Garlic in dog food

As many dog owners know, very large doses of garlic can be dangerous for dogs - a fact that has led to garlic being omitted from most dogs' diets for decades, but what most dog owners don't know is that small amounts of garlic can actually be extremely beneficial.

Basically, garlic helps to keep your dog free from all sorts of nasties: it is an effective anti-fungal and anti-bacterial, it helps to eliminate intestinal worms and it acts as a deterrant to skin parasites like ticks. For these reasons, garlic can be a real help for dogs with all sorts of ailments and infections caused by bacterial, fungal or parasitic infection. And it's benefits don't stop there. Garlic has been linked with lowering blood sugar in diabetics, to aiding joint mobility and even to lowering blood cholesterol!

Some dog foods are now starting to include garlic in their recipes but if you would like to add your own, roughly one clove per 10kg of body weight per day is a good place to start. Toxic doses really have to be quite huge (as much as two whole bulbs per day for an extended period) so don't be too concerned about over feeding garlic.

Find foods containing Garlic See the full Ingredient Glossary