When your dog lays around the house in pain instead of running outside, it makes you want to do something to help. Many medications prescribed by vets can have serious side effects, but turmeric for dogs could give your pet the pain relief it needs. The properties in this natural inflammation fighter also offers many other health benefits for your dog.
Don’t think of this supplement as just for easing your furry friends aching joints. You can also use turmeric to ease many other problems with your dog. The key factor is how turmeric for dogs works to reduce swelling, and inflammation from your dog’s nose to tail.
Turmeric has more than 6,000 studies that show it is beneficial for a variety of health problems. It works through its ability to control inflammation. Since swelling causes several issues in your dog’s body, reducing it can make your pet feel better.
This bright yellow spice gets its healing power from its main ingredients, curcumin. This natural active ingredient works as an antioxidant in your pet. This action allows turmeric to reduce swelling in your dog by curbing the action of inflammatory chemicals in the body.
Over the years, researchers have looked at how turmeric can help people with major health problems. Now, clinicians have started to see how this spice can help dogs. Though not as well studied in dogs as in people, several studies still back up the use of this spice for helping with many health issues.
What Can Turmeric for Dogs Treat?
Turmeric for dogs has many ways that it can help. Of course, talk to your vet first about using this spice to help with long-term health issues. Turmeric may improve your dog’s heart health, attention, alleviate joint pain, IBD, cancer, and more. You can read our review of the best turmeric supplements here , or the 5 best turmeric powders for Dogs
1. Heart Health
When humans have heart and blood problems, doctors sometimes give them blood thinners. Thinning out the blood makes it flow through the body easier. Turmeric performs this action in your dog’s body, too. Since the blood flows faster, the heart does not need to work as hard to pump. Blood thinners also aid in preventing clots from forming.
Since turmeric works so well to thin the blood, it is best to stop giving it to your pet at least two weeks before surgery. The blood thinning ability of turmeric could cause too much bleeding during the procedure.
Because turmeric helps improve circulation, it could also help pets with kidney failure. Turmeric for dogs with kidney disease may improve their blood flow. Since the kidneys filter the blood, failure can impact how well the blood moves around the body. Turmeric could improve this movement.
With chronic conditions like kidney failure or heart disease, always talk to your veterinarian first.
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2. Attention Problems in Aging
Dog’s age as people do. A problem with older dogs may be a lack of attention or a drop in a willingness to do things. Some pets may benefit from turmeric and black pepper for dogs mixed with other herbs.
One study looked at adding a combination of turmeric and black pepper for dogs to other herbs to create a cocktail. Dogs that took this cocktail for three months had better performance in a test of special attention. The researchers suggested that this cocktail could help dogs with attention or motivation problems caused by aging.
3. Joint Pain
A scientific study of turmeric for dogs with osteoarthritis showed the supplement helped dogs that used it. Half the dogs in the study took a sugar pill while the others took turmeric. After eight weeks, the dogs taking turmeric moved around more than those taking sugar pills.
Another study included both healthy and arthritic dogs. This trial showed that adding curcumin to the normal diet decreased levels of inflammatory markers in their blood. These lower levels gave scientific evidence of what turmeric’s active ingredient does in the blood to reduce inflammation.
4. Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)
As an ingredient that reduces swelling, turmeric could help bowel problems like IBD. By controlling inflammation, your dog may have an improvement in the vomiting and diarrhea it has with IBD.
Another problem dogs with digestive disorders may have is an inability to digest food well. The gallbladder should release enough bile for digestion. Some dogs may not have adequate bile for digestion. Turmeric encourages more bile to come out thereby increasing the digestion of food.
For dogs that have IBD with diarrhea, turmeric can also help by binding the stools. If you give your dog turmeric for any reason, always provide plenty of water to prevent constipation.
5. Cancer
Cancer is one of the scariest things you can face with your dog. And some statistics show that half of adult dogs will get some form of cancer. If your vet finds a tumor in your pet, your dog may need chemotherapy, surgery, or other treatments. Turmeric could help slow some tumor growth.
One study showed that a combination of rosemary and turmeric extracts could kill canine tumor cells. The combination worked better than either extract alone. The researchers think the rosemary helped the cells to take in more turmeric. Thus improving the action of the treatment. Since the study only looked at individual cells, it did not draw direct conclusions on using this treatment in dogs with cancer. However, it gives promise to this field of treating cancer with turmeric for dogs, in combination with other treatments.
While more studies of cancer in dogs need to happen before vets can prescribe turmeric as a part of the treatment plan, the future looks bright for this spice.
