[dogmom2]

Hi there! It has been a while since I posted last, but I thought I would pop in and update what is going on in our world.

Hank has finally healed after round and rounds of interdigital furuncles on the one foot. We started out using laser therapy, then antibiotics and then culture and sensitivity. That foot flared up and would “heal” and flare up again at least 6 times. By the time we hit the 3rd flare up I decided that antibiotics, laser etc just were not cutting the mustard and just stopped. We did 3 times daily soaks of epsom, warm water and a “glug” of H2O2…and finally it went away. (knock on wood). We have been free of them now for about 6 weeks.
Meanwhile, we are still feeding Darwins for the main food, and usually evening meals consist of Brothers Allergy or nice organic meat, organ and bone..or meat and preference. It has been a year of feeding raw, and I have een a huge difference in both my dogs health. Dewey no longer has regurgitation, and Hank’s allergy issue has really improved. I have become firmly committed person to “real food for dogs”. My DH is all on board too, which makes it easier.

So in addition to their probiotics, and sardines, spirulina etc..I have been reading about organic virgin coconut oil and started adding a small amount into their food daily. Being Labs, they love it and so far no negatives in their stool etc. An added benefit is that my hands are really soft, too.

I just wanted to check in and say hello. I am in and out reading up on what is going on, but have not posted in a bit.

🙂

[theBCnut]

Glad to hear everything is going well!! I’m really liking the benefits of coconut oil as well.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Between my dogs and myself we go through so much coconut oil…I started buying it in giant containers from Swanson’s. They have 54 oz. containers of organic extra virgin coconut oil for only $19.99.

[theBCnut]

I paid not quite double that for 1 quart locally, but I didn’t want to wait until the next time I order from Swansons…My next order from Swansons is going to be huge.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I have a list going for items I want to order for myself and the dogs with my next Swanson’s order. It’s already up to over $200 lol

[dogmom2]

I hear you about the cost of the supplements. I bought a small jar of coconut oil at the local coop just to see if I liked it. Fortunately Costco carries a giant tub of organic extra virgin for 20$ so we will be getting it there in the future.

[Hound Dog Mom]

If you’re looking for quality/budget friendly supplements I’d highly recommend checking out Swanson’s. I started ordering all my supplements and my dog’s supplements there. They have a wonderful selection and the prices are unbelievable. I’ve been able to cut my costs for my dogs’ meals (I feed homemade raw) by so much – paying top dollar for supplements really adds up.

[dogmom2]

I will check them out HDM….at this point I think it would be foolish not to!

[glavoie]

Hi Hound mom,
I am ordering from Swansons and could use your help. I am ordering probiotics for my large Berner pup and organic Coconut oil. These questions may sound silly but when giving the probitic pill, do you puncture the pill and squeeze contents onto food? and how much? He weighs about 60 pounds and is 6 months. Also what probiotic do you use? Also in regards to the coconut oil, how much should i give him when first introduced and what should be his maintenance dose? sorry for all the questions 🙁 They seem to just mention the coconut oil in reference to cooking, so not much to go on. thanks so much from me and my pup!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by glavoie.

[InkedMarie]

I’m not HDM but I can answer some. What probiotics are you ordering? I use the Dr Langers from Swansons….I just ordered the other dy, buy one, get one free, I don’t know how long it’s on sale for. These are capsules, I just open them up. HDM will have to advise you on dosage.

For coconut oil, I started with 1/8 tsp, working up to one tsp.

[dogmom2]

Hi there…
The coconut oil “dosage” I am using is 1 tsp per 30lbs. We worked up to that dosage over the course of a few weeks. At first they weren’t too sure about it, but now I just feed it to them off the spoon. They love it!
As far as the probiotics…the kind I use is powder form and has the dosage on the back of the label so I am not sure what that will translate to for your product. I usually just sprinkle it onto their morning meal.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Hi glavoie –

You can give up to 1/2 tsp. per 10 lbs. of coconut oil – I’ll give my girls (around 70 lbs.) up to a tablespoon a day. I’d recommend starting with 1/4 tsp. per 10 lbs. and working up.

