We know all about how olive oil can help our own diets, but have you heard about how it can help your dog? The same reasons you should be consuming olive oil are the reasons why you should be letting your dog in on the healing powers of olive oil as well. Some people have heralded the oil as a superfood.
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how much olive oil for dogs dry skin
Too much olive oil makes the skin greasy and could provide a breeding ground for yeast and bacteria. Instead, add around 5 drops of olive oil to a cup of water and work this into your dog’s skin and coat.
Conditioning Your Dog’s Skin From the Inside Out
Dry flaky skin is just that – dry and flaky. When cells lack moisture they shrivel and shrink, peeling away from the layers beneath and sloughing off as dandruff or skin flakes. The opposite case is plump, well-hydrated skin cells that stick together better.
Adding a little extra virgin olive oil to your dogs food will nourish the epidermal cells at the deepest level. As those baby cells mature and travel to the surface, they take their plump healthy condition with them, making the skin barrier more resilient as a result.
Around one teaspoon of olive oil for a 30 to 40 lb dog, mixed in food once a day should do the trick. But dont expect instant results. You have to wait for the rejuvenated cells to mature and reach the skins surface before you see a difference. So be prepared to wait 3 to 4 weeks for that new glossy coat to shine through
Olive Oil Rinses
Applying olive oil to the skin can also be beneficial; just dont be heavy-handed! Too much olive oil makes the skin greasy and could provide a breeding ground for yeast and bacteria.
Instead, add around 5 drops of olive oil to a cup of water and work this into your dogs skin and coat. You can do this on a daily basis and if the coat gets a little sticky, blot the excess oil away with paper towel.
A word of caution. Vets advise against applying olive oil directly to broken skin. Olive oil has natural anti-inflammatory properties which could delay the healing of wounds and sores.
The Most Common Causes of Dry Skin in Dogs
Many dogs experience dry or flaky skin throughout their life, and it’s especially common in the winter when the humidity drops. But it’s important to remember that not all dry skin is caused by a drop in humidity.
Before trying something new for your dog’s dry skin it’s important to figure out what’s causing it to begin with. For example, if your dog has food allergies adding a little bit of olive oil to their diet won’t solve the underlying problem and your dog is still gonna have itchy skin.
Figuring out what’s causing your dogs dry skin is the first step, and a trip to the vet is recommended because finding the underlying problem isn’t always simple. There’s a long list of potential medical issues that can cause your dog’s skin to become dry. It’s best to have your veterinarian examine your dog and to help rule out any medical problems.
Your vet can take a sample of your dogs skin to diagnose or rule out many different skin conditions. The most common causes for a dogs dry skin are:
Luckily for my dog it wasn’t a food allergy or an infection; our vet thinks it’s related to the low humidity of winter. Just like us our dogs can get dry, flaky skin during winter. Remember that itchy skin is a symptom, not a disease.
Why I Chose Olive Oil For My Dogs Dry Skin
If I could magically create more humidity in winter I would since dry skin isn’t much fun to deal with. My dog and I get dry, itchy skin in the winter and it’s no fun at all. I got a humidifier to help, but it had limited results. And while I can just use lots of lotion to help soothe my dry skin that’s not an option for my dog, so I went searching for another plan.
There are many recommendations out there for treating a dogs dry skin, but I didn’t have any of those on hand. And since I didn’t have any advanced formula shampoos, nor any salmon or coconut oil I started with something I did have — some extra virgin olive oil.
I started adding a few drops to my dog’s food to see what would happen. I wasn’t expecting much from just a few drops but it was worth trying. If it didn’t improve her skin at least she was getting more omega 3 fatty acids and polyphenols.
Much to my surprise it did work (and she loves the taste), and although her skin isn’t quite as shiny as it was a few years ago the flakes are gone. And she’s itching a lot less.
Supplement Your Dog With Olive Oil
There are many reasons a dog develops dry skin. Sometimes its due to an underlying illness; other times it may be due to the seasonal climate. It can even be caused by a dietary deficiency. Dry skin isnt difficult to spot; it tends to look pale and a little parched or flaky. In comparison, healthy skin glistens slightly, and there are no flakes of skin on the scalp or in the fur. Olive oil offers a safe, natural solution for dry skin. If youre concerned about whether olive oil is toxic to dogs, you are perfectly safe feeding it to your dog unless your dog is allergic to it. Related Articles
Help control weightgain:
Because olive oil is so high in monounsaturated fats, it can help break down the fat inside of the fat cells and help shed pounds. It can be very beneficial in dogs with serious weight issues. Extra-virgin olive is rich in antioxidant features because of its wealth of polyphenols, vitamin E, clorophyll and carotenoids which reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes as well. Obesity in pets can lead to disease very quickly. Obese pets are more of a risk to suffer from stroke too, which is another reason why adding extra-virgin olive oil to your pet’s diet can work wonders.
Olive oil can also help get rid of belly fat and reduces insulin sensitivity which reduces the risk of diabetes. It has a reputation of being a fuel for metabolism in dogs meaning it can help get your dog more active. Overall, if you’d like to add a supplement to your pet’s diet that will help prevent obesity and any disease associated with it, olive oil is a necessity.