The Ultimate Guide to Essential Oils for Dogs

Essential Oils for Dogs

Intro

Essential oils can be safely used with dogs if certain measures of safety and caution are taken. Dogs, like humans, can enjoy a toxin-free environment where they are not exposed to harsh chemicals found in products such as cleaners, candles, air fresheners, carpet sprays, soaps, etc. Please be attentive to your dog and exercise careful observation - after consultation with your veterinarian - when using essential oils with them. 

Please do not accept advice from an animal profession (i.e. vet) who does not possess knowledge about essential oils. Simply being dismissive about these oils without explanation is not considered professional advice! Please consider a consultation with a holistic veterinarian who actually has a background in aromatherapy and/or essential oil usage with pets and animals. 

A Dog's Purpose, Besides Companionship

Dogs are believed to have nearly 500 million olfactory cells and receptors. In comparison, humans are said to have about 5 million olfactory cells. Put differently, dogs have nearly 100 times greater olfaction capabilities (sense of smell) than humans. 

Why is this important? Well, essential oils are potent by nature. They are the extract of the parent plant which maximizes their potency. If you apply an oil on yourself or in the diffuser, and it seems on the strong side to you, it will certainly be STRONG to your dog. 

Be considerate of your own application and usage of essential oils. By using essential oils on your body, YOU are acting as the diffuser. Please, be observant of your companion on your journey.

Please exercise caution, especially with the following oils
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These are the oils that most frequently were cited as potentially hazardous when conducting my own research. This is not meant to be a fully exhaustive list. Life Science's Animal Desk Reference assures users that if Young Living essential oils are chosen, and proper caution and observation are exercised, that most oils on this list are not of great concern. Admittedly, this list also contains oils that are most frequently found to have impurities when made to fragrance grade standards-which is what most imitator essential oils are on the market. Young Living's Seed to Seal standard assures 100% pure, therapeutic-grade essential oils! To avoid problems, this is why you need to choose Young Living over any other company.
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In consultation with your vet, please use caution with the following:

• Anise
• Cinnamon
• Citrus (d-limonene)
• Clove
• Garlic
• Juniper
• Pennyroyal
• Peppermint
• Pine
• Sweet birch
• Tea tree (melaleuca)
• Thyme
• Wintergreen
• Yarrow
• Ylang ylang

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If you choose to use any of the above oils, please look for any signs of discomfort or symptoms such as:

• skin irritation, breathing difficulties, changes in alertness or mood, unexplained onset of weakness or fatigue, stumbling, vomiting, motor dysfunction

We have used many of the above oils safely with our pets. We always err on the side of caution when diluting oils. Observe their reaction. Being alert and attentive to your animal is crucial (regardless of whether or not you are using oils with them). Always give them an out, never trap them in a tight space with a diffuser running. Allow them to move away from the oils to another room or area. Do not initially use oils and then leave the pet alone for several hours. Please do not mistake any of this for animal or medical professional advice. These are tips that I would give myself and are for your informational purposes only. If you are at all concerned or nervous, consult a knowledgeable animal health professional. To put your mind at ease, please consider consulting the Animal Desk Reference when using essential oils with animals. Please do not avoid the potential benefits of using essential oils due to your lack of awareness or education on their safety and efficacy!

Pet Poison Helpline
Phone Number: 1-855-213-6680
Website: www.petpoisonhelpline.com

Our Journey

It was important for me to bring my dogs along with me on my wellness journey. I am a proud owner of two great dogs... Kasey and Harper. Kasey is our Golden Retriever and Harper is our Black Lab mix. Honestly, they mean so much to us, and they are a big part of why we are doing the Young Living lifestyle and using natural products in our home. We want them to live as long as possible with minimal health complications (and I suppose we want to do that for ourselves as well, however we are talking about them today!). 

