Can Dogs Eat Ginger?

You, humans, like to eat ginger when you’re feeling sick or have an upset stomach. But you also eat ginger in different foods to add to the taste!

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My human always has ginger biscuits during Christmas time and they smell so good!

So, you want to know whether we dogs can eat ginger too? Well, it’s good news, we can! Or at least we can in small amounts!

(I always get a small nibble of ginger from the Christmas biscuits, and sometimes I get a bit of ginger with my meals too!)

In fact, in small doses, ginger isn’t just safe, it is also quite beneficial!

Ginger contains many antioxidants, so it can help with motion sickness and an upset stomach, as well as helping with blood circulation, bloating, and others.

Ginger is also a natural anti-inflammatory, so some dogs take it to help with arthritis!

Basically, ginger is a nice yummy treat, and it’s also a natural remedy!

However, remember that I said in small amounts. If you give us too much ginger then it backfires and can actually do us some harm. If we eat too much ginger we become gassy and nauseous, and can even have heartburn. So keep the ginger treats small!

Some humans think that our stomach can handle everything, but here’s a secret that shouldn’t be a secret: we can’t.

We actually have quite delicate stomachs and you need to pay close attention to what we do or don’t eat!

How much ginger can you give a dog?

Okay, okay, I suppose saying ‘a small amount’ isn’t the most exact way of describing how much ginger you can give your dog.

A small amount for a big dog is probably a huge amount for a small dog and vice versa. It just takes a little bit of interpreting…

But fine, I’ll try and be more specific. I’m a clever dog after all.

If we’re talking raw ginger, then don’t give us any more than one tablespoon of the stuff. Any more than that and we’ll get gassy and nauseous, and just won’t feel okay.

So raw ginger: 1tbsp.

However, you can also give us some ginger flavoring or sprinkle some ginger on our normal meals, to add a tiny bit of flavor and to give us the benefits of ginger, kind of like a health booster that is super tiny!

Do you want some ideas on how to give us ginger in the small quantities? My human gives it to me in many different ways, so I can tell you a few!

  • Sprinkled or mixed in with our normal dog food
  • As an ingredient used in homemade treats
  • A tiny piece of ginger biscuit or similar
  • A tiny bit of raw ginger on the side of our meal

Basically, you can get creative with how you give us some ginger. You can also just give us some whenever we have an upset stomach. Just keep it under a tablespoon in amount!

Can ginger harm dogs?

I’ve already said that ginger is perfectly safe for us, as long as you give it to us in small enough amounts.

Do you want to know when it becomes harmful? That’s good. If you know then you can avoid us feeling sick from too much ginger! Okay, I’ll tell you.

Up to roughly a tablespoon of raw ginger, it should be perfectly safe, as it’s a very small amount. But when you give us more than that, it begins to become harmful.

Do you want to know all the harmful parts of ginger? Okay, here they are:

  • Ginger in Big Amounts:

If you give us too much ginger, it can make us feel sick rather than provide us with a health boost or provide any benefits. We will become gassy and nauseous, and can even get heartburn. And if you give us way too much ginger, as in a really big amount, then you should probably take us to the vet in case it’s caused any more serious issues! It’s always better to be on the safe side (even if going to the vet isn’t my favorite).

  • Possible Allergic Reactions:

Do you know how some of you humans are allergic to some foods? Well, we can have that too! Some dogs can turn out to be allergic to ginger, both through ingesting it and even by having it applied on their skin! This might cause a nasty rash or some nasty sickness symptoms, and you might even have to go to the vet.

So, in order to be safe, it’s best if you give us a tiny amount of ginger to try, and then wait like a day or two, to see if there are any reactions. If nothing happens, then you can start integrating small amounts of ginger into our diet!

  • Hard to Digest:

Ginger has a lot of fiber in it, so it’s harder to digest. And you know how I mentioned that our stomachs are actually way more fragile than most humans think? Yeah, exactly. We can’t just digest ginger if it’s in big quantities. So if you give us too much, we will have a bowel obstruction. Not nice at all.

  • Other:

Okay so don’t panic, but ginger hasn’t actually been studied properly when it comes to its effects on dogs. My human says it’s a bit of a mystery, and that we don’t actually know if it’s harmful or not long term!

That doesn’t mean that you should outright stop giving us ginger. I still want my bit of the Christmas biscuits! And small amounts of ginger do help settle our stomach and help with motion sickness (I like having some when we’re going on a long car trip!)

Just, you know, make sure you don’t give us too much!

I suppose the overall answer is yes then, ginger can harm us.

But if you give it to us in small amounts it will be beneficial, and it makes for a yummy treat to help settle an upset stomach, or boost our health in certain ways!

It’s all about balance!