Chive
ToxicChives, including garlic chives, are Allium. The ASPCA lists them alongside onion and garlic as causing gastrointestinal irritation and red blood cell damage in dogs.
This food guide has not been reviewed by a veterinarian. It summarises general information from sources and should not be used to decide whether a food is suitable for an individual dog or to assess an emergency.
Check before feeding
Do not offer as a treat
There is no recommended treat portion for this hazardous item. If swallowed, contact a vet with the amount, time and product details. Do not induce vomiting yourself.
Signs and health concerns
This list includes both observable signs and conditions identified through examination or testing. It cannot establish the cause or whether an exposure is safe.
- Vomiting
- Diarrhoea
- Drooling
- Lethargy
- Pale gums or mucous membranes
- Haemoglobin in urine
More about this food
Chives (Allium schoenoprasum) and garlic chives (Allium tuberosum) are both members of the Allium genus, and the ASPCA's people-foods list groups them with onion and garlic: GI irritation plus damage to red blood cells. The mechanism matches the rest of the genus -- organosulfur oxidants attack hemoglobin, Heinz bodies form, damaged red cells are cleared, and hemolytic anemia can follow.
Be clear about the evidence. No published g/kg toxic dose in dogs exists for chives. This entry is classified at the genus level as a precaution rather than from a measured lethal dose, so "no number" should be read as "treat it like onion" and never as "probably fine."
For US households the realistic exposures are the toppings, not the herb pot: sour cream and chive dip, cream cheese with chives, loaded baked potatoes, chive-topped soups and omelets, herb butter, and dried chives in a seasoning shaker where the dehydrated form is more concentrated by weight. A potted chive plant on a windowsill is also worth moving out of reach, since dogs will chew the whole clump.
Signs follow the Allium pattern: vomiting, diarrhea, drooling and lethargy within hours, and the more serious picture -- pale gums, weakness, and port-wine or coffee-colored urine from hemoglobinuria -- appearing around 3-5 days as the anemia develops.
Call your veterinarian, or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 (a consultation fee applies), with the amount, form and time. Do not induce vomiting at home. Ask about a CBC at 24 and 72 hours, because the blood picture develops long after the stomach settles.
Frequently asked questions
- My dog licked sour cream and chive dip. Is that dangerous?
- Chives are Allium, so treat the exposure like onion. There is no published safe dose in dogs, so record how much was eaten and when, then call your vet or the ASPCA APCC at (888) 426-4435 and watch gum and urine color for five days.
- Are dried chives from the spice rack worse than fresh?
- Per gram, yes. Dehydrating removes water and concentrates the organosulfur compounds, which is the same reason onion powder outranks a raw onion by weight. A shaker of dried chives spilled and eaten is a bigger dose than it looks.
- My dog chewed the chive plant in my herb garden.
- The whole plant is Allium, leaves and bulb alike, so it counts as an ingestion. Move the pot out of reach, estimate how much was chewed, and call your vet, since the anemia risk shows up days later rather than immediately.