Education | Animal Advocacy

How To Safely Use Essential Oils With Your Pets

Animals can benefit from natural health and wellness too

Angie Mohn
Creatures

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Photo by Chewy on Unsplash

Natural health and wellness products aren’t just for humans. Pets can also greatly benefit. If you’re a pet parent, you want to give the best possible care to your fur baby. One of the beneficial things you can provide is essential oils.

Animals can greatly benefit from organic essential oils. But you have to be smart and safe about it. Please practice due diligence and research what you want to use before introducing it to your household and around your animals.

I was introduced to the world of essential oils in February 2017. I was looking for answers to some health issues I experienced and wanted to go the holistic and natural therapy route.

At this time, we had only been in our new home for six months, and our three dogs were still experiencing some residual anxiety and not sleeping well.

One of the first things we did once we purchased some oils were to just diffuse them. We started small and we started with lavender (even though I was super excited and literally wanted to diffuse everything). We started diffusing lavender at bedtime, due to its calming effects.

Every night I would put a few drops of lavender in our diffuser, take a few deep cleansing breaths of the wonderful lavender smell that filled the air, relax, and drift off to peaceful slumber.

After doing this continually for about a month, we noticed a change in our dogs. They were sleeping soundly through the whole night and not waking up for pee breaks or becoming restless.

This fascinated me. Is it possible that our three dogs benefited from our use of essential oils such as lavender?

It turns out, the answer is yes.

This prompted me to turn my attention to study safe oil practices with my pets. If diffusing lavender at bedtime calmed them, what else could potentially work?

For the past four years, I have safely provided a health and wellness regimen incorporating the use of essential oils and natural wellness with our three dachshunds, who are above the age of thirteen and are in excellent health.

As a health educator and lover of animals, I want to teach others that the word “natural” doesn’t automatically translate to “safe.” As pet parents, we must provide due diligence and learn what is safe for our fur babies.

While there are numerous therapeutic benefits of using pure essential oils with your pets, unfortunately, I have heard and read some sad and tragic stories of pet owners using essential oils without knowing proper safety precautions. Sadly, some of the animals were harmed.

It’s not so much a faulty product, but rather irresponsible and uneducated owners. Pet parents must take some responsibility and learn what is and what isn’t safe for animals.

So in this aspect, essential oils tend to get a bad wrap about being completely harmful to animals when they’re not all harmful(unless they’re adulterated and chemically altered, and that’s another conversation for another time).

But if you want to use essential oils to successfully support the health and wellness regimen of your pets, you need to first understand some safety guidelines and best practices first.

Safely introduce oils to your dog

A dog's sense of smell is some of the keenest on the planet. Their sense of smell is far more sensitive and accurate. They smell things a human can’t. That’s because a dog's nose has up to 300 million olfactory receptors compared to about only six million in humans.

Because animals have a stronger sense of smell, it may initially appear as though they don’t like a particular oil, on the first sniff. While most owners immediately think their pets don’t like the smell, it may be more along the lines that the scent is brand new and unfamiliar.

Dogs respond in different ways when an essential oil is initially introduced, regardless of the method used (inhalation, or topical). If you wear the essential oil on yourself, you too become a “human diffuser.”

You can also add a drop of oil to something the animal does like, such as a favorite toy or blanket, and see if the response is different.

(Photo courtesy of San Jose Compounding Pharmacy)

Bark if you got oils

One of the easiest and most common ways to incorporate essential oils with your dog is through petting. After all, you most likely pet and snuggle your fur babies every day.

You can add a drop or two of essential oil to your hand, rub your hands together, and then proceed to give a nice little massage. Both you and your animal will be less stressed too. Petting behind the ears, down their backs, and even tummy rubs will be beneficial.

Never get oils near their eyes or directly inside their ears.

Diffusing is a safe method that doesn’t bother too many pets. Diffusing is a good option because if your dog doesn’t like the scent, they can leave the room and still be comfortable. Like humans, some animals are more sensitive to oils and scents than others. Closely monitor your pet and see how they react.

Never force an oil on your pet.

Never use any essential oil on a dog that is less than eight weeks of age.

Never use mass-produced and adulterated oils. They are harmful to both pets and humans due to their chemical and lab-created origins. Be sure the essential oils you are using are of the highest and purest quality and are harvested and created from a reputable source.

Some of the best essential oils you can use include:

  • Lavender — great for relaxation and sleep
  • Copaiba — has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used on joints
  • Frankincense — better cognitive function, especially in aging pets
  • Citronella or Lemongrass — great for repelling those pesky summer insects

Dilute oils for safety with a carrier oil such as coconut oil (which is also great for a soft and healthy coat). As a general guideline for large and medium dogs, it’s recommended to start with a 10% concentration (approx. 1 drop of essential oil per 9 drops of carrier oil for large and medium dogs). In small dogs, a 5% concentration is a good start (1 drop of essential oil per 4 drops of carrier oil for small dogs).