Probiotics generally come in powder filled capsules or powder. If you get capsules just open the capsule and mix it into the food. If you’re using a supplement designed for pets there will be dosing instructions on the container. If using a human supplement go by the general guideline of 1/4 the recommended human dose for dogs up to 25 lbs.; 1/2 the recommended human dosage for dogs 25 – 50 lbs.; 3/4 the recommended human dosage for dogs 75 – 100 lbs.; recommended human dosage for dogs over 100 lbs. You don’t have to stress too much about getting the dosage exact as probiotics won’t be harmful if you accidentally give too much. I don’t give my dogs supplemental probiotics – they get 1/4 C. organic whole milk kefir daily and raw green tripe three days per week, both are naturally rich in probiotics.

• This reply was modified 11 years, 4 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[glavoie]

Wow…thanks everyone for the good tips! I ordered the swanson products and will give it a shot 🙂

[mah4angel]

What exactly is coconut oil used for in regards to doggie supplementation? I know coconut oil is great for soooooo many things for us two-legged folk (when ingested it helps curb appetite, works to heal the skin, hair and nails from the inside out, etc.) so I’m sure there are many benefits to using coconut oil in our dog’s food as well 🙂

[pugmomsandy]

mah4angel,

http://www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com/the-health-benefits-of-coconut-oil/

[mah4angel]

Thanks so much pugmomsandy 😀 It seems to have the same/similar benefits as in human consumption. I was also wondering if it would be good to rub on my Louie’s paws to prevent and heal dryness.

[dogmom2]

I have been using on Hanks feet lately. It seems to soothe his pads. It apparently is helpful in controlling yeasty feet…so we shall see.

[mah4angel]

Yay!

I wanted everyone to know that I found a 78-ounce tub of Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil at Costco for $21.49!! I wanted to post a picture of it but I’m not 100% sure how to do that lol. If you have a Costco membership I would seriously consider checking out local warehouses for it. It’s a really seriously great deal. And if your Costco doesn’t have it, you can also ask them to bring it in ^_^

[pugmomsandy]

mah4angel,

You need to load up the pictures into a sharing site like Photobucket and then put the image code or direct link in here.

On the reviews side of DFA you can post pictures from your hard drive.

[mah4angel]

Okay! Testing (I haven’t used Photobucket since my Myspace days HAHA) 😀

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/ff227/mah4angel/Mobile%20Uploads/WP_20130718_006.jpg

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by mah4angel.

[Hound Dog Mom]

Looks good and that’s a great deal – makes me wish I lived near a Cosco! I’ve been on a little coconut oil kick myself and if anyone is interested in tasty human products with organic extra virgin coconut oil I just tried a product from Artisana called “Cacao Bliss” which is a raw chocolate coconut butter (great heated up and drizzled on vanilla Haagen Daz) and my grocery store just started carrying this new peanut butter called Earth Balance that’s certified GMO free and made with organic extra virgin coconut oil (great on the Ezekiel sprouted grain cinnamon raisin english muffins). 🙂

• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.
• This reply was modified 11 years, 3 months ago by Hound Dog Mom.

[losul]

That’s a really good price. My Costco has a different brand, and different size of coconut oil. It’s Carrington Farms 54 oz unrefined, cold pressed, organic, extra virgin for $14.99.

The Carrington tastes as good as what i’m accustomed to, but the melting point is lower than the Efa gold brand I was using. At 73, 74 degrees, the Carrington is pretty much liquid already.

[Hound Dog Mom]

I’ve used some coconut oils before that are liquid at room temperature but I couldn’t find any that were organic/extra virgin so I went back to the solid. The liquid coconut oils are certainly easier to incorporate into the food.

[losul]

The funny thing about the Carrington is that it was solid at room temp. when I purchased it, but over about the last 6 weeks, it’s gradually become more liquid at a constant 73- 74 degree temperature in my house. Now the whole jar is mostly liquid. The efa gold always stayed solid unless warmed to maybe 78 or so.

