EDMOND —
Q: I have heard that feeding garlic to my dog can help control her flea problem. Ginger is a 6-year-old Golden Retriever, and she seems to be a flea magnet. We like to take walks around the neighborhood but she always comes home with fleas. I gave her a garlic clove and she liked it. Should I give her one every day or periodically? I read that garlic powder may be better than whole garlic. However I also read that garlic can cause anemia and I would never want to hurt her trying to help her. What are your thoughts on using garlic to kill fleas?
A: In the human world there are several reported benefits of eating garlic. It is somewhat different however in the doggy world. Garlic has been touted to kill fleas on dogs but a garlic tablet is usually the recommended form. It is supposed to make your pet taste bad so fleas do not like the taste of her blood.
A carefully controlled study was done in the late ’90s that looked at this question in a scientific manner. The end result was that it made a 5 percent difference in the flea burden between garlic-treated and untreated dogs exposed to identical numbers of fleas. This is hardly worth the price of the garlic.
The other part of your question concerns the anemia that garlic can cause in dogs. This is true. It is even worse in cats, but dogs are certainly affected. Anemia usually results from chronic supplementation so a dose or two that you gave her in clove form will not likely be harmful.
For the cost of the garlic and the lack of its efficacy, I would not recommend its use, especially since there is a chance it could harm Ginger.
Two products that work well and are safe for Ginger are Frontline and Advantage. These are both topical products and are much better than the old flea dips and certainly flea bombs. Neither of these products is absorbed through the skin into the bloodstream, and both are truly “topicals.”
The key is to wait two days after a bath to apply the chosen product since it needs the oils on the skin to distribute. Then, after it is applied, do not pet Ginger for about 24 hours in the area of application. Also, do not bathe her with a strong or soapy shampoo after application since this can remove some of the product and decrease its efficiency. You should reapply it about every 28 days since Ginger is a flea attractor.
DR. M. MARGARET KING, a longtime Edmond veterinarian, is a guest columnist. If you have any questions for her, send them to 1900 S. Bryant, Edmond, OK 73013.
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