Once I bought the Premium Starter Kit, I started becoming more aware of the harmful chemicals hiding in our personal care and household products. I then began to learn about concepts such as chronic bioaccumulation which is potentially a the buildup of contaminants over time from commonly used household items. The Environmental Working Group has made it easy to identify known health risks and contaminants in everyday products. This really got me thinking that we needed our old products out of the house and that change needed to happen! I could not just simply continue to use harmful products in our home after being fully aware of the ingredients they contain (this was a huge selling point for my husband as well).

We recognized that our old household supplies from the grocery store were not positively contributing to our health, dogs included. Remember, whatever you use in your home will be exposed not only our own system, but will be exposed to your family as well! I learned some unbelievable concepts of how the microbiota can be permanently influenced based solely on exposure from the book Let Them Eat Dirt. In the book they discuss how our microbiome, and thereby our children's bacterial flora can be influenced by what we expose ourselves to. They even discuss how dogs can play as positive role in influencing a healthy microbiota in children and adults by exposing them to diversified microbiota. I highly recommend all parents read this book!

I then realized that anything and everything that I used to clean the floors, carpets, crates, water bowls, or even spray in the rooms were also being absorbed into all of our bodies. The dogs were even more susceptible to this as they roll on the floors, chew their bones on the floor, and the Golden constantly licks her paws due to skin sensitivity (many Golden Retriever owners can relate).

Once we began thinking about all of these exposures, we started making small changes around the house. The last thing I would want to do is put their health and longevity at risk based on what I choose to bring into my home. By evaluating the purpose of essential oils as a "replacement" and not an additive to your lifestyle, you become responsible for improving your awareness of what ingredients are in your house! By using pure essential oils, you know exactly what is in your cleaners, air fresheners, room sprays, detergents, self-care products, etc. It is that simple. You know all the ingredients! By switching your household over to essential oils, you no longer have to wonder why "1,3-dimethylol-5,5-dimethylhydantoin" is in your shampoo (this is an extremely common ingredient in shampoos and has been linked to the release formaldehyde). 

The Young Living community and essential oil lifestyle has made me realize that I am the gatekeeper of our home and thereby our health. No one else is going to look after my own families health, but me. So, in June of 2016, we started to take control of our health and wellness and never looked back. I began educating myself through research and reading, learning how I could make my home a safe haven for everyone. Two books that helped me get started are: The Essential Oil Truth Second Edition: the Facts Without the Hype​ and Vitality: The Young Living Lifestyle, both by Jen O'Sullivan.

I started my wellness journey with a Premium Starter Kit. One of the first things I did after I got my kit was learn how to use essential oils safely with pets. I believe it is very important to know how to start implementing essential oils into a home with pets because some additional factors need to be considered when other animals are involved.  

Since a starter kit is the best and most common way people get started with Young Living, I am going to share just a few ways I use starter kit oils with my dogs. Young Living does have many other products to clean up your home such as Thieves Cleaning Products and the Animal Scents Products. For now however, let’s talk about using the Premium Starter Kit oils.

Here Are a Few Ways I Feel Comfortable Using Oils with My Dogs
As always, I recommend consulting with your veterinarian prior to usage.

I do encourage you to please do your own research as well and discuss with your veterinarian if you have concerns about using essential oils with pets. I gained nearly 100% of my knowledge and comfortably using oils with my dogs by asking my vet as well as referring to the Essential Oil Desk Reference For Animals. 

​Many people ask me can I use any essential oil company or does it have to be Young Living essential oils? Here is what I can tell you, I only trust Young Living essential oils. The reason why is their seed to seal promise. This promise assures you that Young Living owns every part of the essential oil manufacturing process from seed, to plant, to distillation, to bottling. We have even visited their farms in Mona, Utah several times and you will see pictures of us all over the site that were taking at Young Living facilities. There is no other company that provides this much transparency about their process! Trust me, we have called and messaged other leading manufacturers of essential oils to ask where their farms are located so that we can take a visit and guess what... THE OTHER COMPANIES EITHER DID NOT ALLOW US TO VISIT OR DID NOT KNOW WHERE THEIR OWN FARMS WERE LOCATED!!! This is very important as some ingredients are not recommended for animals and how can you protect your animal from ingredients that you do not even know are in the product? This is why third-party testing has become such an important standard.


