ARE ESSENTIAL OILS SAFE FOR DOGS?

ARE ESSENTIAL OILS SAFE FOR DOGS?

This is a question I get asked all the time when I talk to clients about the work that I do.

As a practitioner of botanical self-healing in dogs, I use herbs, essential oils and hydrosols every day in my practice. I have around 20 dried herbs, 65 essential oils and 15 hydrosols in my kit that I can call upon to help support dogs if they are suffering from physical or emotional issues.

In years gone by your dog’s wild ancestors would seek out plant extracts from their environment to keep themselves healthy, help them heal, control internal and external parasites and support themselves emotionally. This is an instinctual process that they are all born with and which your dog still has the ability to access today given the right circumstances and choice.

Let me share my story about how it all began.

12 years ago I was the proud owner of a 6-month-old gorgeous English Springer Spaniel puppy, life was good except that his behaviour was worrying me.

He would compulsively lick his paws, chase flies, headbutt the wall where light spots were shining, he had endless, exhausting energy and had trouble sleeping.

What do you expect with a breed like a Springer Spaniel I was told! But I knew the behaviour he was displaying was not typical even for a spaniel!

I sought professional help and my beautiful soul dog was diagnosed with canine compulsive disorder. I was horrified! How would I manage the escalating behaviour my dog was displaying. To cut a very long story short, I was supported by a behaviourist who helped me understand I had done nothing wrong, my puppy was just differently wired. We put a management plan in place and I was offered medication for my dog to help reduce his symptoms.

I was clear I didn’t want to subject my puppy to life on medication so I sought a different route which led me to holistically support my dog. I found Botanical self-healing.

Having seen the incredible shift in the emotional state of my dog following several sessions with a practitioner using essential oils, I knew this is what I wanted to make this my career so, Canine Senses was born.

During my quest to find help for my dog, I asked questions that maybe you are curious about too?

I had heard that:

Essential oils are toxic to dogs and you take a great risk using them?

There is no doubt that applying essential oils to the dog’s body without express permission or adding them to the only source of food your dog receives can lead to toxicity and can result in your dog becoming ill.

In my botanical self-healing practice, I will only ever apply essential oils to a dog's body if he shows me clear communication that he requests this, gained through minute observation and lots of training. So yes, there are circumstances when I would consider it safe to apply essential oils but this should only be offered under the trained eye of a certificated practitioner who can guide you on safe application.

I would never add essential oils to a dog’s food. Food is a highly sort after resource for most dogs. By adding (even supplements deemed safe for dogs) you remove the dog’s choice and his innate ability to refuse plant extracts he knows his body does not need.

Most dogs choose to work with essential oils via inhalation, gently smelling the aromatic compounds.

Dog’s have an incredible sense of smell many thousands of times more acute than ours, so mindful offering is key. During my sessions, I guide you on how to offer essential oils, hydrosols (aromatic waters) and herbs safely to your dog so that you will be able to offer self-healing sessions to your dog regularly to support his health.

To diffuse or not to diffuse that is the question.

There is much debate about whether you should vaporise essential oils through a diffuser or oil burner in your home with your dogs present.

The questions to ask are:

Does your dog have a choice to not be in the same airspace with the aromatic?’
Can he remove himself to another area of the house where you cannot smell the aroma?

If your dog has no way of moving away from the aroma or is shut in a

room with a diffuser turned on, the number of molecules in the air could easily become overwhelming and in time, reach toxic levels.

To be absolutely safe I do not diffuse anything around my dogs. I even draw a line by not using plug in air fresheners or candles - both of which can be packed full of artificial, chemical aromas. I sometimes use essential oils in a bath but the dogs have no access to the bathroom and I open a window to ventilate on leaving.

The practice of offering essential oils to your dog is a safe one providing it is offered mindfully, with instruction from a certificated professional – either after a course, reading up on literature, or in consultation with a practitioner and you give your dog complete choice on whether to work with the oils or not.

CATS - PLEASE NOTE

Please DO NOT offer essential oils to your cat unless you are working with a practitioner or you have had specific instruction on how to offer them safely. Essential oils can be highly toxic to cats by inhalation, ingestion or application. Cats lack a specific liver enzyme - glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) - which is important to the metabolism of many essential oils and increases the risk of toxicity in cats.

The changes I have seen in dogs both physically and emotionally are beautiful. To see an anxious dog who is unable to interact with his family after being rehomed from the streets of Romania, move towards being able to leave the house confidently through being given a voice via his selections of aromatics is very special.

My spaniel, now 12.5 years and still enjoys his regular self-selection sessions.

To learn more about Botanical Self-Healing click here.