[kjc]

Originally Posted by 107barney

Kjc have you looked into stairs up to the bed? Mine have a set on two sides of the bed and are trained to use them. Luckily when accidents do happen, we have excellent and world recognized animal care right here so I don't have to jump on a plane or miss time from my family obligations or two jobs. But, I would if that's what it takes, but that's me. Anything for my darlings to keep their bright eyes and gentle souls as healthy and happy for as long as i'm blessed to be the one in charge of their well being. Good luck with the coconut oil, I'm still reluctant to use it.

I have stairs but I removed them as when my dogs become excited, they tend to jump over the stairs to get down, which is worse than just jumping off the bed, lol. I did ask my vet before using CO on my dogs, and feel confident with my decision to include it in their diets.

Originally Posted by ladyjane

There are so many different things that we assume are good for our pups; but sometimes they just are not. I don't know about coconut oil and pancreatitis, but I suspect Cathy is right. All I know is that IF I wanted to give something like that, I would ask the vet nutritionist I use. I am fortunate that, having used her for diets for a few of my pups now, I can write and ask her basic questions about treats and other things.

For example: I was giving my foster Gizmo bits of sweet potatoes...and Cathy mentioned to me that they are high in oxylates. OMG...that is the type of stones he had years ago...I would have had a fit if he got stones because of that!! I wrote to the nutritionist and she is going to go over his records since he was recently ill with pancreatitis and she will advise me on food and treats.

Everyone seems to assume that what looks good and is so called natural is good and is ok for any pup and that just is not the case. Each one is so different.

I agree, CO may not be good for every dog. I did research and discuss it's use on my dogs with my vet prior to adding it to their diets.

Originally Posted by Ellie May

I have been sifting through studies trying to find the answer to this. Very interesting. I think it is still a ? for nutritionists. It seems for humans CCK is not released from MCTs. But in rats (I think it was), they are finding it is released through an afferent vagal neuron pathway. Have to read more to find info on dogs. and also, even if it is released, I don't know ifanymore would be released when ingesting mct than carbs. Anyway, coconut oil contains MCTs, but it is not just a MCT. It also contains LCTs.

Glad it works for all of you. I don't use it because my dogs have fat in their food and any miraculous benefits of it have not been proven. Actually, one of my pups eats a kibble with CO in it, but it is part of the overall food makeup and is not added on top of her kibble fat to get some kind of unknown positive result. I know people tend to randomly select the amount to give too. But like anything there has got to be a minimum effective dose (for whatever the effect is supposed to be). IMO, it is just another one of those things that is not necessary. Adequate studies have not been done on the cardiovascular risk of using this either.

There's a link I posted to the PubMed research articles (10,000 of them) that prove what CO can do. Granted, most are about human effects, but there are some tests that were done on dogs.

I agree, CO is not a neccessary nutrient, but as my pups get only fatfree treats, I feel a little bit of CO balances it out by the end of the day. Store bought treats are either high protein and/or high fat, so not really ideal to add either. Also, the fat in the food is LCTs, so by adding CO, which is predominantly MCTs, I am not duplicating what is already there.

I did some research to determine the dose to give each of my dogs, then ran that info by my vet. Too much can cause diarrhea, but before that happens, the coat will begin to appear oily. When I see that, I back off on the dose.

I looked into CO when Tink had her LS surgery. The vet said she would need additional surgeries to remove bladder stones for the rest of her life. One benefit of CO is that it disolves kidney stones, which also can occur with LS. I am taking the chance that by feeding her CO, it will prevent her from needing any additional surgery. To date, she has not had any UTIs since feeding her CO.

Peek a Boo has cataracts, but has always had vision. Since being on CO, I feel his vision has improved, and that the cataracts have not gotten worse. He was not a good candidate for the surgery. This I attribute to the antioxidant action of the CO, but I am not sure. Nothing else in his diet has changed.

Also found this: DogAware.com Articles: Pancreatitis in Dogs

Medium-chain triglycerides

Medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) are a form of fat that does not require pancreatic enzymes for digestion, so it is well tolerated by dogs with chronic pancreatitis, EPI, and other forms of fat malabsorption. MCTs can be used to increase calories, and to help with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins for dogs who cannot tolerate other forms of fat in their diets. MCTs may help to reduce triglyceride levels in the blood and prevent pancreatitis that is caused by hyperlipidemia, though it does not lower cholesterol levels.
MCTs are found in coconut oil, and small amounts are found in dairy fat. Purina Veterinary Diets EN Canine Formula, one of the prescription diets recommended for dogs recovering from pancreatitis, uses coconut oil to supply 22 to 34 percent of its fat. MCT oil is also available, but MCT oil is not very palatable, so you may find coconut oil easier to use.
Coconut oil is 63 percent medium-chain fatty acids (8 percent caprylic, 7 percent capric, and 48 percent lauric), and 36 percent longer-chain fatty acids (16 percent myristic, 9 percent palmitic, 2 percent stearic, 7 percent oleic, 2 percent linoleic), while MCT oil is made up solely of the shortest of the medium-chain fatty acids, caprylic and capric acids. If your dog has problems with coconut oil, MCT oil may still be an option.
When feeding coconut oil, it’s best to use virgin (unrefined) oil sold in glass jars. You can give as much as 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight daily, but start with much less and increase only gradually as you see your dog can tolerate it. (See “Crazy About Coconut Oil,” October 2005, for more information.)