A word about Tea Tree

Tea tree is a powerful essential oil, having anti-fungal, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties. Using a substandard version comprised of chemical origins can be potentially harmful to both humans and animals.

Pure unadulterated tea tree oil contains high levels of terpinen-4-ol. It’s steam distilled from the Australian native plant, Melaleuca alternifolia.

Unfortunately, I have read numerous stories over the years of owners diffusing tea tree and using it topically on their pets. This baffles my mind. The pet becomes very ill. The owners are then rushing their beloved animal to an emergency room where they find out they administered too much tea tree.

According to the Pet Poison Helpline:

Signs of tea tree toxicity include “depression, ataxia (very uncoordinated gait), paralysis of the rear legs, vomiting, hypothermia (low body temperature), and dermal irritation.”

Pure or concentrated tea tree can be toxic to animals if not properly and safely used. Formulation and use of tea tree should be left to a veterinary professional who formulates it specifically for animal use.

However, you may find it as an ingredient in some pet shampoos. In these instances, the tea tree is diluted down to a point where it’s not toxic, and less than 1% strength. Such products have been regulated, formulated, and tested for safe general use.

I would advise against diffusing tea tree as well. A pure, unadulterated tea tree is not a pleasant smelling oil at all. Inhalation can cause respiratory irritation if your pet is confined to a small space with little ventilation.

Further, avoid using high-phenol oils — such as Oregano, Wintergreen, Clove, and Thyme. They are considered “hot” oils (meaning, they can feel “hot” on human skin). These oils can also be harmful to pets when not properly diluted.

Always disclose your use of natural health and wellness products to your veterinarian.

Meowy some oils too

We can’t leave our feline friends out of this conversation either.

Cats are naturally very picky creatures, much more so than dogs. Some cats will like essential oils, and others won’t. This is normal behavior.

If you want to diffuse an essential oil for your kitty, a good safe place to start is with lavender. Allow your cat to be curious. Provide some space for them to be able to leave a room if they don’t want to be by a diffuser.

Just like with dogs, you can put the essential oil on yourself and act as a “human diffuser.”

Oils for cats

There are some essential oils that absolutely can’t be used with your feline friends. Please take extra precautions as necessary.

Cats lack a specific enzyme and they can’t metabolize certain oils.

Cats of all breeds have a deficient P450 cytochrome pathway. This makes it extremely difficult to break down certain metabolites of drugs, medications, and some essential oils. Therefore, the build-up of certain metabolites can cause toxicity in cats.

For example, salicylate is a component of aspirin and some anti-inflammatory medications. Wintergreen and White Willow Bark have naturally occurring methyl-salicylate that helps protect the plants from insects and disease. Therefore, medicines containing salicylate aren’t generally given to felines.

The high-phenol essential oils should not be given to your feline friend. This is because cats experience difficulty processing and metabolizing phenols.

The following oils have high levels of phenols and should be avoided:

  • Wintergreen
  • Basil
  • Clove
  • Oregano
  • Cinnamon bark
  • Thyme
  • Mountain Savory
  • Tea Tree
  • Laurus Nobilis
  • Melaleuca quinquenervia

Like with dogs, essential oils should also be heavily diluted for safe use.

While cats have very high standards for their grooming routines, and often clean themselves, don’t allow direct contact with the above-mentioned essential oils on the skin and fur of your cat.

Gentle oils, such as lavender, frankincense, cedarwood, and lemongrass are acceptable and safe to use with cats. Diffusing up to 2 drops of these oils is safe for your cat.

(Image by Alena Ozerova / 123RF Stock Photo)

After thoughts

Safety should always come first when using essential oils with your pets. Animals can benefit from natural health and wellness.

Pure and unadulterated essential oils can be helpful to your pets, but owners must exercise safety at all times. Unadulterated essential oils have not been chemically or synthetically altered in any way.

Pure essential oils yield the highest therapeutic benefit for both humans and animals.

Safe essential oils to use on both dogs and cats include lavender, frankincense, citronella, lemongrass, and cedarwood.

Never force an essential oil on your animal. If they don’t seem to like the smell right away, it may be because it’s new to them and they’re not used to it yet.

You can put a drop or two of essential oil on yourself, and become a “human diffuser.” You can also put a drop or two on a favorite toy or blanket, and introduce the oil that way.

Never use tea tree oil for any pet. Tea tree is a powerful essential oil. Used incorrectly, it can cause toxicity in the animal if too much is administered. Tea tree should be administered and formulated by a veterinary professional.

Essential oils are far safer than any artificial fragrances or air fresheners that are riddled with chemical and synthetic scents.

If your pet or animal has a known health issue, please consult your veterinarian before administering essential oils. The information contained in this article is meant for information purposes only and is not intended to treat or diagnose.

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Angie Mohn
Creatures

🦸‍♀️️Registered Nurse whose passion is to teach and write about fitness and weight training, nutrition and food, and the journey to becoming migraine-free.