Animal Care

Animal Care

The Benefits of Aromatherapy for your Pets

Can animals benefit from essential oils? Good question! Your animals are important to you so it makes sense that you’re interested in using natural, chemical-free essential oils to enhance the health and wellbeing of your pet.

We have partnered with health care practitioners who specialize in animal care and have experienced the following benefits when  using essential oils:

• Enhances the bonding experience
• Sets a calmer, more cooperative mood and positive reinforcement in training sessions
• Deodorizes bedding and car upholstery
• Prevents fleas without the use of harmful chemicals
• Provides safe first aid care, if administered correctly

Please visit our blog for tips, advice and anecdotes on a variety of ways essential oils can be used for animals – ranging from bees to horses!

Application Methods for Pets

Our philosophy with animals is that less is more. Don’t forget animals have a far more acute sense of smell than humans do! Please review safety recommendations for your particular animal species and/or discuss with your veterinarian before applying.

Whenever possible, apply to a ribbon, bandana, collar, or bedding rather than direct bodily application. A bandana allows you to remove and change or reapply oils as needed. You can use a ribbon and tie it to collar, tack, bed space, crate, car, etc.

When applying directly to the body make sure to dilute and apply sparingly. Apply to the body between the shoulder blades, back of the neck, solar plexus or base of the tail unless it’s being used for first aid. You can also mix essential oils into grooming aids such as shampoo, conditioner, finishing spray etc.

When applying directly to the body, a good rule of thumb is to dilute using human baby/child dilution guidelines for dogs and human adult dilution guidelines for horses. Diffuse into air at the lowest dilution because an animal’s sense of smell is far more acute.

Safety Guidelines for Pets

• Essential oils are not intended to take the place of proper veterinarian care. If you are experiencing an emergency please contact your vet.
• Never administer orally unless directed to by your veterinarian.
• Cats need special precautions as feline livers don’t process essential oils the same as other species and the risk of poisoning your kitty or causing liver damage is significant.  Hydrosols, because of their gentle nature, are safer to use for cats. (Hydrosols are a product of distillation. They are the watery part that is left after the essential oils have been removed. Hydrosols contain the hydrophilic parts of the plant and a minute amount of essential oil.)
• Essential oils are not recommended for use with birds, reptiles, or aquatic creatures.

The recommendations on this site primarily apply to dogs and horses. If you have another small mammal such as a rabbit, you can diffuse Lavender or use Lavender in a ½% dilution to clean cages but seek veterinarian advice before direct application.

If your pet has a strong adverse reaction to the essential oil – either physically or psychologically use a carrier oil rather than water to wipe it off.