You should be very careful when giving your dog mineral oil. If you do need to give your dog mineral oil to help with something such as constipation, mixing the mineral oil in with their food is the best option. Never administer mineral oil directly into your dog's mouth, as inhaling any of the oil can cause them to develop aspiration pneumonia, a serious lung infection.
Mineral Oil for Vet Use
A vet or vet technician may use mineral oil for this purpose:
When using a blade on a dog's skin to lightly scrape for mites or parasites, the mineral oil is swabbed onto the blade and is used to make the mites or parasites stick to it. Then the scrapped material can be easily transferred and viewed under the microscope. Here the vet or vet technician can move toward determining some of the parasite's pathology.
Be Cautious when Administering Mineral Oil
Mineral oil is a transparent oil that is mainly composed of what are known as alkanes made up of 15 to 40 carbons, and cyclic paraffins related to white petrolatum. It is a by-product in the distillation of petroleum and used to produce petroleum-based products from crude oil.
If ever you are unsure about something to give your dog, always contact your vet first.