Essential Oils for Dogs (2024)

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There are two types of people in this world.

Those who love dogs and those who have no heart. I’m definitely a dog lover so obviously I am normal like all of you 😉

Today I’m talking about essential oils fordogs. Not only are essential oils a cheaper solutionfor Fido, they’re also safer and more effective. Yes, yes, and yes.

Quick note: Before we begin, I wanted to let you know that I actually made a cheat sheet ‘guide’ you can print out for quick reference in the future just for readers of this post. If you want to get that guide, you can click here!

Let’s say youneed to improve your dog’s ear health.

Essential oils to support healthy function in the earsare:

5drops of Lavender–45 cents
5drops of Melaleuca–40 cents
5drops of Geranium –55 cents

(Mix the above ingredients in 1 TBS. of coconut oil. After cleaning the ear with a natural cleaner, use a Q-tip to rub the essential oil mixture in the ear, being careful not to put the Q-tip in past where you can see it- Do this twice a day until you see healthy skin.)

TOTAL = $1.40

Essential oils for everyone (even the dog!)

I’ll admit, when I first purchased essential oils I didn’t know how to use them at all. I was all, “Er, this smells good. Let’s put the cap on that and keep it on the shelf another 3 months. Doop dee do…”

I seriously had no idea there were so many uses for essential oils. I originally bought a starter kitbecause I wanted to get bulk pricing, have a cool diffuser, essential oilsoils for my back, and relaxing oils for my stress. Those worked great, and I reordered them each time I ran out. But once I REALLY understood how to use the other essential oils in my kit, my mind was blown!

Before we begin:

Before I dive into essential oils for dogs, let me take a minute and stress the importance of using HIGH QUALITY essential oils. They simply must be 100% pure to be the most effective. When I stumbled upon my favorite brand2 years ago,I’ve never looked back. Their quality is simply the best.

If you are looking into essential oils, I’d highly recommend purchasing through the brand I trust. They havewholesale membership options, just like Costco. If you want to get started through me, I can offer you an extra level of support andguide youin using your new oils through my weekly classes and webinars! I even wrote an e-book on essential oils that I give to you for FREE for signing up under me! No matter where you purchase, just be sure to purchase the highest-quality, as other brands can be diluted or adulterated.

Okay, now back to the doggies.

Precautions with Dogs

I’ve talked to my vetabout the precautions with essential oils and dogs and he told me that while there are definitely certain essential oils to avoid, it’s also wise to consider the life of the pet and what risk you should take to save their life. If I had a dog that needs help with respiratory health, I’d apply thyme or oregano, because I’d consider the risk worth it. The biggest thing to remember is to have common sense. Dogs are MUCH smaller than us, so be sure to apply MUCH less and always dilute. Here are my rules with dogs and essential oils…

A Word about Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca):

I often get comments about tea tree oil being toxic to dogs. Tea tree oil has phenolic compounds that can be hard for a dog’s body to process, but onlyin high doses. The oral toxic dose of phenol in dogs is about 0.22 grams per pound of body weight. 0.22 grams is about 4 drops of tea tree oil. This would mean that a 1 pound dog would have toxicity symptoms if you applied 4 drops of tea tree oil.

However, most dogs are around 10-20 lbs. To hit toxic levels of phenols, you would have to apply40 drops of tea tree oilto a 10 lb.dog at one time.This would be the same as if a 150 pound human applied 600 drops of tea tree oil to their body at one time. OF COURSE this would be ridiculous and toxic. Anybody (or any doggy) given a high amount of phenolic compounds would develop toxicity issues.

When applying essential oils, you need a good dose of common sense. As long as you understand that applying 1-3 drops at a time and diluting for children and pets is the best practice, you’ll be good!

NOTE: The phenolic toxicity level in cats is unknown, but we do know that cats are more sensitive than dogs. It’s advised to avoid Melaleuca altogether in cats.

How to apply Essential Oils to Dogs

Aromatically

For dogs, essential oils can be usedaromaticallyby putting a drop of the essential oil on their collar or on their dog bed. You can alsomake a spray by adding a few essential oil drops to water and spraying the dog’sfur.

Topically

You can apply essential oils to the spine, ears, or even on the toes/pads of dogs. You can apply essential oils directly to the area pretty much anywhere on the body. But remember to avoid the eyes, nose, anal and genital areas.

Internally

Before you ingest ANY essential oils or make your pets ingest them, you must understand that they must be the highest quality possible. The brand I useis 100% pure and of therapeutic grade.Learn more about my favorite brand of essential oils here.You can put the essential oilsin an empty gel capsule or in your dog’s food if they don’t mind the flavor.It is recommended only administering one drop when allowing a dog to ingest internally.

Get Your Guide!

Common Essential Oil Recommendations

As I mentioned before, you can get all of the following on a ‘cheat sheet’ guide I put together. I created that guide just for readers of this post. Just click here, and I’ll send it right over!

SkinCare

- - Lavender:Clean the skin and reduce redness, itchiness, or discomfort by rubbing it on the skin with a cotton ball.

LAVENDER OIL ADD TO CART (free shipping)