GARLIC IS GREAT!

Garlic is one of our favourite herbs, in fact it’s a whole medicine cupboard all by itself!

Garlic contains volatile oils and sulphurous compounds (which give it it’s pungent smell) as well as vitamins and flavonoids (anti-oxidants).

These active compounds have many effects including antimicrobial, antithrombotic (stop blood clots), expectorant, antioxidant, hypolipidaemic (reduce fat in the blood), hypotensive (reduce blood pressure), anti-inflammatory, antiparasitic and spermatogenic (increase sperm production).

Garlic has been used extensively in both human and animal medicine around the world. It is even written that the Romans would prepare huge vats of garlic and water to douse the wounds of their soldiers returning from battle! (And of course it wards off vampires…)

ISN’T GARLIC TOXIC TO DOGS AND CATS?

All the onion family are to some extent toxic to dogs and cats but garlic can be used in moderation. Take extra care if using garlic for cats as they are more sensitive than dogs.

Chronic overdose of garlic can cause problems with the blood including anaemia. Because it may reduce blood clotting garlic should be stopped before any planned surgery.

SAFE DOSES OF GARLIC

We feel that half to one clove of garlic (about 3-4g fresh garlic) is safe for a 20-25kg dog and about 0.5g for an average cat. We recommend giving it on 5 days out of 7.

We feel that the benefits of using fresh garlic far outweigh the aroma as processing and drying the garlic can lead the loss of volatile oils.