What are the Health Benefits of Essential Oils for Pets?

Posted on 13 May 2014
By Dr. Jill Tack
Posted in basic essential oils, essential oils event, essential oils seminar, how to use essential oils, the best essential oils, What Are the Health Benefits of Essential Oils, what type of essentail oils should i use, which essential oils are the best
0

Many of us hear mixed opinions about the use of essential oils for cats and dogs. I have been using essential oils on my dogs for over three years now, and on our cats since we got them last year. I have had nothing but positive experiences using oils. They have so many purposes from helping with arthritic pets - to easing the transition of a new pet into your house - and even helping your pet pass at the end of life.

What Type of Essential Oil Should I Use?

Whether or not an essential oil is beneficial depends on the brand and quality. In terms of quality, always make sure the essential oils you use are therapeutic quality. I have heard stories of people using tea tree oil on their dog's lip and 24 hours later being in the emergency room, with their pet on the brink of death. However, I’m fairly confident that there was no way possible that the dog was exposed to a therapeutic grade oil. You cannot purchase essential oils at a health food store (i.e., Dessert Essence, NOW, Aura Cacia, VitaCost, or any “perfume” type oils) and be under the impression that you are getting high-quality essential oils. The use of adulterated oils on pets make me cringe knowing that they cause more harm than good. People shouldn’t apply them to their bodies either.

Which Essential Oils are the Best?

Here’s where some of the confusion arises. You can purchase an essential oil that is labeled "organic." However, be aware that the "organic" component of these oils only references the crude substance used to make the oil, not the quality of the oil. The organic plant material may be distilled several times before the low-cost oil comes to fruition and is bottled for sale. In order to make the essential oil potent or more fragrant, they can cut and mix the solution with other chemicals or carrier oils, diluting its quality further. This practice is common and cheapens the product both in cost and quality. Steam distillation is the most common method of obtaining essential oils. But it is also necessary to harvest the plant at the correct time of year, correct time of day, and from uncontaminated land sources. So, whether or not you choose an organic essential oil, be sure that it is a therapeutic-quality oil.

How are Essential Oil Properties Measured?

Good quality essential oils are measured by frequencies, vibrations, and chemical constituents. They are also harvested from plants around the world following strict guidelines. Some plants are more “stingy” with releasing their essential oils, which is reflected in their cost. For example, rose essential oil has a very high frequency, but it also takes thousands of rose petals to produce a single drop of essential oil. In contrast, lavender and peppermint plants release large amounts of their essential oils with a small amount of the plant material.

How to Use Essential Oils

The most common ways to use essential oils are through aromatherapy, topical absorption, and ingesting. Aromatherapy is useful when you want to calm an entire house. You can simply put an essential oil in a diffuser and everyone in the space benefits. You can also apply essential oils topically to ease particular health ailments. You can even encapsulate certain oils for ingestion or add them directly to drinking water. When applying topically or using in capsules, the essential oils must be diluted according to your animal's weight. The common breakdown is one drop per 100 pounds of body weight. Therefore if you have a 10-pound animal, one drop of essential oil should be blended with 10 drops of a carrier oil. Then one drop of that solution is used or given to the 10-pound animal, leaving you with nine more drops to use.

Which Brands to Buy

These are the essential oil brands that I trust and recommend:

Be Young Essential Oils (sponsor ID 10486)
Rocky Mountain Essential Oils (we sell some singles and blends at our store)
Young Living Essential Oils (sponsor ID 1322413)
Uttati Essential Oils (special order)

How to Safely Incorporate Essential Oils into Your and

Your Pet’s Lives

Essential oils are a great addition to your medicine cabinet for both you and your animals. If you are looking to help your pet, you may want to consider using essential oils for ailments that conventional medicine hasn’t helped. We can help you choose what oil may work best for your cat or dog and how best to administer the oil for the condition you are concerned about. We also offer in-depth pet health assessments at our store.

Learn More at our Basic Essential Oils Seminar TOMORROW

If you want to learn more about how to use essential oils with your pets, come to our seminar tomorrow from 6 - 7 p.m. Admission is $10 in advance (purchase tickets here) or $15 at the door. We will also be offering an advanced essential oils seminar in June. This basic seminar is a prerequisite to that class. We look forward to seeing you there!

P.S. Don't forget that as part of our May in-store specials, we're offering you 20% off 5ml Rocky Mountain Essential Oils lavender, frankincense, and bug off.