Coconut oil is great and not all is the same. Go to www.cocotherapy.com where you can read articles from the WDJ on why coconut oil is great stuff. There are also some very interesting articles on their site, along with some great q&a's to familiarize yourself.
For seasonal itching one of the best things you can use is a conditioning rinse with tea tree oil, I just mix it with warm water in a plastic gallon jug, wet the dog down let them shake and then slowly poor the rinse on and let it soak to the skin and do not towel the dog, just let them shake and air dry. Another plus is they will smell nice! Of course a fish oil pill a day is good for them also.
I gave my girl a teaspoon of C.O. every day until the jar of Virgin C.O. from Tropical Traditions was empty. It lasted about 6 months. After it was gone, I noticed that the small (thumb sized) lump she'd had on the underside of her tail for years had gone! After the fact, I read that C.O. can be helpful in removing those fatty lumps.
Please read the USDA website on coconut oil and some of the clinical studies on it before you decide to use it. The facts are pushed back a few pages away from the people selling it. I decided against using it fearing a shorter life span.
It works great rubbed on the coat but Olive oil works just as well.
I've been using Coconut Oil from Costco for about a year. So far I love it. My labs look great, and my other breed who doesn't have much coat looks MUCH better. Not sure if its the coconut oil, but I don't want to take him off.
I just bought some. It really isn't an oil. It is solid like wax. Did I buy the right thing?
It is in solid form. If you go to www.cocotherapy.com they teach you how to administer to a dog, how to soften it and the correct amount to give. In the summer months, it's not as hard to work with. Do not refrigerate your coconut. In the winter I purchase the CocoTherapy chips. I purchase the oil and chips from Animal Instincts (I think it's www.aipetstore.com) - they have the best price.