What's the deal with onion powder? Is it ok or not for dogs? I thought
all onion was bad but some dog foods have onion powder in them. What's the
deal? THANKS!

--
~~~~~
Jenny, Maui and Cali

"MauiJNP" wrote in
:

What's the deal with onion powder? Is it ok or not for dogs? I
thought all onion was bad but some dog foods have onion powder in
them. What's the deal? THANKS!

No! It is not okay for dogs. Which brand/variety of food did you
see with onion powder in it? I have never seen a dog food with onion
powder in it, and if I did, I would not feed it to my dog.

Onions--including onion powder--can cause hemolytic anemia in dogs.
Occasional small amounts of it are not likely to be a problem, but
it's best just not to even risk it.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

In article ,
Shelly wrote:


Onions--including onion powder--can cause hemolytic anemia in dogs.
Occasional small amounts of it are not likely to be a problem, but
it's best just not to even risk it.

agreed. Since I recently go to look into HA (even thought it turned out
to not be the problem), I would not risk it.

--
Janet Boss
www.bestfriendsdogobedience.com

Shelly said in rec.pets.dogs.health:

Onions--including onion powder--can cause hemolytic anemia
in dogs. Occasional small amounts of it are not likely to
be a problem, but it's best just not to even risk it.

I think that thiosulphate (the bad thing in onions) has a really
long half life, so I'd even be careful on the small amounts.

Not to fear monger.

A related aside: I don't give my herding breed type dogs
ivermectin based drugs because there's a small chance that
ivermectin will initiate seizures in collies and related dogs.
I won't feed Rocky food which contains rosemary for similar
reasons. Recently, I've been lightly ridiculed on both fronts.
What I don't get is why, when there's an easy alternative (like
a similarly effective drug), some people think that I'm being
anal. Sure, filling my deep freeze with old formula Cal Nat
might be perceived by some as overboard, but it was no big deal
to haul it, buy it, and store it.

--
--Matt. Rocky's a Dog.

"MauiJNP" spoke these words of wisdom in
:

What's the deal with onion powder? Is it ok or not for dogs? I
thought
all onion was bad but some dog foods have onion powder in them. What's
the deal? THANKS!


A lot of dog food companies have NO Nutritionists on board. SERIOUSLY!
They are mom and pop "let's put in the bag what sounds good, and market
it" popup businesses. Slick marketing works.

If it looks good on the label, people will buy it, and lo and behold, they
"Do"

Onion powder is a nono

What's the deal with onion powder? Is it ok or not for dogs? I
thought all onion was bad but some dog foods have onion powder in
them. What's the deal? THANKS!

No! It is not okay for dogs. Which brand/variety of food did you
see with onion powder in it?


Cesar Canine Cuisine, "New" Gourmet Filets In Sauce, New York Strip Flavor

I bought 2, gave one to the dogs (they split it and got about 1.75 oz each).
Then I saw the onion powder on it. I have the other one. I will write to
the company about this.

Onions--including onion powder--can cause hemolytic anemia in dogs.
Occasional small amounts of it are not likely to be a problem, but
it's best just not to even risk it.

agreed. Since I recently go to look into HA (even thought it turned out
to not be the problem), I would not risk it.


it won't be fed again. I am writing and calling the company!

"diddy" none wrote in message
. ..
A lot of dog food companies have NO Nutritionists on board. SERIOUSLY!
They are mom and pop "let's put in the bag what sounds good, and market
it" popup businesses

Cesar dog food is hardly a mom and pop. It's Mars, Inc, which has the
largest share of MMI Holdings, which run Banfield Hospitals that occur in
conjunction with PetSmart stores (which also have a share of MMI).

Other foods besides Cesar which have onion powder are some Pedigree canned
foods, particularly the Little Champions line, Avoderm, Dick van Patten,
Nature's REcipe (Del Monte), some Heinz products, including Pup-eroni and
other treats. Apparently it's found in 3% of the dog foods on the market.

From Innova's website:
Onion powder is a dried flavoring ingredient made by processing the dry
matter from broth into granular form.