The semi liquid is easier to mix in dog/bird food, but I prefer using a knife instead of a spoon to spread it on human foods, like toast, and it just looks better in a solid white form to me.

[bullterriermom]

Hi, everyone I am new here! I also was wondering about coconut oil. My husband and I just adopted our first bull terrier this weekend and she is awesome! She is 9 and she has food allergies that had reaked havoc on her skin and coat,( which is improving slowly) the foster told me they have her on Merrick duck and sweet potato(which I will keep her on) but I was thinking of also adding a little coconut oil to her food. Pros, cons? She also has a level 2 heart murmur if that matters, and a bald spot that has never grown in due to the neglect of her first owners not either knowing or caring about her food allergies… I also bought her Tropaclean oatmeal and tea tea shampoo for baths as b/c skin sensitivity and she is kinda a stinky girl. So any thoughts on coconut oil for her? Anything else I mentioned?

[theBCnut]

Coconut oil is good, 1 teaspoon per 20 lbs. Work up to that amount slowly. If she is stinky then you may have a systemic yeast problem going on and the oatmeal in the shampoo may help feed the yeast, so you might want to try an essential oils shampoo instead, tea tree is good without the oatmeal. If she does have systemic yeast, she needs to go on a very low starch diet for quite a while to starve the yeast back.

[bullterriermom]

Ok thank you very much! I took her to a vet this past weekend just for a check up before we had officially adopted her last night, and nothing was said about yeast. Is that something a vet would detect right away? Or does a test need to be done? (Also how to u get a pic for your icon?)

[Hound Dog Mom]

If the issue is indeed yeast the coconut oil would be very beneficial as coconut oil is comprised predominantly of Medium Chain Triglycerides – one of which is lauric acid. Lauric acid has anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties.

[theBCnut]

No, the vet might not know without some testing. Some vets just recognise the particular smell, but some don’t.

To get an avatar go to gravatar dot com

[bullterriermom]

Thank you both! I am going to try the coconut oil, and I am going to return the Tropaclean for Burt’s bees shampoo. Now the 1tsp per 20lbs is once a day correct, not per meal as I feed her twice a day.

[losul]

I think she means once per day. Even at that, keep in mind, that each teaspoon of coconut oil has about 45 calories….

Don’t let it be too significant a percentage of your dogs calorie intake, IMO.

[bullterriermom]

Ok, thank you. I am going to start her on 1/4 a teaspoon a day and gradually work up. Thanks

[theBCnut]

Sorry, yes, it is per day. Work up to half the daily dose in each meal.

[bullterriermom]

Thanks guys I will be starting it tomorrow!

[bullterriermom]

Any idea about how long it will take to start seeing if the coconut oil is helping or not?

[weezerweeks]

I just received my coconut oil and langers probiotic from swansons. My question do II melt the oil in microwave? How much probiotic do I give my 7 lb yorkie? He’s on mercola pet probiotic now so I know how much of that to give but don’t know with human. Thanks

[InkedMarie]

Melt it? Nope. Just put a little dab in her food.

[jennn1971]

Coconut oil should always be unrefined organic and is solid at room temperature. I would avoid melting in the microwave! Every dog I have will eat it right off the spoon and when mixed in the food the solid works just fine. You can buy this online if you would like a more economical jar. and PS you should add coconut oil to your own diet if you are not using it yourself because it will lower triglycerides just by adding some to your coffee in the morning!! you can look all of this up yourself if you dont believe!

• This reply was modified 11 years, 2 months ago by jennn1971.

[InkedMarie]

I live in nh and my coconut oil is liquid in the hot weather & solid in the cooler weather

[theBCnut]

Room temperature is different whereever you go. Mine is liquid right now but is solid all winter long. It goes solid at something like 74 degrees F. This spring we had several days of it being half liquid, half solid before it went all the way liquid.

[FreeholdHound]

Glad to read this- I just got a new container & it’s never been solid.

[theBCnut]

I like it best at that inbetween stage. When it’s solid, I use more. When it’s liquid, it gets everywhere. When it’s starting to thicken up, it’s just right.

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