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Lots of you want to know, what’s the deal with garlic? It’s always on the list of ‘most toxic foods for pets’ yet some people swear by it as a natural remedy for fleas. Well, it’s time for a Drool investigation. Here’s your answer...
Here’s the first thing you need to know. Dogs metabolise garlic differently to people. So much so that the ‘thiosulfate’ in garlic is damaging to your little mate’s red blood cells. So...there is such a thing as a toxic level of garlic. And here it is...
Your dog will damage their precious red blood cells if they eat between 15 and 30 grams of garlic per kilogram of their body weight. And given the average clove of garlic weighs 5 grams this means a 10kg Cavoodle would have to munch down on at least 30 cloves of garlic to have problems. For a 30kg Labrador, that’s over 90 cloves.
Putting the thought of that garlic dog breath that could make your nose bleed aside for just a moment, you can see that’s an extraordinarily large amount of garlic. And while they can still have problems even if they accumulate this amount over a few days, it makes the risk of a garlic toxicity extremely small. Basically, sneaking a slice of your garlic bread or a lick of your garlic laden tomato sauce isn’t going to give them anaemia. So breathe easy...and queasy. Garlic is unlikely to prompt a trip to hospital. Oh and it’s also unlikely to save you a trip to the vet for flea treatments. It just doesn’t work as a natural flea treatment. It will definitely keep the kisses away though...