How Much Turmeric for Dogs Do You Give to Your Pet?
When giving your pet turmeric, you should combine it with black pepper. Pepper has a substance called piperine that helps your dog to absorb the turmeric. As noted, some clinical studies already use this combination of black pepper and turmeric to improve absorption.
Turmeric on its own will leave the body within 3-4 hours, but combined with black pepper it will remain for a few days.
Additionally, you should add healthy fat to the mixture to increase levels of the active ingredient in the turmeric your dog gets. Coconut oil or olive oil are good choices for this.
When giving your pet turmeric, the dosage depends on the form. The general recommendation is 15 to 20 mg per pound of weight. But, you probably aren’t going to measure out turmeric powder on a metric scale. Here are easier dosing measures:
- 1/8 to ¼ teaspoon per 10 pounds
- ¼ tsp. a day for small dogs
- ½ tsp. daily for medium dogs
- ¾ tsp. per day for large dogs
- 1 tsp. each day for giant dogs
If you give your dog turmeric supplements in chew or pill form, follow the directions shown on the packaging. Should you want to give golden paste for dogs, which is turmeric mixed with oil and pepper, follow the dosing above.
How to Make Golden Paste for Dogs
Golden paste gets its name from the bright yellow color of turmeric. Be careful when mixing this and giving it to your dog. Turmeric can stain. In fact, some cultures use it as a fabric dye.
Preparing golden paste for your dog is a great way of getting it to have a readily absorbed form of turmeric. Here’s how to make it:
- Mix 1-1/4 cups water with ½ cup ground turmeric in a saucepan over low heat.
- Heat and stir until the mixture thickens.
- Remove the pan from the heat.
- Add in 1-1/2 tsp. ground black pepper and 1/3 cup coconut oil.
- Cool and refrigerate in a sealed container.
How to Store Turmeric
If you have powdered turmeric, keep it in a cool, dry place, like a cupboard or pantry. To keep golden paste fresh, store it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. If you have chews or other forms of supplements for your dog, store them according to the package directions.
Ways to Get Your Pet to Eat Turmeric for Dogs
You have several options for administering turmeric to your dog. Buying it from the grocery store in the spice section is an easy way to find it. To avoid exposing your pet to pesticides used in traditional growing, consider using organic turmeric. With the spice form, you can sprinkle it into your pet’s food or make golden paste.
Other ways to get your dog turmeric include supplements and homemade treats. Check out these ideas for sneaking a turmeric dose to your dog:
- Combining turmeric and black Pepper for dogs
- Make golden paste for dogs
- Chews with golden paste for dogs or turmeric for dogs
- Specialty foods that include turmeric or curcumin
- Homemade treats with turmeric for dogs
What Are the Benefits of Using Turmeric for Dogs?
As noted, turmeric has many positive ways that it can help your dog. Because it works to reduce inflammation, it can ease joint pain and arthritis. Fighting swelling also makes this spice a good choice for IBD and the pain it causes your pet. Even cancer tumors may slow their growth when exposed to the ingredients in turmeric.
With so many benefits, you should still pause before giving this spice to your dog. It can produce some side effects or cause problems in pets with certain conditions. Always talk to your vet before giving your dog any supplements, including turmeric.
What Are the Side Effects of Golden Paste for Dogs?
Golden paste or turmeric can have some side effects. If you notice any of these in your pet, stop giving them the herb and talk to your vet. These symptoms are not common in dogs taking the correct amount of turmeric. Side effects to watch out for include the following:
- Nausea
- Gallbladder problems
- Bruising
- Iron deficiency
- Dizziness
- Overheating
If your pet takes medicine for cancer, diabetes, or inflammation, ask if turmeric will interfere with the drugs. Also, pets with liver disease may not be able to take turmeric because it could worsen their condition. Getting a thorough checkup for your dog before starting it on turmeric is a good idea to avoid possible problems.
Talk to Your Vet About Giving Your Pet Turmeric for Dogs
If you want to give your dog golden paste or turmeric, talk to your vet first. Some supplements can react with vet prescriptions. Also, your dog may have a medical problem that turmeric impacts. To avoid prescribing the wrong medicine or making a mistake with a diagnosis, your vet needs to know about all the supplements you give to your dog.
Turmeric for dogs can help to improve many major and minor health problems. We all love our dogs and this holistic approach can give pet parents an alternative to pharmaceutical treatments. If your vet gives you the okay, try it and see how much it can help your dog.
We hope this has helped you in your search for answers on turmeric as an anti-inflammatory for your dog. Please share the post if you know someone who will appreciate the information.
