Supplements: I also recently started adding turmeric, msm and glucosamine to Max's food. Dosages: 1/4 teaspoon of powdered turmeric in his food in the morning, diluted with chicken broth. At night I crush a 1000 mg tablet of MSM and give him half of it (500 mg), plus a full capsule of glucosamine blend from Trader Joe's (glucosamine sulfate 750mg and glucosamine HCI 750 mg). My vet mentioned that she likes the combo of MSM and glucosamine for dogs with arthritis, which is why I started him on that a few weeks ago. The turmeric has helped heal up a benign cyst that had burst through the skin on his front paw. Very glad one of EC's readers reported a cure for dog cysts recently -- thanks! At any rate, Max seems to be doing better on the supplements -- walking faster, wrestling with the other dogs, less confusion at night when the lights go off. Yea, yea, yea.
Replied By Deirdre (Atlanta, GA) on 01/05/2009
Thanks for your posts, Chloe and Dianna. They reminded me to update EC about turmeric and my dog Max's burst cyst. I have continued to add about an 8th of a teaspoon turmeric mixed in chicken broth to Max's breakfast kibble each morning since October. The cyst on his right paw was quite large and had burst a few months ago. As I mentioned, the turmeric started to heal the cyst within a few days. It took about 2 months, but the lump is now completely gone!!
I would have started Max on turmeric ages ago had I known how helpful it is with benign cysts (he has them all over his body). Many thanks again to Lisa for telling us about this great remedy.
Replied By Janis (Palm Desert, Ca, Usa) on 09/29/2009
I have three dogs and I want to give them Turmeric but I need some idea of dose to weight. Thanks for your help.Replied By Kara (Eau Claire) on 05/18/2013
Can you please tell me what tumeric I can give my German shepherd? I have pills but they have a pepper added to them for absorption. Is that ok? My girl is almost 10 and her back legs just started failing her this week. Thanks so much.Replied By Gena (Pasadena, California) on 05/18/2013
Dear Kara, I was feeding my dogs powdered turmeric with a few grinds of black pepper and a splash of olive oil. It sounds like your dog will do fine with the capsule form but you can always buy turmeric powder at any grocery store in the spice section and mix it in with her food, along with black pepper and a little vegetable oil. I would soak it in her food along with plenty of water. One of my dogs only tolerated this for about a week and then started to throw up. I think the turmeric made him too acidic. If that's the case, you can do it a few days on, a few days off. Massage and acupuncture can help dogs tremendously with this issue as well. Good luck and many blessings.Replied By Carol (Mandan North Dakota) on 02/11/2014
Pepper should not be ingested by dogs. It irritates and inflames the digestive system. Best to use just tumeric, with virgin coconut oil for bio-availability, thou I'm not entirely sure what THAT means. LOL. I read blogs at ottawavalleydogwhisper and have found some invaluable info there. My Annie is like a child to me and I started her on low dose (1/2 tsp each) tumeric/coconut oil about 2 weeks ago for cysts on her legs and arthritis, and plan to increase it to recommended dosage for her weight. No changes yet, except that she will now allow me to feel them without trying to get away, and she is more mobile and not limping NEAR as much. I am struggling to keep up with her on our walks. Vet want to remove the lumps and not only can I, as a single mom, not afford it, it would be very tramatic for her to be away from me. She does not eat or play or interact with anyone when I am not home. What I HAVE noticed is that she pants a lot more. She is a mixed breed with layers and layers of black fur so she does get overheated easily, but we are in North Dakota-below zero temps. She is a bit overweight too. I think it may be the coconut oil as it boosts the metabolism. I will probably increase the tumeric to 1 tsp and leave the coconut oil at 1/2 tsp.
This dog is so smart, we can't even SPELL words anymore and she knows what it is. We now say 'walk' backwards (klaw) because if she hears the word, she will bug you until she gets her 'klaw'. Lol. wonder how long before she knows klaw and walk are the same.
Replied By Dawn (Florida) on 07/30/2015
Bio available refers to the fact the coconut oil is a medium chain triglyceride, that means it does not go through the whole digestive system, it immediately crosses the blood barrier and goes directly to the liver them systemically through the body, that is why coconut oil is important also for helping absorb nutrients as well as the tumeric. It is essential for any boy to have fats, I take 5 shot of coconout oil a day and my cats get 1 tsp twice a day, you may also want to check out food grade diatomaceous earth, it does a LOT removes parasites (YES WORMS even heart worms with no ill effect, it also absorbs toxins and like coconut oil crossed the blood barrier, it can be found and where but I use natureswisdom.net they have free info videos and a 99 page pdf on it, I also used it when I got food poisoning, it worked in 8 min.Replied By Sue (Uk) on 11/21/2015
I have read turmeric in capsule form is no good or worse still dangerous to dogs as the curcumin is too high, so best to use the powder and mix a little 1/4 tsp to start with olive oil and a little pepper corn from the grinder!Replied By Juliette (Folsom) on 08/25/2016
My cat has heartworms and want to start him on the turmeric...can I add coconut oil to his food too and if so how much..Replied By Suseeq (Sydney, Australia) on 08/25/2016
Juliette, yes you can add to food. Start with half teaspoon per day then eventually give 1 teaspoon per day.