It's probably one of those products from China (and just yesterday some kids
toys were recalled due to another substitution of product ingredients):
http://www.tradekey.com/ks-pet-food-ingredients/

One information site only dealing with the *risk* of making your own pet
foods during the Great Pet Food Poisonings claimed the onion powder added to
commercial food is below toxic levels. I have no idea where they got this
information.

I notice Pet Diets rags on owners for feeding onions, but makes no mention
of commercial use of onion powder in dog food, which AFAIC, is two-faced.
http://www.petdiets.com/faqs/display_faq.asp?ID=339
One study talks about garlic and they fed 5 g/kg body weight. My scale only
has 20 gram units, so it's doubtful this is too accurate, but it looks like
5 g might be one fat garlic clove. If your dog weighs 55 lbs that's 25 kg
so they fed 5 garlic cloves at a time. Not a real life situation.

I think that neither onions nor garlic are hideously dangerous in small
quantities unless fed daily, the dog is a puppy, has an ongoing anemia
problem, or is a toy breed, which seem to react more strongly to the
alkaloids present in onions, leeks and garlic. Which is what I find
particularly egregious about Pedigree and Mars putting them in the canned
foods marketed for small dogs. Onions, garlic, rosemary (used as a natural
preservative but may trigger seizures in dogs prone to epilepsy) all ought
to be a question of choice.

That said, AAFCO must allow it.

What's in your dog food? http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Rocky wrote:

I think that thiosulphate (the bad thing in onions) has a really
long half life, so I'd even be careful on the small amounts.

I should clarify that I meant *one* time, small amounts. As in, a
piece or two of diced onion in some left-overs is unlikely to harm a
normal, healthy dog. I don't have small dogs, though, and I don't
know how size affects the equation. I also wouldn't assume that
dried is safer than fresh, because the opposite could well be true.
I don't usually use onion powder, but if I did, I would not give
the dog any of it.

That said, it is my understanding that you are correct about the
long half-life, and that repeated ingestion over time of even very
small amounts can be deadly.

Not to fear monger.

I don't think it's fear mongering at all. HA is scary stuff.

Recently, I've been lightly ridiculed on both fronts.
What I don't get is why, when there's an easy alternative (like
a similarly effective drug), some people think that I'm being
anal.

Well, you *are* being anal, but I think that's a *good* thing. I
mean, your track record vs. that of those who were not so anal is
pretty impressive. Whatever you're doing is paying off.

Sure, filling my deep freeze with old formula Cal Nat
might be perceived by some as overboard, but it was no big deal
to haul it, buy it, and store it.

And it may end up being a very big deal to Rocky. You did good.

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)

buglady wrote:

Cesar dog food is hardly a mom and pop. It's Mars, Inc, which has the
largest share of MMI Holdings, which run Banfield Hospitals that occur in
conjunction with PetSmart stores (which also have a share of MMI).

That is unsurprising, but still disgusting.

Other foods besides Cesar which have onion powder are some Pedigree canned
foods, particularly the Little Champions line, Avoderm, Dick van Patten,
Nature's REcipe (Del Monte), some Heinz products, including Pup-eroni and
other treats. Apparently it's found in 3% of the dog foods on the market.

Wow! I had no idea.

One information site only dealing with the *risk* of making your own pet
foods during the Great Pet Food Poisonings claimed the onion powder added to
commercial food is below toxic levels. I have no idea where they got this
information.

If pet food companies use it at X level, then X must be safe. HTH!

I think that neither onions nor garlic are hideously dangerous in small
quantities unless fed daily, the dog is a puppy, has an ongoing anemia
problem, or is a toy breed, which seem to react more strongly to the
alkaloids present in onions, leeks and garlic.

Jenny's dogs are small (Mini and Toy Poodles, I believe), so I'd
steer clear of onion-containing foods if I were her, especially
because if it's in the food, it *is* a regular dose.

Which is what I find
particularly egregious about Pedigree and Mars putting them in the canned
foods marketed for small dogs.

Like Cesar!

What's in your dog food? http://www.dogfoodproject.com/index.php?page=main

Not onion!

--
Shelly
http://www.cat-sidh.net (the Mother Ship)
http://esther.cat-sidh.net (Letters to Esther)