is garlic good or bad for our yorkies?

[elle57]

i see from many post that garlic is bad, but in the dr pitcairns natural health book on page 117 , it says garlic should be given everyday with every meal. 1/2 garlic clove.
i am not sure anymore who is right.
if someone knows about this please write back
thanks
elle

[Lexi Rae]

i would also like to know the answer to that

[Ellie May]

There is some controversy about this.

Large amounts of garlic or small amounts given over a long period of time can affect hemoglobin. I will not give dog food with garlic in it but I would consider giving a few treats a year. There is absolutely no good reason to give it but there are plenty of bad ones. If you feed a food with garlic in it, consider checking red blood cells to make sure everything is okay. Everything should be but there isn't a guarantee that it won't affect your dog. Why take the risk?

If you are interested in some of the studies done on this subject, you can buy an article written by a nutritionist from www.petdiets.com.

I wouldn't pay too much attention to what Dr. Pitcairn says.
There are enough untruths in it for me to not recommend it.
The book may have been accurate at one time but newer information is now available.

Doesn't he also say to feed onion and grapes?

[Lexi Rae]

thank you for that.. well i think that sums it up for me,,
no garlic!!!!!

[CupofDog]

The benefit of a little garlic is that it helps keep fleas and ticks at bay. I wouldn't feed my fur kids a 1/2 clove a day - even though Dr. Pitcarin recommends it - and I use that book all the time. Check out this stuff:

Grrr-Lick Garlic Snacks for Dogs to Repel Fleas and Ticks

They only recommend a tiny dose for small dogs. I wouldn't give it every day, b/c of the blood issues - but I wouldn't put it on the "Do not feed" list!

[magsy17]

Originally Posted by CupofDog

The benefit of a little garlic is that it helps keep fleas and ticks at bay. I wouldn't feed my fur kids a 1/2 clove a day - even though Dr. Pitcarin recommends it - and I use that book all the time. Check out this stuff:

Grrr-Lick Garlic Snacks for Dogs to Repel Fleas and Ticks

They only recommend a tiny dose for small dogs. I wouldn't give it every day, b/c of the blood issues - but I wouldn't put it on the "Do not feed" list!

Ditto!

[Ellie May]

http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=7
http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=637
http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=258
http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=612
http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=697

Here are a few excerpts from Ellie's nutritionist's site.
At least for Ellie, I see no reason to give it.
I haven't even ever seen a study showing that it works for fleas.

[diggy4]

Good thread i have always heard conflicting stories on this. The organic cookies i make the original recipe called for chopped fresh garlic...I decided to not include that in the recipe....Just not sure enough about garlic.

[elle57]

well thanks very much, i will not give it to him at all. i do however homecook for him and treats too, and i add no garlic.
i also give him the healthy powder that the dr pitcairns says to mix up.
is this ok , or not?
thanks for all your help
elle

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by elle57

well thanks very much, i will not give it to him at all. i do however homecook for him and treats too, and i add no garlic.
i also give him the healthy powder that the dr pitcairns says to mix up.
is this ok , or not?
thanks for all your help
elle

If you are asking me whether the healthy powder is okay, I would want to know if a nutritionist has approved it. As far as I know, the answer is no. I have no idea if it is balanced or not but I do know that it doesn't look like it to me. It is not something that I would use until I knew for sure that it is balanced and they are getting everything they need. I know this isn't a popular opinion though... I do know for sure that the book needs to be edited or pulled from shelves though, because as it stands animals could be seriously harmed by listening to him without double checking his facts...

[yorkieusa]

I've read a lot of conflicting reports myself. I remember reading somewhere that someone said it was like giving them an antibiotic. Now, I don't know a thing about it myself. I have always maintained the opinion that if I wasn't comfortable or fully knowledgeable about something I was giving mine, then they didn't get it.

[MIZBROWN]

I dont know too much on the garlic thing... Except that my grandmother always gives it to her Chi and has done so for the whole 7 yrs she's had her... Her belief is that it helps keep aways worms. Ive never heard of it doing anything w/ fleas though... Interesting topic

[elle57]

so what should i give him since i homecook? he does need vitamins and nutrients, but now i am so confused. are you saying that i should not listen to this book? on the healthy powder.

[Ellie May]

Originally Posted by elle57

so what should i give him since i homecook? he does need vitamins and nutrients, but now i am so confused. are you saying that i should not listen to this book? on the healthy powder.

I am saying I don't listen to that book.
That doesn't mean that the part about the healthy powder is wrong.
I just don't know.
There are several people whose dogs thrive on it but I don't think that makes it good.
I think it is really what you are comfortable with.
If I were to use the healthy powder I would ask a nutritionist if it is okay first. That is just me though.
The reason I question the healthy powder is because of all the other stuff in the book that is wrong.
I just don't feel like I can trust him.
There is one part of the healthy powder that I know is probably not correct but maybe it has been updated since. That is where he says to break a vitamin E capsule open and use it to preserve part of the healthy powder. Only certain vitamins E's have that kind of preservative power. Not just any vitamin E will preserve food well, so that is one of the things that bothers me.
That doesn't mean it doesn't work but I just don't know and I don't know how well just any vitamin E would work.

I highly recommend that anyone who homecooks talks to a nutritionist or uses a well known nutritionists recipes.
I think balancing meals is too important to just read a book for (especially if it has opinion and not science).

I would want any recipe that I use to fall within the ranges that AAFCO specifies. I'm not saying dogs can't do well without following these guidelines but they are there for a reason.

Sorry to start on the Dr. P subject. I'm just not surprised he says to feed garlic.

[elle57]

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I am saying I don't listen to that book.
That doesn't mean that the part about the healthy powder is wrong.
I just don't know.
There are several people whose dogs thrive on it but I don't think that makes it good.
I think it is really what you are comfortable with.
If I were to use the healthy powder I would ask a nutritionist if it is okay first. That is just me though.
The reason I question the healthy powder is because of all the other stuff in the book that is wrong.
I just don't feel like I can trust him.
There is one part of the healthy powder that I know is probably not correct but maybe it has been updated since. That is where he says to break a vitamin E capsule open and use it to preserve part of the healthy powder. Only certain vitamins E's have that kind of preservative power. Not just any vitamin E will preserve food well, so that is one of the things that bothers me.
That doesn't mean it doesn't work but I just don't know and I don't know how well just any vitamin E would work.

I highly recommend that anyone who homecooks talks to a nutritionist or uses a well known nutritionists recipes.
I think balancing meals is too important to just read a book for (especially if it has opinion and not science).

I would want any recipe that I use to fall within the ranges that AAFCO specifies. I'm not saying dogs can't do well without following these guidelines but they are there for a reason.

Sorry to start on the Dr. P subject. I'm just not surprised he says to feed garlic.

thats ok that you do not really agree with him. i had heard that it was a good book and that the healthy powder he recommends is good for them.
this is what i use for sammy:
2 cups brewers yeast
1 cup lecithin granules
1/4 cup kelp powder
2 tbs of freshly ground eggshells made into powder
1,000 milligrams of vitamin c
the healthy powder does not mention vit e.
i give 1/2 spoon 2x a day , in each meal