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Coconut oil - bad reaction?

10K views 26 replies 14 participants last post by  Clementine66 
#1 ·
Has any GSD owner here had their dog have a bad reaction to coconut oil?

I started Hank on Nutiva (the cold pressed, organic) last Sunday, replacing fish oil. Today I had to take him to the vet with almost his entire left flank covered in a rash and the the tip of his tail (under the fur) he has been biting at today as well.
 
#4 ·
My dog got a rash on her belly after using coconut oil. When I took her to the vet, the vet said they were pimples that burst, and that they were normal in young dogs (I guess like in young humans?). But she did advise that if I were already feeding a quality diet, which I was, coconut oil might not add much.

I still occasionally give her some, because she LOVES the taste. I am not seeing the safe thing happen anymore, so it might have been a coincidence.
 
#5 ·
Liesje, I just finished reading your thread about you introducing coconut oil as well. Everyone has raved about it, but I put up this post to see if anyone's dog didn't take well to it.

Hank also has very dry, itchy skin and the fish oil worked wonders.

I am thinking and hoping the flank issue was already in the works before we started coconut oil. He was biting at it last week so I bathed the area with PhytoVet CK shampoo, and after that I came on here and did some research about some more oils or other things to try.

He has been itching his ears like crazy, too, and they are fine -- checked at the vet both today and last month. This happened last January, too, and I am in Michigan and running a humidifier at 40 percent in the house. Can't figure out what's going on in January.
 
#6 ·
Could be a dust mite allergy. House is closed up, and the humidity is good for mites, sadly.
 
#8 ·
Very possible. I did just change the furnace/air cleaner filter a few weeks ago, hopefully that will help with the dust. I have the kind that you can keep for "up to" a year, but I am going to replaced it twice a year with dogs and cats in the house. The one I had in for about 10 months looked pretty nasty.
 
#7 ·
Just thought to add this -- I have gotten roped into dog sitting a senior GSD on a rather regular basis. He is not in great health, has skin issues that were solved by cyclosporine but the owner couldn't afford to continue it at $400 a month and I understand that. Sometimes I think Hank does "sympathy itching" when the other dog is around because he scratches way more whenever the dog is here. The vet said Hank can't catch anything from the other dog but it still makes me wonder.
 
#9 ·
Mites live in carpeting too, Borax powder sprinkled on the carpet for awhile then vacuumed up will help kill them. But you can't get rid of them everywhere.
Onyx is allergic to them, so she gets Meijer brand equivelent to benedryl every day.
 
#10 ·
We have all hardwood floors but I know mites can live anywhere.

I don't know how you feel about Wal Mart, I personally am not a fan, but when I saw they have two of the Meijer size bottles (100 tablets) of generic Benadryl packaged together (200 tablets) for $6.99 and one of Meijer's bottles is $9.99, I started getting it at Wal Mart.

We are back on hydroxyzine after the vet today however.

It was an expensive dog day, $150 for a new training class and $100 at the vet.
 
#11 ·
I wouldn't stop the fish oil if it's working, you can add coconut oil too if you want but if fish oil works then keep using that. Though I highly doubt this is a reaction to the coconut oil, at first I though maybe you were experiencing detox but from the sounds of it your dog has dry skin anyways and may have already started having problems before you even started the coconut oil. To add to that, he also may be showing problems that the fish oil was keeping under control (at least to some extent) and by stopping it, they're now popping up with vengeance. I'd get him back on the fish oil to see if it helps.
 
#12 ·
Yes, yes and yes. It's back to the fish oil for sure and I am going to keep with the coconut oil unless we have further problems.

I actually wondered if the PhytoVet shampoo had caused the flank issue; then having to blow dry him probably dried out his skin more, and then he bites/licks, and then we have a mess.
 
#13 ·
I would agree w/possible detox as well re: the ears. Def. add the fish oil back in and stop the CO for couple of days to allow the liver to catch up. CO kills off bacteria and yeast organisms, when yeasts die they produce over 39 toxins, the liver filters these...when you re-start CO, start at low dose and work back up to where you found symptoms.

