Here we go on another panic. Everyone(?) is talking about the dangers of onions and garlic fed to dogs. Chocolate is meant to be toxic to dogs but you never heard about it before and I bet there are people who still give chocs to their dogs.
Is there anybody who can be rational about this new topic and give me a balanced view on the dangers (?) of either onion or garlic. I am sure that over the 14 years of his life my previous Golden had any combination of the two on many occassions with no apparent effects. Now I feel that I will panic if I may have given my young Golden a bit of onion with some left overs of ours!!!

I think your dog would have to consume quite a large amount of garlic or onions to have any detrimental effects!
My lot get a pinch of garlic in their food each night and it's certainly not caused any of them any harm.

Sarah.

Chocolate is meant to be toxic to dogs but you never heard about it before and I bet there are people who still give chocs to their dogs

My Lab nearly died from eating a toberlone bar! it was only a matter of good luck on my behalf that saved him! if he had been a smaller breed he would not be here now!
i constantly tell people his story to stop the same thing happening again..
as for garlic i always give him a pinch in his tea!
i suppose it depends on the quantity and and size of the dog
sorry i dont have any more info for you

found this the other day
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1661&articleid=1030

Nicci

Lots of things on there that mine get all the time like Bones? eggs liver raw fish etc.. though not in excess I suppose. Why did they include STRING? not classed as a food I would have thought? seems odd to include it after all I assume we all know Foreign bodies of any kind are not a food source?

I'm surprised that a Toblerone bar would be that dangerous to a lab (unless it was a small puppy) :) The most dangerous chocolate is cocoa powder, then dark chocolate and it also depends on the amount and weight of the dog. My 18kg crossbreed ate several large boxes of chocolates years ago. The vet calculated how much theobromine was in it (he was sure he hadn't eaten enough to do him any harm), but pumped his stomach just in case :)

Daisy

Remind me to check the list on the wall at work, stating the quantities that require vet treatment. Then I can post it on here and everyone will know. :)

Daisy it was a huge one and the dark chocolate one! as its swiss chocolate it contains 70% cocoa
he weighs 30 kilos and it nearly killed him
the only bit left was a pice of wrapper with a t on it!

LOL - I thought that you meant a regular sized one :D :D :D

Bramble pigged out on a 2lb box of Belgium chocolates plus a 1lb box of dark chocolate gingers plus the contents of my children's advent calendars :D :D :D He managed to unwrap a parcel through brown paper, bubble wrap, Xmas paper and then open the boxes :D :D I don't think that he ate any of the wrappers. When I came home from work he was just looking a bit sheepish sitting in the middle of the paper :D The previous Xmas he had eaten a large box of liquer chocolates which left him rather hyper :D We thought that we had sorted the thieving problem after this, but didn't realise that the large parcel from my mother contained chocolates :( :( Fortunately he hasn't stolen anything in the 6 years since - must have been his swan song :)

Daisy

Our first Dobe ate a box of chocolate covered brazil nuts one Christmas night. When my parents came down the next morning she'd had explosive diarrhea everywhere, sprayed all up the living room walls We made sure to move the boxes of sweets out of reach during the night after that.

The next Dobe raided the christmas tree one night and ate all of the hanging chocolates. He unwrapped every single one before consumption! No more xmas tree chocs after that.

Current Dobe hasn't got his chops around anything forbidden. I'm too wise for that now :D (famous last words)

Okay, I remembered to copy down the details, so here we go ...

The list is the amounts of the various products a 10kg dog would need to ingest to require treatment. Obviously the quantities would extrapolate up or down for different sized dogs.

White chocolate:         22 kg (!!)
Drinking choc powder:  400g
Milk chocolate:           90-134g
Plain/dark chocolate:   2.5-45g
Cocoa powder:           8-38g
Cocoa beans:             5-18g
Cocoa shell mulch:      7-15g

The treatment threshold is 20mg theobromine per kilogram bodyweight.

I give my dogs a clove of garlic most days and they are healthy.
I don't ever feed onions or knowingly let them eat anything of ours which contain onions.

I imagine it's a bit like people, if they have an allergy to something (as some can and do with onions, grapes and chocolate) then it could be  dangerous for them, but if they don't have an allergy or intolerance then a small amount should not be harmful

Onions can cause a fatal anaemia in dogs, it is dose dependant like chocolate.

Garlic is perfectly safe as there are many specially formulated garlic supplements made for dogs and it is commonly added to commercial foods to enhance flavour

My dogs get garlic in there food and has never had a problem, Never had worms or fleas. Garlic is also good for reducing wind in dogs.
I was also told my one of my groomers that if you crush a clove of garlic boil it in a little water then place the water when cooled in a spray bottle and mist your dogs fur it helps keep skin and coat in good condition and repells fleas, I tried this and because my dogs never had fleas i dont know if that works but it does keep there fur nice and shiny, Smelly for a couple of hours but that i can deal with.

My dogs also get chocolate and never had any probs, That said my dogs will eat anything from eggs to curries and never caused any diarreah or any other problems, i say my dogs have really strong stomachs haha

Whilst we are on this subject, can anyone tell me why grapes shouldn't be given to dogs - is it the choking hazard?

No, one of the chemicals they contain can cause renal problems.

garlic is part of the onion family and an earlier thread is right in that onion can cause anemia, but i read in a herb book that a dog would have to eat a whole onion bulb and then continue to eat onion every day to cause harm so i guess a little onion now and again causes no harm just dont feed them bolegnese every night!!! a little garlic every day is really good for them just as it is for us but i am sure i a whole bulb would cause problems. garlic is a natural antibiotic and helps deter fleas.

The latest two ive heard is Broccelli (sp) and Tomatoes!

>The latest two ive heard is Broccelli (sp) and Tomatoes!

These 2 things should'nt be given to arthritic dogs.For healthy dogs they are fine,both in moderation,especially broccoli.

Do you mean they shouldnt be given to dogs with arthritus and on  medication or just if the dog has arthritus, my oldest dog is getting stiffer now.

Excess broccoli has something to do with the uptake of calcium in the body.I cant remember the exact facts,but remember it has something to do with prohibiting calcium absorbtion.

Tomatoes, as with all members of the nightshade family(potatoes etc) shouldnt be fed to arthritic dogs as they can aggravate their symptoms.

Do you mean that good old Broc and toms shouldnt be eaten if you have arthritis? Does that include humans too? I love both....never connected pain and them though?

I have heard toms aggravate arthritis in humans, nothing to do with medication.

No body knows what makes grapes or raisins toxic to dogs, they are still speculating.