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Summary: Garlic has many health benefits for dogs, including helping dogs naturally repel fleas and ticks, detox the system, and fight cancer. For dogs that weigh 10 to 15 pounds, 1/2 clove of garlic is recommended. For dogs that weigh 20 to 40 pounds, one clove of garlic is recommended. For dogs that weigh 45 to 70 pounds, two cloves of garlic are recommended. The easiest way to use garlic to repel fleas is Bug Off by Springtime Supplements, which offers dosage recommendations for high flea infestation areas.

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Whenever the topic of feeding garlic to dogs comes up, I receive a comment warning me about the dangers. And I get it; there is a lot of misinformation out there, and I hope to clarify things here.

Feeding dogs too much garlic can lead to various health issues, and you can find warnings online. Garlic is lumped into the same category as onions, which I would never feed to my dogs, and some websites state that garlic is 5x more toxic than onions.

So why do I feed my garlic to my dogs? The benefits far outweigh the risks, which can be eliminated by feeding the right amount of garlic, which is easy to do (dosages below).

The Study that is Misleading Pet Parents

The study that has created so much confusion and fear surrounding feeding garlic to dogs was by KW Lee et al during which dogs were fed 5 grams of garlic for every 2.2 pounds (or 1 kilo) of body weight.  That's about 132 grams of garlic for a 60-pound dog (Rodrigo's weight).

To put this into perspective, I would need to feed my 60-pound dog 4-1/2 small bulbs of garlic (approximately 30 grams each) or 2-1/2 large bulbs of garlic (approximately 50 grams each) to reach toxic levels. I would never do this because it's an outrageous amount of garlic to feed a dog; I wouldn't eat that much.

However, it's essential to know that garlic should never be fed to puppies, pregnant dogs, or dogs with an anemic condition.

Benefits of Garlic for Dogs

Garlic is a natural flea, tick, and mosquito repellent. I've been told garlic takes a couple of weeks to build up in the system to ward off biting insects, so I start in March and continue through summer.

Other benefits of feeding garlic to our dogs include:

• Garlic helps to fight cancer by destroying cancer cells.
• Garlic acts as a natural detox.
• Garlic stops the formation of blood clots in the system.
• Garlic reduces cholesterol.
• Garlic is a natural antibiotic, anti-fungal, and anti-parasitic.

Garlic's Anti-Cancer Benefits

I get so excited when I learn that a food may either prevent cancer or encourage cell death in cancer cells.

“Observations over the past years have shown that the consumption of garlic in the diet provides strong protection against cancer risk. Previous studies involving garlic phytochemicals have usually focused on the cancer chemopreventive properties, but there is little published evidence showing its therapeutic potential in cancer treatment. In view of the multitargeted carcinoma actions and lack of severe toxicity, some components of garlic are likely to play vital roles in the selective killing of cancer cells.” ~ Phytochemicals of garlic: Promising candidates for cancer therapy

Read more…

• Autophagy Therapeutic Potential of Garlic in Human Cancer Therapy
• A novel therapeutic anticancer property of raw garlic extract via injection but not ingestion
• 7 Raw Garlic Benefits for Fighting Disease, Dr. Axe
• Allicin: The Beneficial Compound that Makes Garlic So Healthy
• 11 Proven Health Benefits of Garlic

What You Need to Know Before Shopping

It's important to use fresh, organic garlic. I prefer to grow garlic at home or buy from a local farm or farmer's market that offers locally grown produce. Garlic that isn't organic may have been imported from overseas, and it may have been rinsed off with chemicals.

According to Herbalist Rita Hogan, in this article for Dogs Naturally Magazine, the property in garlic that provides medicinal benefits is called allicin, which degrades after some time (10-15 minutes), so it must be used immediately. Using crushed or minced garlic, which we find at the grocery store, won't work; the medicinal benefits are no longer there. It must be fresh garlic – crushed, allowed to sit for 10 minutes, then mixed in the appropriate dosage into a dog's meal.