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How We Use our Premium Starter Kit Oils in a Home with Dogs

Stress Away

• ​I say Stress Away is an essential oil that everyone could use, including puppies to support everyday emotions. It’s a unique blend of Copaiba, Lime, Cedarwood, Vanilla, Ocotea, Lavender, and Coconut Oil. The blend smells extremely good, sort of like vacation in a bottle. It was actually one of the last essential oils that I ended up opening from my Premium Starter Kit, but soon became my favorite oil. We really enjoy diffusing Stress Away or wearing it topically to support a calming environment for everyone in our home, especially when we experience new or difficult situations. When we were looking to adopt our second dog, I used Stress Away with Kasey to help the process because I knew adding a new family member of any kind can be an adjustment. Because of my love for Stress Away, I typically wear it as a perfume, so I knew it was a familiar aroma for Kasey the day that we went to meet Harper.  Also, since Harper was rescued, I didn’t know what she had experienced early in her life, We knew the poor thing had been traveling several days, been separated from her family, malnourished, and probably had been in tough conditions for a her first few weeks of life. I thought she would be a little scared and frightened from the adversity. Since Kasey was so familiar with using oils, I applied Stress Away on her for the day and I had some on my diffuser jewelry to help welcome the new addition our family.

Thieves

• ​Thieves is our wellness keeper, it’s a combination of Clove, Lemon, Cinnamon, Eucalyptus Radiata, and Rosemary blended by Young Living. Its properties have inspired a whole line of Thieves Household Products that we use in our home to clean with so that we can remove harmful chemicals while supporting our body at the same time. We use Thieves Essential Oil and the products to help our entire family stay above the wellness line. We diffuse Thieves A LOT to reap the aromatic benefits and I always add a few drops of Thieves, Lemon, and Purification to our DIY Carpet Powder made with Baking Soda. I love sprinkling the infused baking soda on the carpets everytime I vacuum because the rich, spicy, aroma is a wonderful fall blend that helps keep our house smelling fresh and purifies. Lastly, Thieves is great for outdoorsy dogs, at times I may add to Bug Off Spray or apply topically.

Lemon

• We use lemon everyday in our house, it’s another fantastic oil. Lemon has a wonderful fresh aroma that eliminates odors from any dogs around the house. I usually add Lemon to the diffuser with Thieves because together they help keep things fresh! Lastly, Lemon is great for outdoorsy dogs too, so since Lemon is an essential oil that I carry with me often. I may also use this as part of a Bug Off Spray with us, by simply applying it topically to our dogs.

Peppermint

• Peppermint is such a versatile essential oil. We tend to use it in several different ways with our dogs, in the form of sprays. Peppermint is an essential oil used to enjoy being outside in peace of outdoor annoyances, so we add a few drops to our Bug Off Spray.  I also have a several 2 oz spray bottles with few drops of Peppermint, dash of witch hazel or coconut oil, and water around our house. We use our Peppermint Spray on the dogs for a cooling sensation if we are spending long days on the lake or if they get all worked up from everyday stressors. When Kasey, our six year old, plays a little extra hard with our puppy, Harper, we use the Peppermint Spray to support her muscles and ligaments when overused. On occasion we put one drop of Peppermint Vitality in an extra water dish to support healthy digestion and fresh breath. When we have Peppermint Vitality water down for them, we also put an extra fresh water bowl down too which gives them them a choice. 

Copaiba

• Known for its gentle, woodsy aroma, Copaiba essential oil is a product of steam distilling the gum resin tapped from the Brazilian Copaifera reticulata tree. Copaiba oil has high levels of beta-caryophyllene and a uniquely sweet aromatic profile, which helps create a relaxing atmosphere when it is diffused or applied topically. Copaiba is believed to have natural fragrance and moisturizing properties. It can also be applied following activity for a comforting cooldown. Copaiba is that it magnifies the properties of other essential oils. Every morning, I put one drop of Copaiba Vitality right into Kasey’s food with about an ounce of Ningxia Red. Plus, we just want to support our dogs health any way we can so that they can live a long, full life. I was so amazed when I started doing research about Copaiba, I found that Young Living Copaiba Essential Oil contains the highest amounts of beta caryophyllene (55%) of any known essential oil. I have read that Beta caryophyllene has been extensively studied for its ability to modulate the body’s response to irritation.   

