You may have heard of the health benefits of garlic for pets, but are not exactly sure whether it is really safe to give garlic to your dog because there is a lot of information and misinformation available on the internet about the use of garlic in food and supplements for dogs and cats.

In this page, you will find well-researched information on garlic for dogs which I hope will help clear up some of the confusion you may have about garlic.

In particular, this page looks at the following topics:

Is garlic safe for dogs?

How much garlic should we feed to our dogs?

What are the health benefits of garlic for dogs?

Which form of garlic should be used?

Garlic for Dogs – Is Garlic Safe for Dogs
Garlic for Dogs
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Garlic has long been used as a safe medicinal plant in holistic medicine for people and pets as well. However, recently, the safety of garlic on dogs (and cats) has come under close scrutiny due to its properties as a member of the Allium genus, a branch of the lily family, along with onions and shallots.

A compound found in onions (and in lesser amount in garlic) called n-propyldisulfide can, in large doses, cause oxidative damage to red blood cells, creating Heinz bodies and triggering the body to reject these cells from the bloodstream. If large doses of this compound are ingested on a regular basis, the process can lead to Heinz-body anemia and even death.

Does that mean garlic is unsafe for dogs? Not quite. The key to safe use of garlic on dogs is the dosage level and frequency of use. For a dog to develop Heinz-body anemia, he would have to eat over 0.5% of his body weight in onions to even begin the oxidative process. It means a healthy 60-pound dog would have to eat a whole 5-oz onion, or several cloves of garlic, to start the Heinz-body process. Since red blood cells are constantly regenerated from the bone marrow, a dog would likely need to ingest this much amount of onion or garlic on a repeated basis to cause permanent harm.

However, garlic should NOT be fed to pets with a pre-existing anemic condition or to those scheduled for surgery. Also, young puppies before six to eight weeks of age should NOT be given garlic because they do not begin reproducing new blood cells until after 6-8 weeks.

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Garlic for Dogs – How Much and How Often?
According to Gregory Tilford, (author of All You Ever Wanted to Know About Herbs for Pets), dogs can quite safely consume 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder per pound of food 3 to 4 times a week.

Dr. Martin Goldstein (author of The Nature of Animal Healing) recommends adding garlic to home-made pet food and he himself feeds garlic to his own cats and dogs on a regular basis.

Dr. Pitcairn (author of The Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats) recommends the following amount of fresh garlic for dogs, according to their size:

10 to 15 pounds – half a clove

20 to 40 pounds – 1 clove

45 to 70 pounds – 2 cloves

75 to 90 pounds – 2 and a half cloves

100 pounds and over – 3 cloves

Dr. Messonnier (author of The Natural Vet's Guide to Preventing and Treating Cancer in Dogs) recommends one clove of fresh garlic per 10 to 30 pounds of weight a day to boost the immune system and cancer prevention.

As with most herbs, at least one to two days off per week or a periodic week off from garlic is a good idea.