How Much Garlic is Safe for Dogs

Dr. Pitcairn derived these dosage amounts in his book The Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. There is conflicting information about how often we can feed garlic to our dogs; some say daily is fine, some say every couple of days, and some say every other week. This contradictory information is why I primarily use a garlic supplement.

• 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 6.8 kg) – half a clove.
• 20 to 40 pounds (9.1 to 18.1 kg) – 1 clove.
• 45 to 70 pounds (20.4 to 31.8 kg) – 2 cloves.

How Much Garlic Helps Repel Fleas on Dogs

The above dosages are reported to be enough to provide the benefits, including repelling fleas and ticks. When using Bug Off by Springtime Supplements, the dosage amounts are:

• Good: One scoop ( 3 grams) per 60 lb body weight daily.
• Better: Two scoops per 60 lb body weight daily.
• Best*: Three scoops per 60 lb body weight daily.

Springtime Supplements recommends using the “best” dosage for areas with high flea infestations. For my dogs, I add 1/2 tsp of Bug Off to each meal—this is enough to keep fleas at bay so far.

How I Add Garlic to My Dogs' Diet

I use a supplement instead of fresh garlic because it's easier. With fresh garlic…

• I have to buy organic (or from a farmer's market) because I've been told that non-organic garlic is imported.
• I still need to confirm that the garlic isn't imported.
• I have to crush the right amount per dog, let it sit for 15-20 minutes, then serve and hope the dogs eat it.

When you have several big dogs, sourcing organic garlic and prepping it every other day seems like a tremendous amount of work, so I use garlic granules from Springtime Supplements. They also offer tablets, but I prefer the granules because I can mix them into my dogs' meals.

I started by splitting one teaspoon between four dogs (60-70 lbs.) every other day, and it works. Today, each dog gets 1/2 teaspoon in their meals several days a week in the spring, summer, and fall.

Another great supplement that contains garlic is Animal Essentials Herbal Green Alternative. This is recommended for the immune system, but not to repel fleas.

Isn't Garlic a Hot Food Energetically?

Yes. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, garlic is a HOT food. For my dogs, this would typically mean that I need to take care when feeding garlic to Rodrigo (my HOT dog) and Scout (I feed neutral/cooling proteins because of his cancer).

I still add Bug Off to my dogs' meals because…

• we don't have to avoid foods; we need to keep their energy in mind when feeding
• I feed primarily neutral and cooling proteins, so a small amount of garlic won't hurt
• I add Bug Off to my dogs' meals every other day
• I split a small amount, one teaspoon, between our four dogs

So far, it's working. I haven't noticed any changes in Rodrigo, my canary in the gold mind regarding diet.

Dangerous Foods Lists Aren't Accurate

When you see those lists that have a scary number of dangerous foods for dogs, take a moment to research the foods. There are so many things on those lists that are a steady part of my dogs' diet, including:

• raw meat – because I feed a raw food diet; dogs can naturally handle the bacteria in meat.
• raw bones – for calcium, phosphorus, teeth cleaning, and satisfying a chew drive.
• avocados – a great source of healthy fat (I don't feed the skin or pit).
• mushrooms – I add mushrooms to my dogs' vegetable mix and a mushroom supplement to their meals. It's important to choose functional mushrooms and not pick mushrooms from your backyard.

I've recently been reading that grapes may no longer be seen as toxic to dogs. This is interesting because we grow wine grapes on our property, and our dogs eat them at their level and have never had an issue. Does this mean that they're safe? No, but our vet said not to worry. They're not eating enough to cause issues. I'm not saying that we should all run out and buy grapes for our dogs; I'm just saying that we must do our homework when researching dog nutrition. We can't always count on what we read on the Internet (including my blog).

Read More About Dog Nutrition

• Is Green Tea Toxic to Dogs? Benefits and Uses
• The Hidden Dangers of an 80 10 10 Raw Dog Diet: What You Need to Know
• Books to Help Dog Owners Feed Their Dog Better
• The Truth About Raw Feeding
• What You Don't Know About Chia, Hemp, and Flaxseeds