MCT Oil for Dogs

Thanks to the popularity of the Keto diet, you’ve probably been hearing about the benefits of Medium-Chain Triglycerides (MCT) oils. In fact, people everywhere are going crazy for this all-natural dietary supplement with good reason–research links MCT oil to many health benefits. Now, while the research in animals is less extensive, there is still sufficient evidence to suggest that dogs may also benefit from taking this supplement, especially as they age since studies show that MCT supplementation counterbalanced changes that occurred due to aging. Likewise, research indicates that MCT oils can be an effective treatment for managing canine epilepsy. To understand the full potential of the benefits that MCT oil can have for dogs, we must look at what MCTs are and what benefits can be derived from using it. 

What Exactly Are MCTs?

MCTs are fatty acids derived from various plant-based oils, including coconut oil. The majority of the fat present in coconut oil comes from the MCT concentration. These fats produce many benefits because of how they interact with your body. In fact, studies indicate that MCTs can directly improve your metabolism. These fatty acids have the potential to produce the same effects on dogs. Therefore, you may be able to conclude that including MCT oils in your dog’s diet could counteract the negative inclusion of carbohydrates in store-bought dog food. Since dogs don’t require carbohydrates to survive, and the majority of dog food manufacturers pack their products with low-cost, nutrient-poor carbohydrates, many pets are prone to weight gain. Therefore, adding MCT oils to their food could help your pet maintain a healthy weight. 

What Are the Potential Benefits of MCT Oil for Dogs?

Skin Health

Perhaps one of the main benefits of incorporating MCT oil into your dog’s routine is the ability to improve his/her skin. You can provide your pet with this boost either by adding MCT oil into his/her food or by rubbing it on your dog’s skin. If your dog suffers from skin problems, including hot spots or even skin allergies, MCT oil might be a very beneficial product to apply topically. You can even create your own skin product with MCT oil to minimize the scratching and irritation that comes with these skin conditions.

Improve Digestion

MCTs are easily digestible fats, which means they work very differently than other fats: they are broken down in your liver instead of in your intestine. Because of this, many vets believe that the MCTs found in coconut oil can aid in digestion and help heal digestive disorders. 

Improve Brain Energy and Mental Function

As dogs get older, they lose the ability to efficiently metabolize glucose. This can result in a lot of changes, not only in their physical energy levels but also in their mental acuity and decision making. But research suggests that the MCTs found in coconut oil can be effective at improving both brain energy and mental function in older dogs. 

Helping your aging dog is important since evidence suggests that diet and lifestyle issues contribute to the decline of aging dogs. So, by adding this beneficial supplement to your aging dog’s diet, you may help their body adjust to changes in their metabolization of glucose, helping them convert to ketone use for energy production. In this way adding MCT oil to your dog’s diet offers a more sustainable way for older dogs to produce and maintain higher energy levels.

Decrease Obesity

Obesity is a major problem for animals in this country: as of 2018, about  56% of dogs in the United States were either overweight or obese. As we mentioned earlier, dogs’ poorly optimized diets, full of carbohydrates and lacking in healthy fats like MCTs, are partially to blame. By supplementing our dogs’ diets with MCTs, you may improve their metabolic function, changing the way the body produces energy and improving your dog’s ability to lose weight. In turn, this will protect your pet from issues with bone health, arthritis, and other conditions tied to obesity. 

CBD Oil for Dogs

As you can see, MCT oil can be very beneficial for dogs. And here’s some great news: MCT oil and Cannabidiol (CBD) oil are often combined in CBD-based products. Now, if you’re not certain how CBD may benefit you or your pet, here’s a quick refresher. CBD is one of the compounds found in the cannabis plant. It has been linked to many potential benefits for humans and people but, for the purposes of this post, we’ll stick to how CBD can help your dog. 

Research suggests that CBD can help improve your pet’s appetite if he or she is having difficulty eating. Dogs with anxiety may experience increased calm after using CBD. And, perhaps the greatest potential benefit? It’s CBD’s ability to minimize your dog’s pain experience!  Unfortunately, aging pets face many painful conditions: larger breeds of dogs often suffer from hip dysplasia as they get older. This is a condition in which their hips’ ball and socket don’t properly develop or fit together, causing significant rubbing and grinding. It can end up resulting in complete deterioration of the hip joint. Because hip dysplasia is so painful, it makes even simple movements challenging, discouraging your dog from any form of movement. 

Likewise, many dogs suffer from aging conditions like arthritis. According to the American Kennel Club, arthritis affects 1 out of 5 dogs in the United States. CBD supplementation has been found to help minimize levels of pain and inflammation in dogs with arthritis. In fact, one study concluded that 9 out of 10 of the dogs on CBD showed improved arthritis symptoms.

CBD With MCT Oil

Now, remember, we started off this post by talking about the benefits of MCT oil. And now you know how helpful CBD may be for your pets. So, you may not be surprised to learn that, by combining the two, you can maximize their benefits while also improving CBD’s bio-availability. Studies show that CBD works best alongside carrier oils, and MCT is the most effective and best carrier oil for CBD. 

As you can see, there are so many different ways MCT oil supplementation can help your dogs. This is especially true as they age. While there is still a lot of research needed to be done, there is enough evidence to support MCT oil as an effective supplement for dogs. 

Still, MCT oil isn’t the only fat your dog needs: it doesn’t contain enough omega-3 or omega-6 fatty acids to sustain your dog’s health. Therefore, you should think about adding a high-quality fish oil supplement to your pet’s diet. You may even switch to a high-quality, fatty fish formula like salmon in addition to giving them MCT oil. And, because of the research on the benefits of CBD oil, giving your dog a combination of the two may be doubly beneficial. Just speak to your veterinarian before making any changes or additions to your pet’s existing diet. 

Some CBD companies may combine CBD and MCT oil into a tincture that may deliver all of the benefits to your dog with a longer shelf-life than a CBD-tincture alone. This way, you are not only getting CBD oil for your dog, but you are getting high-quality MCT oil as the carrier oil of choice. There are so many different products available on the market to choose from. Be sure to look for a manufacturer or a brand that is not looking to cut corners. You want to be sure you are getting only the essential ingredients needed in the tincture. Also, keep an eye out for products and companies that have a strict quality assurance which should give you the peace of mind you need to know that you are getting accurate dosing each and every time.