Also, apply the CO to the affected area and put a T-shirt on for couple of hrs. to allow to soak in and heal.
 
#15 ·
Thanks everyone. I really appreciate all the comments. I went back to the 2000 mg of fish oil with dinner and a small amount of coconut oil.

After feeling sorry for myself for having an extra bill this month from the vet, my friends called to tell me their pit bull ripped her chest open on a metal guard rail while running in a park. They could see her heart beating under the exposed muscle. A few thousand dollars later she has been operated on and is resting at home. I will be grateful for the hundred I spent on an itchy but otherwise healthy dog.
 
#16 ·
My dog never had a reaction to coconut oil but after about 8 months on it, suddenly wants no part of it. She used to lick it off the spoon and now if its in her food, she refuses to eat it. :confused: I even bought another jar just to make sure but nope, she wants nothing to do with it. Its too bad because she is so itchy right now because of the dry air that we are now freezing in our house because I won't run the heater. She still eats about 3000mg fish oil and 400iu vitamin E.
 
#17 ·
I bought the coconut oil to treat Joey's itching, but am concerned after reading about the "die-off" and the herxing.

My husband has the herxing as a result of suffering from Lyme and Babesia. We do not want to subject Joey to that.
 
#19 ·
I bought the coconut oil to treat Joey's itching, but am concerned after reading about the "die-off" and the herxing.

My husband has the herxing as a result of suffering from Lyme and Babesia. We do not want to subject Joey to that.
Go slow and allow the body to detox naturally, it is anyhow, hence the itching, but you have to help it along - if yeast issue then the yeast has to be killed off b/c the immune sytem is not keeping it in check and needs assistance...if keeps going then this will cause stress in other parts

Adding dandelion/milk thistle to help repair the liver so it can work efficiently to detox will minimize the herx...occasional (2-3 days here and there) of parsley water (organic) to help rid toxins/bacteria by flushing the kidneys.
 
#20 · (Edited)
What is "herxing" and "die off"?

Since I made this original post, I have continued 1000 mg fish oil and Claritin every 12 hours (prescribed by vet) and one tablespoon of coconut oil per day and he virtually has no itching.

I do believe the reduced itching it is the combination of all of the above; when it was just fish oil and Claritin or Benadryl or hydroxizine he still had a lot of itching.
 
#24 ·
In a nutshell: Herxheimer reaction can occur during antibiotic therapy. Bacteria produce endotoxins when killed off, and if the body cannot remove the toxins fast enough, it can lead to mild to severe symptoms called Herxheimer reaction. I had the pleasure to experience this myself. Not much fun. ;)
 
#21 ·
Hi, I don't have a Shepard. I have a three pound yorkie but this was the only discussion I found when google searching coconut oil bad reaction. If you don't mind giving some advice I have a couple questions about her reaction to it. I gave her 1/64 tsp Monday and she seemed to have a lot of vomit burps then Wednesday morning had diarrhea once and the tried to vomit several times that night. Could this be from a due off of yeast? The last time she had coconut oil was Monday night. She's very itchy and always biting and licking her feet. She gets little brown spots and red bumps on her belly and eyes are always runny. She's had several yeast ear infections when on antibiotics and just got off antibiotics a few weeks ago. Her vomit doesn't give any advice on more natural treatments so I'm kinda on my own to research them.
 
#27 ·
The itching, particularly inclusive of the ears sounds a lot like a yeast problem to me. Currently going through it myself. Vets will treat topically with a myriad of products mostly steroids & anti-fungals as well as sometimes antibiotics as it can turn into a bacterial infection by being scratched. The only way long term to treat it is by starving the yeast in the diet. Yeast feeds off sugars, starches & carbs. But coconut oil is supposed to help the skin recover. Found this as my dog coughs whenever she is given coconut oil & I'm trying to figure out why or a better way of giving it to her. She is not a GSD but Great Dane x Anatolian Shepherd.
 
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