Dogs and Oils

We have two German Shorthair Pointers that are truly more like children than pets.  At one point we even had momma, daddy and 12 puppies.  To say the least we are dog people.  Now, that people know I use essential oils and they also know we have dogs, I get asked a lot about dogs and oils.  People want to know if it is safe to diffuse around or use oils on their dogs.  The short answer is yes.

Here is the longer explanation.  Do your research on your specific type of pet for sure, but I have used oils with my dogs before and I diffuse around them all day every day, so I know they are good with them.  A trick I learned from a great friend quite a while back, is to unscrew the lid just a touch and let them smell the bottle and they will let you know if they like that oil or not. So far, I haven’t run into any mine don’t care for, but you will be able to tell by their body language if hey don’t like them.  One bit of advice is to always leave a door open when diffusing with your animals, that way if they do not like something, they can leave the room.  We have to remember their sense of smell is much stronger than ours.

Young Living has a whole line devoted to animals, so this is obviously a great place to start.  They also have the Kidscents line of oils that are prediluted for children and I feel good about using these with our dogs as well.

We have use Tummygize from the Kidscents line on both dogs quite a few times when they have had an upset stomach.  I put two drops on their tummy and rub it in and they settle right down.  We have also used Owie from the Kidscents line as well for the many scratches and cuts they are always getting. 

Have you tried oils with your animals? If so, which ones do you like, or should I say do they like the best? Mine both really like lavender and I can tell at night when I am diffusing our nighttime blend that has lavender in it that they settle down pretty quickly.