Love it or hate it, there’s just no getting around the fact that ginger has long been considered a spice with a lot of medicinal muscle. Ginger is well known for easing an upset stomach as well as reducing morning and motion sickness.
What’s more, ginger contains potent anti-inflammatory compounds called gingerols. And it’s these properties that have led to ginger being used to help improve people’s symptoms with arthritis, among others. But ginger for dogs? Can our dogs eat ginger and benefit from this fragrant spice in the same way that we do? The simple answer is yes.
What is ginger?
It may look like a strange and slightly unhealthy cactus. But ginger is actually a rhizome (underground stem) or root. Belonging to the same Zingiberaceae family as turmeric and cardamom. It’s been used for medicinal and culinary purposes in Chinese and Indian cultures for thousands of years.
Although it’s often used raw, you can also get dried ginger, powdered ginger, juiced ginger, ginger in oil, and ginger ale!. In fact, ginger is so versatile it’s also available as tea, capsules, and tinctures making it easy to add to your dog’s diet.
But what makes ginger so perfect for our and our dog’s health?
The benefits of ginger
Ginger comes with a robust nutritional profile. Offering a good source of vitamin C, magnesium, potassium, copper, and manganese, this isn’t what makes ginger so unique.
Gingers’ secret weapon is bioactive compounds called gingerols. These gingerols are concentrated in the oily resin from the ginger root and are responsible for many of the gingers’ health benefits. Gingerols have powerful anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. Not only that, but gingerols help reduce fever and relieve pain.
So how can we use ginger to help support our dog’s health?
What can ginger root be used for?
Despite being best known as an aid to relieve nausea. Ginger offers a lot more health benefits to our dogs. From reducing travel sickness to soothing joint pain. There’s never been a better reason for adding a bit more spice to your dog’s life.
Motion sickness
It’s miserable if your dog gets car sick. Not only is it unpleasant for your dog, but it’s no fun clearing the mess away either.
Giving your dog fresh ginger around thirty minutes before travel can really help settle their stomach. In fact, although no one really knows how ginger works to help relieve nausea, its effectiveness has been supported by various studies.
Bloat
Bloat or Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus (GDV) is a life-threatening condition caused by excess wind. As the gas increases, it causes a dog’s stomach to inflate and stretch like a balloon, obstructing blood circulation to the heart. Not only that, but the stomach often twists, preventing the normal escape routes for gas at both the top and bottom of the stomach.
Dogs that eat too fast or too much in one go are at a greater risk of generating excess wind than their slower eating counterparts. However, as ginger stimulates the stomach, relaxing and soothing the digestive tract, ginger may prevent bloat.
Arthritis
While we often associate arthritis with older dogs, dogs of any age can suffer from inflammation of the joints. As ginger and its gingerols compounds have anti-inflammatory properties, they can play a vital role in helping to manage the condition.
Not only that but ginger is thought to have pain-relieving effects. So adding ginger to an arthritic dog’s food can have a double impact on their comfort.
Cancer
It’s a big claim, but studies show promise in ginger’s natural ability to help reduce or slow the rate of cancer cells.
What’s more, ginger’s immune-boosting properties and anti-inflammatory compounds could offer an important health boost as inflammation and a suppressed immune system go hand in hand with the onset of the disease.
Heartworm
Heartworm disease is a potentially fatal condition and causes lasting damage to the heart and lungs. There are veterinary treatments available that are more successful the earlier the condition is caught.
However, ginger is also being tested for its effectiveness in treating heartworm in dogs. Although the research is still in its infancy, at least one study has shown promise. Fifty-five days after the last treatment of ginger was given to dogs suffering from heartworm, the concentration of heartworms had reduced by eighty-three percent.
With so many potential benefits, is there any reason not to add ginger to your dog’s diet?
Ginger and precautions
For most dogs, ginger is completely safe. But as with any new food starting with a small amount will prevent any side effects from becoming too severe. Ginger can cause an upset stomach and diarrhea.
Ginger also can interact poorly with some medications. In particular, blood thinners like Aspirin. So if your dog is already on any medication, check with your veterinarian to make sure that ginger is safe for your dog.
Likewise, check with your veterinarian if you want to give your dog ginger, but it has a heart condition or diabetes, as ginger can lower blood pressure as well as blood sugar.
How to give your dog ginger
You can add fresh ginger to your dog’s food in several ways. Raw ginger should be peeled and finely chopped; otherwise, powdered ginger, teas, and capsules are good alternatives.
As a guide, a medium-sized dog of between twenty to fifty pounds would need to take around a teaspoon of dry ginger a day to be effective. While small dogs of up to ten pounds would only need around an eighth of a teaspoon, and extra-large dogs of over a hundred pounds would need up to a tablespoon per day.
Of course, there are always dog foods and treats, and even teas on the market make it easy to give ginger to your dog.
Can dogs eat ginger?
Yes, ginger is safe for dogs. With so much going for it, ginger seems to be an easy way to gain big benefits for your dog’s health. Ginger can provide relief from nausea, help prevent bloat and provide respite from arthritis symptoms.
So next time you’re looking for a healthy treat for your dog, why not make the most of ginger root and its medicinal muscle and try one of these bake-at-home recipes like this one from Hearing dogs.
Gingerbread biscuits
Ingredients:
- 3 cups whole wheat flour (or wheat-free flour for dogs with wheat allergies).
- 2 tbsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (keep this to a minimum as too much can lead to mouth blisters!).
- 1/2 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 cup runny honey or molasses
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup light olive oil or flaxseed oil
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 325° F
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves until combined.
- In a small bowl, using a sturdy spoon, stir together the honey, water, and oil.
- Pour the mixture into the flour.
- Using the same sturdy spoon, stir ingredients until thoroughly combined.
- Roll out the dough to about 1/2 inch thickness.
- Use your favorite cookie cutters to cut shapes.
- Lightly spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place your cutouts on the baking sheet.
- Continue to roll and cut out shapes with the remaining dough.
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Cool completely on a wire rack.
Storing – The gingerbread dough will keep fresh for several weeks in the refrigerator, or you can keep it in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Yield – Using a 2-inch cookie cutter, you should yield approximately 28 dog biscuits.