Eric, I was wondering if you have any insight for me. I have a 10 month old male yorkie who is fab. I am considering having him castrated because that is what I have always done with my dogs in the past. Lately after reading some negative information about the fix, I’m questioning the necessity of the operation. He will not be used as a stud dog. Some of my worries are:Since he is my first small dog I am concerned he will become fearful and lose his fantastic personality. He has an endless amount of energy (yes he is a pup) but will he become less sharp and attentive if he is not entire?
He and I walk a lot so I would not want him to become lazy and listless. I suppose to clarify my question: Does castrating a toy dog effect the dog differently than a large dog. Hope you can help me. Thanks Susan
I, too, used to feed my dogs garlic to help with fleas and never had any issues. Then a few years ago I kept reading how that could poison my dog. It scared me so bad that I quit using it. Granted most my dogs were mutt rescues and we all know mutts can handle many things a pure bred dog seems to have problems with….but still I was afraid. I’m very glad to read that it is ok to use garlic again. I hate using the poisons they like to used on dogs for fleas and such.
I think they classified garlic in the onion family saying that onions were also deadly for your dog. Curious if that is even true…I’ve been fanatical about keeping those things away from the dogs.