My Dog Ate Coconut Oil And Is Throwing Up

The Short Answer is:

A small amount of vomiting and diarrhea might occur as a result of eating too much coconut oil, or coconut poisoning. You can never predict how severe your dog's symptoms will be because there are too many factors to take into account. Coconut oil consumption will be the biggest factor. Additional factors include Your dog's health and fitness. Approximately how old they are.

The purpose of this article is to explain “My Dog Ate Coconut Oil And Is Throwing Up“.

Are you trying to keep your dog healthy?

Have you added coconut oil to your diet recently to boost your health and reap the many benefits of one of natures superfoods?

Your dog was so helpful until he started helping himself!

A dog that eats too much coconut oil will throw up just as surely as the night follows the day.

If your dog ate a coconut feast do not panic too much they would not suffer any long-term effects. 

Read on to find out what you should do and whether coconut oil is as great as many people say it is… 

My dog ate coconut oil and is throwing up

A small amount of vomiting and diarrhea might occur as a result of eating too much coconut oil or coconut poisoning.

You can never predict how severe your dogs symptoms will be because there are too many factors to take into account.

Coconut oil consumption will be the biggest factor.

Additional factors include:

Your dogs health and fitness

Approximately how old they are

The severity and duration of your dogs symptoms can also affect whether you can treat them at home or if you need to take them to the vet.

How can I treat my dog at home?

Even if their bodies have absorbed most of the coconut oil a young fit and healthy dog should cope fine.

By getting it out of the system as fast as possible your dogs body should be able to deal with it. 

The dog might throw up or have a nasty bout of diarrhea for a few days if this happens. 

You can expect your dog to vomit and/or have diarrhea.

You can expect this to last up to 24 hours.

You should still be able to get along with your dog despite diarrhea and vomiting.

If you need to drink more water you might want to try bone broth.

If your dog is having diarrhea you might want to feed him a bland diet or add pumpkin to his food.

If there are no improvements within 24 hours you will need to contact your veterinarian. 

How might a vet treat my dog?

Your dog may suffer from pancreatitis at the most extreme end of the scale.

Older dogs very young dogs and dogs who are overweight are the dogs most likely to develop pancreatitis. 

The pancreas is an organ located near the stomach that helps digest food.

During digestion it produces enzymes that break down food. 

Since coconut oil is mostly fat it could be that the pancreas becomes overwhelmed.

Infected cells stop producing enzymes and stop working. 

Besides having diarrhea and vomiting a dog suffering from pancreatitis will also lack energy and appear lethargic. 

It is likely that they will not be interested in eating and that their heartbeat may be irregular.

You will need to see the vet if these symptoms last longer than 24 hours. 

Veterinarians will then treat your dog in a variety of ways.

Among the options are performing an ultrasound to look at the pancreas or giving them plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration. 

What is in coconut oil?

The coconut oil is obtained by pressing the white flesh of the coconut. 

In terms of nutrition coconut oil consists of 99% fat and 1% carbohydrate. 

The saturated fat content of the meat is 82.5% while the unsaturated fat content is 6.3% leaving 1.7% of polyunsaturated fats. 

Polyunsaturated fats and unsaturated fats are the healthiest fats while trans fats are the most unhealthy.

In the middle of these two points we find saturated fat. 

It is also important to note that fats are constantly being studied by different scientists so the “facts” are always changing. 

A small amount of iron zinc choline vitamin K and vitamin E can also be found in coconut oil. 

Five massive health benefits of coconut oil for dogs

In recent years coconut oil has gained the status of a superfood or at least a superfood ingredient.

It is understandable that the health benefits of coconut oil were initially recognized for humans but any fad in human health quickly spreads over to dogs. 

MCTs (medium-chain triglycerides) are the fats that give coconut oil its health benefits. 

Dogs and humans are said to benefit from these fats because they are claimed to:

•  Improve brain function by giving it more energy 
• Reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease
• Lowering blood sugar levels
• Resulting in weight loss
• Reduces the risk of epilepsy and Alzheimers

I am sure you will agree that these are some very bold claims.

What gives MCTs their power is the way they are processed by the body and the way they are stored by it.

In the body MCTs are processed and quickly converted into energy which the body uses immediately.

It is important to note that they do not become fat.

Is coconut oil with 99% fat content really that healthy?

It might not be true but thats the only problem.

Most coconut oil contains more bad fats than good fats and probably contains less MCT fats than was previously believed. 

As a result coconut should only be consumed in extreme moderation and should be thought of as unhealthy. 

It would be a good idea to dig deeper into this research yourself.

There is a podcast on this page by Melinda Culver who is a veterinarian and a research scientist who has studied MCTs extensively.

Here is an incredibly controversial video from a Harvard professor that claims coconut oil is incredibly unhealthy for humans and their dogs.

The subject is hotly debated so beware!

What is a safe dosage of coconut oil? 

You should start off with very small amounts per day when introducing new food to your dog and then gradually build-up to the recommended daily amount based on their weight over at least 10 days. 

You should add 1 teaspoon of coconut oil to your dogs food on day one

On day two add 12 teaspoons of coconut oil to your dogs food

Three days later 34 teaspoons 

One teaspoon on day four.

Slowly introducing the new ingredient will give your dogs body time to adjust to it as well as time for you to observe if he has any side effects.

Vomit and diarrhea are the most common symptoms!

Once you do not see any side effects start increasing the portion size of coconut oil until they are getting 1 teaspoon per 10 lbs of body weight. 

I have a 66-pound Golden Retriever so her daily limit should be about six teaspoons of coconut oil

How can I stop my dog from eating coconut oil? 

You likely left a jar of coconut oil out on your work surface when you left your dog with it.

Its normally kept in a cupboard but on this occasion you did not put it back.

The chances of such an accident occurring are slim.

Sometimes we are just more rushed more stressed and more forgetful and that is just the way life is.

Despite being highly organized everyone has “off days.”

Your dog might not have been bothered by your coconut oil jar since it normally sits on a counter and has never seemed to mind it before.

It is essential to put away your coconut oil or cooking oil in a cupboard if this is the case because from my experience a dog will get them if you keep leaving them out. 

Lastly I want to discuss the tricky topic of finding safer alternatives to coconut oil. 

Can coconut oil be substituted with a safer product? 

You might ask “What are the safer alternatives to coconut oil if accidents happen and you accidentally leave it out for your dog to consume?”.

It would seem that if you are adding coconut oil to your dogs diet due to the health benefits listed earlier (reducing the risk of heart disease promoting weight loss or feeding your dog “brain food”) there are much safer alternatives.

However they will take up more of your time. 

Making sure that your dog gets plenty of exercise can help you gain the most health benefits from coconut oil.

If you are feeding coconut oil to your older dog in order to reverse some signs of aging you might also want to play some games with them or have some training sessions with them that will help to keep their minds as sharp as possible. 

Conclusion

Hope the brushing with coconut oil did not damage your dog too much and that he suffered little else from a bout of vomiting.

However after reading some of the latest research into coconut oil which questions how healthy it is will you continue to use it for your dog?

Leave a comment if you have any questions.  

Amanda (Author)

With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.

Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)

Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.