Dogs turmeric guide: benefits, safety, side effects, dosing tips and what veterinary research says about curcumin.
I’ve long been fascinated by the bright orange-yellow turmeric rhizomes stacked at my local supermarket. Turmeric (Curcuma longa) belongs to the Zingiberaceae family, along with ginger and galangal.
The active compounds responsible for turmeric’s distinctive colour and medicinal qualities are polyphenolic curcuminoids, particularly curcumin. Curcuminoids have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anticancer properties and have also been shown to support liver health, lower cholesterol and reduce platelet aggregation. Beyond medicine, turmeric has long been used as a flavouring spice, dye and cosmetic.
Traditional uses
Traditionally, turmeric has been used to treat peptic ulcers, although, interestingly, one study on mice found that large doses of turmeric oil might cause gastrointestinal ulceration. It is also used to ease pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis, and in Asian medicine to treat skin, lung, liver and gut disorders.
Veterinary and agricultural uses have included topical applications for ticks, skin ulcers, castration wounds, fungal diseases and udder infections in dairy cows.
Evidence from modern research
A quick search shows turmeric’s diverse applications:
- Strong antifungal activity of turmeric essential oil against Tinea species.
- Benefits inflammatory bowel disease through immune modulation and gut barrier support.
- Anti-inflammatory effects in liver disease.
- Key actions include anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypolipidemic, antiplatelet, antimicrobial, carminative, depurative, choleretic, cholecystokinetic and COX-2 inhibition.
Veterinary evidence
There are few high-quality veterinary trials. A handful of small studies have tested turmeric extracts for canine osteoarthritis, with mixed results. One long-term study suggested curcumin might slow the progression of degenerative myelopathy in dogs.
Cancer care is a common reason integrative veterinarians prescribe high doses of curcumin, given its anti-inflammatory effects and potential enhancement of natural killer cell activity—important factors, because chronic inflammation can drive cancer progression.
However, curcumin’s interactions with conventional treatments can be complex. It has sometimes reduced the effectiveness of cyclophosphamide, while in other contexts it enhances it. In some cases, a “washout period” is advised, pausing curcumin use 24 hours before chemotherapy a