Garlic for Pets
** Consult your veterinarian before giving your pets Dehydrated Garlic Powder. **
We have loose garlic cloves available for making your own organic garlic powder for pets. The loose Susanville is ideal for your four legged buddies. You can leave the skin on the clove to dry and your critters will not know the difference. Loose garlic cloves available for $11.00 per pound. See Food Garlic for organic loose Susanville garlic cloves. It's not too late to get ready for those summer pests!
Summer in the Pacific Northwest can be very uncomfortable for our four legged friends, due to mosquitoes, flies, fleas and ticks. To help my critters enjoy the summer months I feed them organic garlic powder. I like to use green garlic in July because it’s easy to peel. Peel about five pounds of garlic at a time, chop, dehydrate and grind it again to make a beautiful powder that your animals will love! Start by mixing a small amount into the animals feed, than gradually add more until you are at the recommended dose.
Our Four Legged Friends at Hood River Garlic Include:
An old gray Arabian mare named Spots. Buster, the miniature striped panther and number one barn cat. Mollie the resident Black Lab and farm mascot is always happy to see you (and play ball). Last but certainly not least, the newest family member, black lab mix named Jenny.
Garlic for Pests:
For horses; garlic powder helps eliminate flies, midges and mosquitoes.
For dogs and cats; garlic powder helps eliminate fleas and ticks.
Garlic for Pets:
Feed horses 1 ½ ounce per 1000 pounds.
Feed dogs 2 grams per 40 pounds.
Feed cats 1/2 gram per 10 pounds.
Concerns that garlic is toxic for Cats and Dogs:
There are studies which claim that garlic can be toxic to dogs and cats. Garlic contains thiosulphate, which can cause Heinz factor anemia or hemolytic anemia. This condition could cause circulating blood cells to burst. There is a large amount of controversy whether garlic contains enough thiosulphate to be a concern. The key is to introduce the garlic to your pet’s diet slowly and only feed the animals small amounts daily. If you follow these guidelines the benefits greatly outweigh the risks. Begin with a ¼ of the full dose and increase slowly. Watch your pet closely for any unusual behavior. Symptoms of hemolytic anemia can develop in a few hours or up to a few days. These symptoms include: diarrhea, loss of appetite, weakness, depression and vomiting. If anemia progresses, the dog’s urine could show red pigment from damaged blood cells.
The chemistry of garlic changes during different preparations. Dehydrated garlic is the safest way to supplement your cat and dog because it contains very little allicin.
As I mentioned above, please consult your veterinarian before giving your pets dehydrated garlic powder.
Other foods to avoid feeding dogs are; onions, tomatoes, raisins, grapes, fat, chocolate, caffeine, sugar, processed foods. See article written by CJ Puotinen, titled "Toxic to Dogs" on web for more information.
**It will take time for the dehydrated garlic to build up in your pets system. Please allow two to four weeks for the garlic to take effect. I start adding garlic powder to my critters feed in April. If you are really ambitious and make plenty of garlic powder, year round feeding is recommended.
In addition to the insect repelling qualities, the benefits also include:
- Natural MSM
- Natural Antioxidant
- Antibacterial, helps fight infection
- Antiviral, anti fungal and anti-parasitic
- Helps build a healthy immune system
- Inhibits the growth of cancer cells. (The number one killer of dogs)
- Promotes friendly bacteria in the digestive tract*
- Contains organic sulfur
See "How to make Garlic Powder"
**Note: DO NOT use Siberian Garlic for cats and dogs. Although allicin is good for humans, it is best to feed your canine and feline friends a garlic variety with small amounts of allicin.
If you do not have the garlic or the time to make your own garlic powder, visit Springtime Inc's web site at www.springtimeinc.com
This is the fourth year that I have been feeding dehydrated garlic to my horse and her overall heath and appearance has improved. Her hair is shiny and silky and her skin has improved tremendously from bug bites. I have been able to cut down the amount of time she wears her fly mask. The mosquitoes don’t like the smell of garlic so they don’t bother her as much.
Buster the cat is going on four years flea and tick free! He used to get fleas twice a year, before I knew about using garlic for pets. I applied some horrible Flea and Tick retardant and it made him sick! Poor Buster was sick for two days from the poison in the Flea and Tick application. I swore never to poison my cat again and now he is on the dehydrated garlic and Brewers yeast (or nutritional yeast) program. I make my own blend of ¼ teaspoon of dried garlic and ½ teaspoon of nutritional yeast. The Nutritional Yeast also helps improve their coats.
Jenny has been eating dehydrated garlic and nutritional yeast in her food since she was about six months old. After seeing what the flea and tick retardant did to Buster, there was no way I would put it on my best friend. She has been eating the dehydrated garlic and Nutritional yeast and we haven’t had any problem with fleas. The ticks are quite abundant here in the spring so I also check for ticks daily. The nutritional yeast makes her coat shiny and helps cut down on shedding.
Dehydrated garlic powder works great for my pets, I hope that you will try it for your pets too!
Here is a new recipe that I have been feeding Buster and Jenny. They love the taste and it is healthy for them. It comes from Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, but I have altered it slightly. I omitted the bone meal which is hard to find.
Tasty Powder
2 ½ cups nutritional or brewer’s yeast
1 ¼ cup lecithin granules
1/3 cup kelp powder
1500 milligrams ground vitamin C (you can also empty out Vitamin C capsules)
1 tablespoon dehydrated garlic powder (see recipe on how to make your own garlic powder) Jenny with her very shiny coat.
Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and mix well.
Transfer into jar and store in the refrigerator.
Add mixture to your cat and dogs food everyday.
For cats and small dogs, 8 – 20 lbs; 1 to 2 teaspoons per day
For medium dogs, 20- 60 lbs; 2 to 3 teaspoons per day
For large dogs, 60 – 90 lbs 1 tablespoon per day
For extra large dogs, 90 – up; 2 tablespoons per day
My cat and dog LOVE this powder. If you have a finicky eater just try this powder and see how much your critter will love it. (If this doesn't work… try cooking them some London Broil in the crock pot!)
References
Dr. Richard Pitcairn, DMV. Dr. Pitcairn's complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. Printed by Rodale Inc.
CJ Puotinen, Natural Remedies for Dogs and Cats, Article on web; Toxic to Dogs.
*Springtime Inc, Bug off Garlic for Dogs, www.springtimeinc.com
