Mary Allen
Onions are one of the vegetables most used in cooking. Onions have also become indispensable in households as home remedies for coughs and bee stings.
However, the widespread distribution of onions has a major disadvantage for dog owners. Onions are poisonous to dogs. Dogs should never eat onions.
On this page, you will find an explanation of why this is so and how many onions are dangerous for your dog.
Onions are even said to prevent cancer
Onions are toxic to dogs because they contain something called sulfides. These salts of the metal-sulfur compounds are not generally dangerous. For example, they occur as organic sulfides in coffee.
According to various studies, sulfides even have anti-cancer properties, which means they can prevent cancer. With the consumption of more than half an onion a day, the risk of developing cancer for us humans is significantly reduced.
But be careful. The positive characteristic applies to us humans, but not to your dog.
Why are onions poisonous to dogs?
Sulfides are found in onions and also in garlic. These sulfides destroy the red blood cells in your dog’s body. The result of this can be anemia in your four-legged friend.
Then the body can no longer supply the organs of your darling with sufficient oxygen. This leads to organ failure and the eventual death of your dog.
So onions are toxic to your dog!
Whether raw, dried, or as a powder.
Make sure that your fur nose cannot reach any onions. As little as 0.5% of your dog’s total weight can be enough to cause symptoms of poisoning.
For a 10 kg dog, this corresponds to 50 grams of onions. On the other hand, if your dog only weighs 2 kg, the dangerous amount of onions is only 10 grams.
Freshly harvested onions are particularly dangerous. Because they have the highest content of essential oils.
No onions for dogs against parasites
When the four-legged friend is infested with parasites, there are still dog owners who swear by preparations with onions or garlic. Rubbing onion is said to keep fleas from infesting your dog altogether.
Fleas, however, are not impressed at all. Due to the toxic effect of the onion on the dog’s body, this method is strongly discouraged.
Medicines with onions should also help your furry nose against worms. Some people claim that onions naturally rid your dog’s body of these pests.
However, there is no scientific evidence for this. But for the poisonous effect of the onion on the animal. So do without the onion as a supposed remedy for this problem as well.
Talk to your vet about control and mitigation measures. Incidentally, garlic does not protect against parasites either. Many people still wrongly assume that it helps against ticks, for example.
Dog ate onions: what to do?
If your dog has eaten onions despite taking all precautions, always consult your veterinarian. Even small amounts can cause a lot of damage.
It is therefore better to call the practice once too often than once too few. Especially if your fur nose is one of the smaller dog breeds.
Onion is a common vegetable
Onions have been cultivated for thousands of years. Onions are one of the most eaten vegetables worldwide.
That’s not surprising. Because the onion goes well with almost every dish. Whether it’s a salad, a sauce, or a meat dish, our food is unimaginable without it.
At any time of the year, the onion enriches the diet of people all over the world. Onions help our digestion, strengthen the immune system, and have hardly any calories.
The many positive properties of onions were already known in ancient Egypt. There it was even believed that the pungent aroma of the onion could bring the dead back to life.
And what is so good and healthy for us cannot be bad for our dogs.
What happens when dogs eat onions?
Whether onions can be dangerous for your darling depends on various factors. Is your dog already in poor health or has it already reached an advanced age? Then even more caution is required. Do not hesitate and drive straight to the veterinary practice.
The quicker you act, the greater the chance your dog will end up with some stomach rumble and diarrhea after eating an onion.