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My dog has tapeworms. Is garlic a safe and effective treatment?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | American Pit Bull Terrier | Male | 5 months and 20 days old

is garlic okay for dogs? I use it to treat tapeworm and fleas and it seems to start to be working to expell the tapeworms. Which over the counter dewormers did not work for my dog. He would get tapeworms again a few weeks later after treatment. I feel the garlic treatment would be healther for him at this point. Is it safe?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 3rd, 2017

No, please do not give Champ garlic. Garlic is toxic to dogs, and even small amounts can cause toxicity in the form of anemia. The reason why OTC dewormers didn't work to treat the tapeworms is because they don't contain the medication needed to treat them. Praziquantel is required to treat tapeworms, and that is available by prescription only. I would have Champ seen by your vet to get Drontal, which is an excellent deworming treatment and kills tapeworms.

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    Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Dogs get tapeworms from ingesting fleas. If you want to get rid of the tapeworms than you will need to get rid of the fleas. You should treat your dog with a monthly flea prevention, like NexGard, Frontline, Revolution. You will also need to treat your house for fleas. Garlic can be toxic to dogs so I do not recommend giving your dog garlic. He should be treated with a dewormer, like Drontal to get rid of the tapeworms. Treating the fleas and tapeworms at the same time with appropriate medication should help get rid of both.

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