Can dogs eat cloves? Cloves may be a favorite for baking over the festive season, but they aren’t so wonderful for your dog. This lesson discusses why cloves and clove oil can be harmful to your pet.
If you’re cooking a pumpkin pie or creating a bowl of punch packed with cloves, make sure you keep it away from any dogs with a history of counter-surfing.
Cloves and clove oil are unlikely to be hazardous to your dog in tiny quantities. In bigger quantities, though, they could represent a major health concern, so it’s recommended to avoid them to be on the safe side.
Knowing Cloves?
Cloves are the dried, immature flower buds of an evergreen tree native to Indonesia. Because of the robust, spicy, and warm flavor they impart, they find use in a wide variety of dishes, whether ground or whole.
Cloves, in particular, are a common ingredient in holiday recipes. Spices like nutmeg and cinnamon are common in pumpkin pies, but cloves can also be a nice addition.
Cloves are widely used as an aromatic spice in Indian cuisine, and they also make an appearance in drinks like mulled wine and eggnog.
Can Dogs Have Cloves?
So, can dog eat cloves? Dogs shouldn’t ingest cloves, especially not in large amounts. However, why is this happening?
The active element in clove is eugenol, and this is the fundamental reason for its popularity. Although it has potential antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects, this chemical is hazardous to dogs and especially dangerous for cats, which can experience fatal liver damage.
There is no way to tell how much eugenol your dog can safely consume before it becomes a health risk. To be on the safe side, you should probably avoid feeding your pet anything containing cloves.
The sole reliable scientific source is a brutal 1950s toxicity research on dogs that attempted to establish lethal doses of eugenol. Two dogs were tragically killed in this brutal experiment. However, this occurred only after they had been coerced into consuming massive doses.
You shouldn’t freak out if your dog manages to swipe a piece of pumpkin pie from the dinner table. Since there probably won’t be very much clove in any given piece, your dog probably won’t suffer any serious effects from eating it. Of course, this may be a different story if the pie also contained potentially harmful additives like nutmeg.
Nonetheless, you should consult a vet if your dog ingests any clove. If you can, giving them a detailed account of how many cloves were used in the dish will also help them evaluate the potential danger.
Can Dogs Eat Clove Oil?
There has been a rise in the use of essential oils as complementary therapy for both people and canines. Some essential oils, particularly if given to a dog in an improper manner or at an excessive dose, might be harmful to its health.
One common misconception is that anything from nature must be risk-free. Before using essential oils on your dog, you should educate yourself on the topic and see a vet if you have any doubts.
Clove oil, an essential oil derived from spice, should not be used on or near dogs for the same reasons. Avoid clove diffusers as well because of the difficulty in determining the amount of eugenol they contain.
Any diffuser should be used with caution around pets. If your dog has a particularly acute sense of scent, a powerful diffuser could be too much for them to handle. As with humans, dogs can experience a wide range of negative reactions after inhaling the oils used in diffusers.
Related: CAN DOGS EAT NOPALES?
FAQs: Can Dogs Eat Clove Oil?
Is Clove Toxic To Animals?
Yes, they can be toxic to dogs.
Can Dogs Have Nutmeg And Cloves?
Knowing which spices to avoid is especially important because some of them can be fatal to dogs. Sadly, there are spices that can be fatal to canines. The list features basic spices including garlic, cloves, and nutmeg. If you’re not sure if a certain spice is safe for your dog, it’s best to avoid feeding it to them just in case.
How Much Cloves Can Dogs Have?
As a precaution, you should avoid giving your pet anything that contains cloves. The sole reliable scientific source is a brutal toxicity study on dogs undertaken in the 1950s to establish lethal doses of eugenol. Two dogs were tragically killed in this brutal experiment.
Parvaiz Yousuf is a senior SEO writer and editor with an experience of over 6 years, who also doubles up as a researcher. With an MSc zoology degree under his belt and possessing complete Search Engine Optimization (SEO) knowledge, he works as a science journalist for a US-based website and Asian Scientist (A Singapore-based magazine). He also works as Director of Wetland Research Centre, Wildlife Conservation Fund YPJK since 2018. Besides, he has several publications to his name on cancer biology and biochemistry in some reputed journals such as Nature & International Journal of Molecular Sciences, & magazines such as Science Reporter, BUCEROS BNHS, and has an abiding interest in ornithology. He also worked as a Research Associate for JK Policy Institute.
