Onions and Garlic are Toxic to Pets

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Onions and Garlic are Toxic to Petsveterinaryhelp | Questions and Answers | Sunday, 28 January 2007 http://www.veterinaryhelp.net/qa/onions-and-garlic-are-toxic-to-pets.htmlOnions and garlic are toxic to pets!On a recent episode of Good Eats - a cooking show hosted by Alton Brown on the Food Network - the host feeds his dog Matilda left over onion, garlic and salt pork! Now this is intended in jest but in real life could be disastrous. Onions and garlic can be toxic to dogs and cats and salt pork may cause another set of problems.Onions and garlic can lead to damage to red blood cells which in turn can lead to severe anemia. This includes raw, cooked and dried versions of these plants. Individual animals appear to vary in how susceptible they are to the toxic effects. When the anemia is severe it can lead to lethargy, weakness, organ failure and death. In severe cases treatment may require blood transfusions and significant hospital time.Salt pork is problematic due to its fat and salt content. The fat could lead to severe gastritis/enteritis or pancreatitis. Clinical signs would include vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, and not eating and these diseases range from mild to life threatening. Salt can also cause significant intestinal upset and be even more problematic for an animal with underlying kidney or heart disease.Moral of the story is do not feed your pets people food because even seemingly harmless vegetables can be toxic. If you pet ingests onions, garlic or salt pork, contact your veterinarian for advice immediately._______________________http://dogscats.today.com/2009/01/14/onion-garlic-both-are-toxic-to-dogs/Onion & Garlic- both ARE toxic to dogsPublished by petlvt at 1:00 am under Dogs, Pets Edit This I get worried seeing so many non-experts claiming on dog threads all over the world wide web that they continually feed their dog food or treats with onion or garlic and therefore that gives them the ok to make a rediculous statement to others that it is safe to do so. Onions, including onion powder, as well as garlic and garlic powder, are toxic to dogs. Unfortunately, these are products which there is no known toxic dosage for: in fact, it affects dogs differently, whereas one dog can ingest a fair amount with no effect and another can have a smaller amount and have a problem. Furthermore, one dog may have no problem for years with tiny amounts added to food, then suddenly have a toxicity. Is it worth risking because a non-educated soul is telling you their dog is fine? Not to my pets or patients, it isn’t.There are still some pet companies which add garlic to their treats in tiny amounts, and rarely does a dog have a problem with it, since the amount is so small. However, it is best to avoid both onion products and garlic products if at all possible, especially in a growing puppy. Instead, you can always make a chicken broth homemade without onion powder included, if needed to help increase the pup’s appetite and eating habits.Onions are more of a danger than garlic, but both contain thiosulphate, a toxin. When onions are ingested, they cause hemolytic anemia, which basically makes the dog’s red blood cells burst spontaneously. Garlic contains less thiosulphate than onions, but an unknown amount can cause toxicity and each dog is different in how they handle the toxin. Would you taste arsenic in small amounts? What’s the point? Just avoid it.