Molly and bailey eat it. I freeze the jar and then use a sharp knife to break it up and give them solid pieces of it. I don't know for sure if it does anything for their health, but they like it. I enjoy a frozen bite of it too.

Huh! I had no idea. We have an old stinky bulldog with bad skin. Maybe I should give her some!

I use supplements like coconut oil for condition-specific treatments. Otherwise, I'd spend 12 hours of my day dispensing this or that to myself, my family and my pets. The reports of what we should/should not be taking are overwhelming.

I cook with coconut oil and take it myself for a specific health condition. My dogs don't have coat or skin issues, and they don't smell any worse than my kids (usually). Their brains are sharper than mine on most days! So I don't bother to give them coconut oil. They are large breeds, though, so I give them glucosamine. And they tend to be nervous so I give them a natural remedy when we go to the vet or when they see us packing our suitcases.

Consider your dog's health and natural disposition. Any changes in my dogs' diet is a natural disaster, so I wouldn't introduce coconut oil unless I knew it would be beneficial for them for a specific health issue.

My elderly lab Zelda has developed skin issues so we started giving her coconut oil. She LOVES it, and it has helped her skin tremendously. I don't like to give her too much because I'm afraid it'd cause her stool to be too loose and accidents in the house. If it were up to her, she'd eat the whole jar.

I get organic and give her a spoon full every night. The other two dogs love it too. I had tried applying it topically, but she licked it off-so she just gets it by the spoon full now.

My little dog gets dry and itchy when the heat comes on, so I have been giving her a bit of coconut oil. She eats it, I wouldn't say she's crazy about it, but she rarely turns her nose up at it! LOL Since we have just gotten cold in the last few weeks, not sure about how it is going to help her dry skin. I also changed her shampoo. Coconut oil is good for us (and our dogs) for so many reasons. I got out of the habit in our warmer months (other than topical), but last year I used it in hot tea. I need to start that again.

Short of going to an allergist which I won't do, maybe someone can help me out here. When I was in my teens I developed some food allergies, most have gone away. The worst reaction I had was from drinking raw coconut milk. Throat swelled, itching, it was bad.

I've always been able to eat coconut out of the bag & in food, but I'm scared to death to try coconut oil. I guess I could put a smidgen on my tongue and see if I get a reaction.

Do I buy it at the store? I've never bothered to look for it.

Tina, my dog's get dry skin in the winter from lack of moisture in the house. I may get some for them to try.

LisaD82, what is your preferred 'doggie downer'?. One of mine is beginning to drive me nuts with his whining and needy behavior. Tons of exercise works, but can't always be squeezed in. He also is getting more reactive to thunderstorms. I blame all his behavior issues (including lickiness) on being a shelter dog for his first 6 months.

Oak, a lot of foods have coconut oil in them, so you might check lables to see if things you eat have it in there. I get it at Trader Joes and my local supermarket. I think they even have it at Walmart.

Howie doesn't have any "issues" that we know of. Goodness knows he's had his share, bless his heart :( When he showed up here in April he was a broken dog. He'd been beaten, shot, had a broke ankle at some point, was soaking wet, full of fleas an so tired he fell asleep on my feet after I filled his belly with scraps and warm milk. After we stabilized him, he had his shots and was neutered. In June we discovered he was heartworm positive :( He had a ProHeart shot to prepare for heart worm treatment 6 months later but it turned out the worm infestation was too advanced to wait. So in July he started the 3 month protocol. It was a long LONG summer for both Howie and me. We had to make him a house dog. The Texas summer heat would be too much for him during treatment. He had separation anxiety when I left. We tried a crate. He broke out. We tried drugs. The prednisone he was on canceled the sedative effect. Didn't help for my husband to stay home. I was housebound ALL summer till Oct 1. He's now well and heartworm free! And he's still an indoor dog :)

He eats a highly rated dogfood (according to dogfoodadvisor.com), 4Health, but since being neutered and now living indoors, he doesn't get the exercise he used to and is probably 10lbs heavier than he needs to be. (Feeding a neutered or spayed dog an average amount can cause obesity. They need about 1/4 less than average, acordding to dogster.com) I'm not able to walk him. I've just recently cut back on his food. The coconut oil would be a helpful in weight control and as a preventative (just like in humans).

NOTHING startles this dog! Not the leaf blower or the vacuum cleaner. Not thunder or fireworks. I can touch him with the vacuum cleaner and he won't budge. We've dried him with the leaf blower lol and he's good with it. Purple is his favorite color :)

Lisaam, here is what I use. I drop it directly in their mouths.

Bach Rescue Remedy

ETA, they apparently now make one specifically for pets. I haven't used that one--I just use the regular one, which is safe for pets.

Thank you cattyles. Howie's story is one for the books. Six weeks before he fell from heaven and landed on our back patio, we lost our 11 year old choc Lab to kidney failure. She died in my arms :( at 3:45am. You would have thought I'd lost a human family member. Friends and family were trying to convince me to get another dog. No way! I could never love another dog like I loved Carly. I was not "getting over it". Six weeks later, we had storms all thru the day and night with 5 confirmed tornadoes and softball size hail. It was raining cats and dogs...literally (g) At 11pm I walked out the back to to take out some trash. This animal darted off the patio in a flash. My first thought was that it was a coyote or a dingo. I ran out into the rain to holler for him to come back. He didn't. I don't know how long I stood in the rain and cried. I was crying over Carly tho. Before I went to bed, I looked to see if he'd come back. He had! I went into the kitchen to gather up as much food as I could and warm a bowl of milk in the mw. My approach was much slower as I gently spoke to him. I think it was the warm milk that convinced him to stay :) I wanted to see how gentle he was so starting at this hind quarters I started rubbing/petting him as he ate. I worked my way up to his head and then his mouth. I acted like I was going to take his food away. Never as much as a growl. After he finished eating, I rubbed his ear nublets...he doesn't have lobes and told him over and over "everything is gonna be alright" (from one of my favorite songs by Shawn Mullins "Lullaby"). He slid down my legs and fell asleep on my feet :) We've been inseparable ever since :) There is NO DOUBT in my mind that it was no accident he found our home on a cold and stormy night.

Lisa, I am saving this link. That is definitely something I could use from time to time. Fortunately I think that part of my "change of life" is about over but I lean more towards a type A personality anyway so I'm always going to need some calming remedies from time to time. Right now I take Natural Calm. It's a powered magnesium that has a calming affect as well as aids in sleep. If I start to get panicky or my heart rate is too fast, this helps.

Monica, I've thought about trying it myself, too. (I need to get a separate bottle for myself rather than the one I use for the dogs, just because, ya know. ;-) And I've heard great things about magnesium.

I've used Bach's Rescue Remedy since the late '80s. It works on me and on nervous cats.

Monica, that's a great story. His coat looks great and he is clearly happy as a clam. Thank you for saving him.

I was washing my poodle mix today and noticed her coat is not what it used to be. I am going to try the coconut oil. In the past when I've had dogs in really poor conditions I used Linatone with good results. Maybe coconut oil will do the same thing and cost less.