Essential Oils and Pets
I have been on a health journey for myself for about the last 2 years. This is important for this post because it led me to finding essential oils along with functional medicine. I have been using them on myself that whole time, recently though I have been slowly exploring how to use these things for my animals as well. I have been hesitant to do this for several reasons though. The first is the negative stigma about using essential oils around pets that exists to day. This had me terrified. They aren’t safe for pets! Never use essential oils with your pets! Essential oils made this dog sick! Essential oils killed this dog! I mean who wouldn’t be scared after seeing all these things whenever you try to do research? It steered me away this entire two years! But the last year I have been doing more of a deep dive and looking into stuff more. Within the last 9 months I have discovered multiple veterinarians that actually advocate for using essential oils with pets and guide people on how to do so! And I found that Doterra has a board of veterinarians that guide people as well! So I listened to all the podcasts they have up, I read the blogs and I followed them on Instagram to start getting their tips and the things I have been learning are so different from the main stream thoughts! So I have been gaining more confidence on using them around my pets and clients!
(Pictured: Copaiba which can help with pain, and Roman Chamomile which can help to calm anxiety.)
I started diffusing at home a long time ago but I was so paranoid about doing it around the cats that there were oils I flat out refused to use and if I applied them to myself I wouldn’t pet them for at least an hour after. It was stressful to deal with, I knew they helped me but I didn’t want to risk them making our fur babies sick so I took precautions. Now I diffuse without worry and I know that I don’t have to wait an hour to touch my kitties after using the oils on myself because they absorb into my skin so quickly. I have even begun letting my animals select what oils they want for the day. I have noticed especially when I diffuse calming oils around the cats that they don’t have as many scuffles! I still make sure that the animals have a choice though. I make sure all the doors are open when I diffuse so the animals can leave a room if they do not like what I am diffusing that day. And I don’t pick the animals up or pet them directly after applying oils to myself.
Eventually I plan to take classes and learn how to dilute properly to use essential oils directly on our pets but for now I enjoy the benefits I see from diffusing and I feel confident that the oils that I use are safe for our fur children and my clients. If I can’t do it with my own fur babies I wouldn’t do it with a clients pet. That is my rule.
Always make sure to use certified pure essentials oils. “Essential oils” sold at the grocery store are usually not good quality and these can be very dangerous for your pets! Doterra is always pure and tested in house and by a third party so I trust them to be safe for me and my fur babies. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any questions about essential oils! I would love to be a resource for you and your fur babies!