Frankincense

• It has been known to be sought after since ancient times and I often hear Frankincense referenced in the Bible. I feel it is one of Young Living’s top essential oils and it is truly amazing that it is part of the Premium Starter Kit. In our house, we typically use Frankincense Vitality. I often add a few drops to my Ningxia Red that I drink every morning and into Kasey’s food with Copaiba Vitality and Ningxia Red. We also use Frankincense topically because of its properties to support healthy-looking skin. We often combine Frankincense and Lavender for all things related to skin, paws, and ears. Frankincense also creates a calming and soothing environment, so when in need, I place a few drops of Frank with a few drops of Orange in our Desert Mist Diffuser or our Lantern Diffuser, and oh my it smells like heaven.   

Lavender

• Our treasured Lavender Essential Oil is certainly a staple in our home, so much that I just wrote a whole blog on the magic my family has with Lavender Essential Oil. Why do we use Lavender so much? It supports a very relaxed and calming environment. Lavender is believed to have so many uses and is probably one of the most popular of all the essential oils! Adding Lavender to our diffuser blends is a nice way to create a calm environment in our home, which is what you need with two dogs. We also have a bunch of Lavender Fields Sprays around our house that can be used for all the things too.  I typically reach for my Lavender Fields Spray when we need to freshen their coat up after a swim or I am going for a quick walk and don’t have time for their fooling around. I like to add it prior to extended time in the outdoors. I like to vary my Bug Off Sprays by changing the combination of essential oils used on every refill, although typically I put Lavender in the recipes because of all the wonderful properties it contains and the sweet smelling aroma is irresistible.   
  • Here is our recipe for “Lavender Fields Spray":
    1. In a 2 oz spray bottle, I add about 10- 15 drops of Lavender Essential Oil
    2. Then I add a dash of Thayers Witch Hazel
    3. Lastly, I fill the rest with water.
    • Lavender Fields can be used on their paws, around their collar before our walks, or on their fur to help keep them smelling fresh.

DiGize

• It is an essential oil that helped me realize the power of Young Living Essential Oils. One of my personal go-to essential oil that I always carry in my purse for those times in need. But to be honest, I haven't found many moments where it has been needed for Kasey or Harper, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used with dogs. I find that my dogs travel really well in cars, typically are not eating lots of grass or other things that may cause them to have upset stomachs, and it seems that they have a pretty healthy digestive system. Digize is a blend of essential oils that contains Tarragon, Ginger, Peppermint, Juniper, Fennel, Lemongrass, Anise and Patchouli, and was formulated to support proper digestion. Although it’s not a daily routine for our dogs, this is our ‘tummy tamer” and do always have it on me. So traveling in the car with two dogs doesn't go how we planned or if “things” are moving quickly or not at all, we apply topically on the stomach or spine.  

PanAway

• Panaway is a powerful essential oil, I always make sure to heavily dilute the blend because of the Wintergreen, Clove, and Peppermint. Be sure to read Desk Reference Guide  For Animals before starting to introduce essential oils to your home with animals. If there was one way that we use Panaway with our dogs, it would have to be in the Ache No More Essential Oil Roller, which is composed of Panaway, Peppermint, and Copaiba. I always  customize the roller blend with proper dilution for our size dogs.

