Mom’s Musings

Today after work I went to the Nooksack Animal Hospital to fetch Lassie home. She was frantically happy to see me, and couldn’t wait to hop into the car. The vet sent her home with some cephalexin capsules, and instructions that I feed her only her dry dog food, with the addition of the occasional Milk Bone. No more table scraps for the old Lassie dog.

I asked the vet if mineral oil would have been an appropriate “cure” to give a dog suspected of having a digestive blockage. The vet said:

• Mineral oil would have been better than canola oil, since it’s not digestible, and would have passed through the system without being absorbed.
• Mineral oil, however, could cause aspiration pneumonia (not a good thing).
• Leave a dog totally alone if a blockage is suspected (as in, Do not try to feed the dog. Do not give the poor animal any type of oil whatsoever).
• Mineral oil is sometimes useful in the treatment of horses, but that does NOT mean that mineral oil can be used in a similar manner with dogs.
• There is NEVER a reason to give a dog mineral oil. Canola oil, however, is even WORSE for the dog than mineral oil, because it is absorbed, and damages the pancreas.