Can dogs eat garlic? You may often see garlic on lists of "foods that are toxic to dogs". But is garlic as bad as those lists make it out to be?

Garlic is not that scary, and this article will show you how to properly prepare garlic for your dog and get the health benefits from it. I will also tell you in this article how much garlic is safe for dogs to feed.

First, let's get acquainted with garlic and see how this amazing plant has sparked controversy.

I. Properties of garlic

Garlic is rich in inulin, amino acids, sulfur, zinc, potassium, and phosphorus. In addition to this, it contains vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, germanium, and B vitamins.
The pungent nature of garlic warms up the human body. Pungent garlic transports energy from the organism outward to the surface of the body and promotes blood circulation. Garlic also has a good affinity for the lungs, colon, spleen, and stomach.
Garlic helps detoxify the body. It supports the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract while eliminating the harmful bacteria in the digestive tract. We usually eat garlic regularly and use it to help our bodies detoxify and maintain digestive balance.
As a booster for the liver (which usually has detoxifying functions), garlic breaks down waste products before they enter the bloodstream. Garlic also improves the absorption of nutrients in dogs and eliminates waste products throughout the digestive tract.
Garlic contains high levels of sulfur and fructans (inulin and oligofructose). Fructans can cause digestive problems such as the leaky gut, inflammatory bowel disease, and intestinal stress syndrome. Undigested fructans ferment in the small intestine and can cause bloating, flatulence, and constipation in dogs. So, before feeding garlic to your dog, your dog's digestive system needs to be healthy for it to work.
These are just some of the basic properties of garlic. We can see that garlic has many great features, but everything has its two sides and garlic is no exception. Sometimes garlic can also cause damage to a dog's gastrointestinal tract, and I think that's probably the reason why many people list garlic as one of the toxic substances for dogs. Just wanted to say that any poison that doesn't talk about dosage is just being a jerk.

II. What exactly are the benefits of garlic for dogs?

1. Can be used as a wormer: Although garlic will not kill parasites such as fleas and ticks, the smell of garlic can help repel these worms.
2銆両mprove the immune system: Garlic can improve dogs with suppressed immune systems and also help remove harmful microorganisms from the blood cells.
3銆両t can maintain the health of the liver: Garlic has been proven to be a more effective detoxifier, so it can help the liver to remove toxins from the body.
4銆丠elps dogs fight infection: Garlic not only has antibacterial properties, but also anti-fungal and anti-viral properties, and it can even fight parasites.
5. Maintain your dog's cardiovascular health: Garlic can lower your dog's cholesterol and triglyceride levels while helping to reduce arterial fat accumulation and prevent blood clots.
In addition, for dogs, garlic can also prevent and aid in the treatment of certain oncological diseases, as the compounds in garlic can boost your dog's immune system and enhance your dog's natural killer cells (cells that destroy disease-causing bacteria).
Garlic can help dogs get rid of ticks and fleas
If you feed your dog garlic during the flea and tick breeding season, then garlic can be very helpful in eliminating fleas and ticks from your dog. A dog's coat secretes a certain amount of oil and it usually takes a few weeks for the garlic that enters your dog's stomach to build up in this secreted oil. Therefore, it is recommended that you feed your dog garlic before the "worming season" begins.
When using garlic as a wormer for dogs, feed it daily for two weeks.
Note: Garlic is also good for repelling mosquitoes.

Garlic can help prevent cancer in dogs
Garlic is effective in treating colon, lung, stomach, and rectal cancers in dogs. The compounds in garlic boost your dog's immune system and increase the level of natural killer cells in your dog's body. Natural killer cells can destroy disease-causing bacteria and cancer cells.
Natural killer cells (NK) are important immune cells that are not only involved in anti-tumor, anti-viral infection, and immune regulation, but are also involved in hypersensitivity reactions and autoimmune diseases in some cases and can recognize target cells and kill mediators.
Although few clinical trials have studied the anti-cancer effects of garlic, the National Cancer Institute reports that there is an association between increased garlic intake and reduced risk of several cancers, according to several population studies.

The importance of fresh garlic
"What about those peeled garlic cloves, are they good for dogs?"

"No benefit."

When I say garlic, I mean fresh, raw, unprocessed garlic. This garlic is peeled 10 to 15 minutes before you feed them to your dog. Of course, it is best to feed your dog organic garlic if you can.

Why is fresh garlic important? This is because you need the active enzymes in garlic and the synergistic effect of whole garlic to provide benefits to your dog.

Fresh, raw garlic contains two enzymes: alliinase and alliinase. When you crush, chop or mince garlic, these enzymes synthesize allicin. Allicin is the active pharmaceutical component of garlic that has antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral, and antioxidant effects.
When you feed raw garlic to your dog, your dog gets the full range of active pharmaceutical ingredients and nutrients found in garlic. The effectiveness of the plant does not come from the action of any single chemical. Some garlic extracts sold on the market also do not provide the same hundreds of chemicals for dogs as garlic does.
Considerations when feeding your dog with garlic
Garlic is undoubtedly safe when we feed it to our dogs in moderation. However, you must also be warned that garlic can also be harmful to your dog if fed improperly or in excess.

Pregnant Dogs
You must be careful with any medications and supplements for dogs that are pregnant. If you plan to feed garlic to a "mother-to-be", be sure to consult your veterinarian first. On the other hand, garlic also alters the taste of breast milk, so it is best not to feed garlic to your dog during pregnancy.

Dogs at a young age
Do not feed garlic to puppies under 6 months of age. In particular, you should never feed garlic to a dog under 2 months of age. For puppies between the ages of 6 months and 1 year, flushing connoisseurs recommend that you only feed half the normal dose of garlic at the time.

Special Breeds of Dogs
It is recommended that you do not feed garlic to Akita and Shiba Inu. These two breeds of dogs are more sensitive to the hemolytic effects of oxidants.

Drug Interactions
Garlic can interact with some medications. You are advised not to feed garlic to your dog if your dog is on the following medications: heart medications, chemotherapy drugs, blood thinners, insulin, high blood pressure medications, antacids, etc.
Because garlic may affect your dog's blood clotting function, do not give your dog garlic two weeks before surgery.

Three: How should I feed garlic to my dog?

It is recommended to feed your dog garlic directly to the crushed raw garlic without further processing of the garlic because there are two enzymes in raw garlic, alliinase, and alliinase, which when crushed together produce alliinase, the active medicinal ingredient in garlic that has antibacterial, anticancer, antiviral and antioxidant effects.
In addition, when raw garlic is fed to dogs, it gives them efficient and complete plant nutrition, as garlic extracts that have been further processed or extracted contain no allicin or small amounts of allicin.
In conclusion, everything in nature is toxic to some extent, for example, salt poisoning when ingested in large doses, water poisoning when ingested in large amounts, and anything beneficial to the organism is harmful to some extent if not ingested in the right dose, so dogs can benefit from garlic when fed the right dose.