R.C. and Raven

• ​If you got started before this year, you may have RC from your Premium Starter Kit, but if you recently got the Desert Mist Premium Starter Kit, you may now have Raven Essential Oil.  Both are invigorating essential oils which may support a healthy respiratory system. R.C is a stimulating blend of Cypress, Black Spruce, and three types of Eucalyptus (E. globulus, E. radiata, and E. citriodora) oils, Myrtle, Marjoram, Pine, Lavender and Peppermint. Wow, that is some lineup, it's amazing for all the fall and winter months! And I can now say the same about Raven, we love how Raven has the Eucalyptus and Wintergreen properties combined. In terms of our puppies, the most common way that we use R.C or Raven is in our diffuser, not only are we making the place smell amazing but we are also supporting everything the Fall and Winter months can bring around too. I always say, we use R.C. or Raven because breathing is fun! When they are in the diffuser or applied topically, it helps open respiratory channels. I always use caution and proper dilution for both of these oils, even more so Raven because of the Wintergreen. Please read theEssential Oils Animal Desk Reference to learn how you can use all essential oils safely in your home, especially essential oils that include Wintergreen Essential Oil. Raven is powerful, and if you choose to apply to dogs it must be properly and highly diluted for safely. I, personally use these topically on my self or love sticking these in the diffuser with other wellness oils such as Lemon and Thieves. 

Citrus Fresh

• If you recently got started with the Premium Starter Kit with the Desert Mist Diffuser, then Citrus Fresh is part of your collection of oils. Over the last year, this essential oil has really grown on me. Since it was added to the Premium Starter Kit, I use it almost everyday. I find it to be a magical blend that creates a relaxing and happy aroma when put in the diffuser or worn topically. The wonderful blend of citrus oils, includes Orange, Tangerine, Grapefruit, Lemon, and Mandarin oils with a hint of Spearmint. Citrus Fresh is uplifting, refreshing, and revitalizing, it goes well with Thieve to keep the yuck away or with Stress Away creating the vacation-vibe right in our home. Lastly, Citrus Fresh is even a great addition to my DIY Carpet Powder that I described with my Thieves information to keep things, well, fresh!

Purification

• Purification essential oil blend helps freshen the air and eliminate odors with its unique combination of Citronella, Lemongrass, Lavandin, Rosemary, Tea Tree, and Myrtle essential oils and includes naturally occurring compounds cineol, neral, and geranial. Add Purification oil to Animal Scents® products to moisturize skin and improve the appearance of healthy-looking skin or apply topically to enjoy the outdoors annoyance-free. I also like making a purifying room spray, it's perfect for rooms that the dogs are all over or even in our bathrooms. We combine Purification, Thieves, and Lemon and we call it the “No Stink Spray”. It becomes a convenient mixture to use on bedding, couches, and even the dogs to get rid of any odors. It’s a chemical-free way to clean and purify!
  
• Purification is another essential oil that I add to my DIY carpet powder, I use baking soda and add a few drops of Purification, Lemon, and Thieves. Once I infuse the baking soda, I let it sit for at least 15 to 20 minutes before sprinkling it onto my carpets, that way all the powder will be infused with the oils. When we first got Harper, we would put a little extra Carpet Powder down on any of her accident spots. Lastly, Purification is a really great essential oil to add to our “Bug Off Spray to help taking the dogs outdoors free of annoyances.

Everything you need to know about using essential oils with animals located conveniently in one spot. This is one of our favorites!

I hope you enjoy hearing a few ways we use essential oils in our home. Please remember to research and learn proper safety before using essential oils with your animals. Again, and I know I have said this a thousand times, the best book to use for this information comes from Essential Oils Animal Desk Reference.

All containers and supplies that I use for my DIY recipes mentioned here are outlined on our supply page. ​

As always, if you are new to essential oils and do not have any of your own, consider a premium starter kit from Young Living. This is widely regarded as the simplest way to get started with essential oils. When signing up for your first kit, you will have the opportunity to choose one of our leaders. This is an important step as they will provide you with ongoing support for the lifetime of your Young Living journey at no added cost to you! You can do this simply by visiting the our team page and selecting the individual you would like as your direct upline.
 
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*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Young Living products are not intended to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent any disease. Please see our disclaimer.