Do you just give them a coconut?

I read on another thread that a few members give their dogs a coconut, and wasn't sure if it was *a coconut* or some sort of dog toy haha...I mean our puppy has a Zee Dog 'Cauliflower' so you never know, right?!

After searching the forum I realised it's an actual coconut. When we won a couple at a fair a few months back our dogs played with one each (Kasper thought it was really boring, but Zoey loved it and covered it in slobber!)...so I have a few questions:

How do you put a hole in the end, so they can roll the milk out?
When you / they crack it open, do you leave them with it?
How much can they eat? Like, they don't eat the shell, do they?
Do you get the coconut flesh off, or do they do it themselves? Do you ever have an issue with them crunching the shell?

Very curious, as I think Zoey would love it but not eat the flesh (she likes the milk but doesn't like the actual coconut flesh) and Kasper would become very interested when he realised there was food to be won!

Never tried it myself but hopefully someone with actual experience will give you an answer soon

I don't know, never tried it, but am interested to hear what happens when you do!

Oh Katy loves a coconut She gets soooo excited when she gets one I give it to her whole to start with & she will run around the garden with it in her mouth. After about 1/2hr she will start moaning as surprisingly she cannot break it, she will come & drop it by us to open it We break it open over her bowl so she can drink the milk, when she has finished that we give her 1/2 the coconut which she will happily munch on until its finished Only give them 1/2 at a time as it makes their poo quite firm so not too comfortable to pass Try it, I'm sure they would love it once opened

some people shave them first lol

My friend's mum always used to smack them open with a machete, but if you want to get the milk out without breaking it then just make some holes with a hand drill.

We might have to buy a coconut...

Awesome, totally gonna get her another coconut Zoey loves coconut oil (both the liquid and solid-y stuff) and who knows maybe she'll enjoy the flesh if she pulls it off herself

Kasper loves the furrier coconuts (lol) - the last one he got didn't have any hair and he was totally bored with it, whereas he got a furry one a few years back and loved pulling it all off!!

I'm pretty sure he would try and eat the shell though, so will have to watch him closely...

I gave Misty one a while ago and I smashed it open for her. She just devoured the flesh so quickly. I was worried about her eating the shell but she somehow managed to get only the flesh off. She ate the whole thing but maybe next time I'll only give her half although it didn't give her an upset tummy or anything! Definitely recommend one for happy doggies!

I'll have to film Zoey's first encounter with an opened coconut...usually when she gets something exciting for the first time (be it a new toy or something edible) she runs around it in crazy circles and picks it up to chuck in the air. Could be pretty lethal with a coconut actually!

You can buy already chopped coconut from a supermarket would save a lot of work

Mia05 wrote:You can buy already chopped coconut from a supermarket would save a lot of work

That would spoil all the fun, hen Keeps Katy amused for ages

You can pop a hole in two of the eyes so the milk leaks out slowly. .. In my mind too slowly then crack it into halves or quarters.

To be honest though I tried Flo on one a few weeks back and she simply sniffed it and walked away

I think Koda would love this! Thx guys

That sounds great - my friend is always going on about coconut oil for dogs but this sounds fun

One thing though does it give them the trots? I know it does in humans.

I was surprised but Misty was fine after hers, even though she gobbled the whole thing!

Niffer wrote:That sounds great - my friend is always going on about coconut oil for dogs but this sounds fun

One thing though does it give them the trots? I know it does in humans.

The opposite effect, we only give Katy 1/2 at a time as it comes out pretty much as it goes in (quite firm)

Coconut oil can be a laxative for people, not sure about dogs, the term oil should be a clue though. To get inside them they have three holes on them naturally like two eyes and a nose so drill into them, just don't call it Wilson.