# Help! Dog just ate Shea butter!



## Hbsmith121 (Oct 17, 2018)

so, she chewed open the box & the bag and ate less than a pound.
Is this an issue??? Will she be ok? She is acting normal, she weighs 43#.
Any suggestions will help!


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## Obsidian (Oct 17, 2018)

Here is some info on shea and dogs

https://www.justanswer.com/pet-dog/4gy6u-dog-just-ate-1-2-cup-shea-butter-do.html


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## Hbsmith121 (Oct 17, 2018)

Thank you! Sounds like it could be messy, but not deadly. Will let you know how she does.


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## shunt2011 (Oct 17, 2018)

My dog did the same thing once. She as fine. She only weighed 12 lbs.


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## lsg (Oct 17, 2018)

She will probably have diarrhea.


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## Lin19687 (Oct 17, 2018)

A LOT of diarrhea !
Sorry  it isn't fun... try having Danes (2) and both getting the runs.... in Winter time.


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## Obsidian (Oct 17, 2018)

I had a doxie eat a 1 lb chunk of lard and another time, a big jar of coconut oil. Threw up the coconut oil all over the couch. I learned to keep everything picked up, he even ate a sample of blue mica once.


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## lenarenee (Oct 17, 2018)

This brings up a good question - what if it had been cocoa butter?  What part of chocolate is poisonous to dogs?


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## Obsidian (Oct 17, 2018)

Cocoa butter is toxic. I always kept mine in the freezer, I knew it was safe in there.


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## Hbsmith121 (Oct 18, 2018)

Thank you all for your help & concern!
Here is the culprit; oh they look so innocent.....
She is fine except for the runs today and through the night.


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## KimT2au (Oct 18, 2018)

You do have to be careful with dogs and fats.  Our weimaraner who weighed about 40kg stole and ate a 1kg stick of salami  He developed pancreatitis and really was a sick boy for a few days.  I don't even want to tell you how ill he was at the time I got him to the vet, I am just glad that the worst of the symptoms hit him while he as at the vets and not in my car.  At least by the time I took him home there was nothing left inside him to come out.  Poor boy really was very ill.


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## MKLonestar (Oct 18, 2018)

lenarenee said:


> This brings up a good question - what if it had been cocoa butter?  What part of chocolate is poisonous to dogs?



They say all chocolate is poisonous to dogs, however, I have had two friends whose dogs ate chocolate on a regular basis and never became ill. I still don't trust that with my three! Being that cocoa butter is made from the cocoa bean, which is what chocolate is also derived from, I would/do take precautions with it around my dogs. I keep my cocoa butter in a hard container with a screw on cap on a shelf high above where my dogs can reach it. I have a Boston Terrier, Chihuahua mix, and a full blood Chihuahua, so all of mine are fairly small (under 20#), so keeping out of their reach is not difficult. It was much harder when we had our American Dingo (aka Carolina Dog) that was able to reach counter height items, so I kept it in a cabinet in a room that the dogs could not access. 

As for coconut oil, that is actually very good in their diets for hair, nails, and other health benefits. Due to this, they DO get 1/4 - 1/2 tsp each (varies on their size...the full Chihuahua (7#) gets 1/4, and the other 2 get 1/2 each as they are 17 and 18 #'s. I give this to them every week, though it can be given daily. (I don't give daily because we cook with coconut oil and my husband is horrible about giving them scraps of his dinner against my every protest NOT to feed them from his plate). I will also make them their own food for the week and add coconut oil to that while it is still warm and before putting in their food container for in the refrigerator. So, in other words, the extra 1/4-1/2 tsp given during the week is just to ensure that they got the correct amount in their diets. It totally helps, especially if you have a dog with allergies that does a ton of scratching from any pollen, grass, corn, soy, or gluten in their diet.


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## amd (Oct 18, 2018)

When I had a dog, he would beg for coconut oil when I was making soap. The vet said it was good to give him small amounts (same with a cat that I had that would steal the vitamin E capsule bottle trying to get into it) so he always got a spoonful when I was soap making. 

With anything animal related, I would always call a vet before going to a forum and relying on non-medical knowledge. I had a customer call me in a panic because her dog ate one of her bubble scoops (that was when I made the big 4oz scoops), asking me if it was safe for dogs. Well... if it was your kid that ate it what would you do? You'd call the doctor. So I texted her the ingredients so that she would have it for reference when talking to the vet. The dog turned out fine, although he vomited bubbles for quite a few hours.


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## MKLonestar (Oct 18, 2018)

I fully agree amd! Going to a forum for advice for pet care is really not the place to go. I didn't even have a forum for advice when I started the coconut oil with my dogs years ago, I only had my vet to guide me. Over the years, I can't say how many emergency calls have been placed to the vet due to something the dogs have eaten. We have also made many emergency trips to the vet over it as well.


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