When I first heard of oils not being good for dogs I was a little surprised but thinking about it, it makes a lot of “scents”…. A lot of oils are made from plants and a lot of plans are not poisonous to dogs.
Essential oils are used by millions of people for millions of different reasons. The most common reason is to make stuff smell nice or some sort of alternative medicine. In our home we have a very expensive oil defuser that was purchased because it was pretty and the lady at the market said a lot of stuff that sounded good at the time, or she saw a sucker and took his money (I am a sucker). One thing that she never mentioned though was that some oils are not good for dogs or pets in general.
I would have thought using a defuser would be fine but I was wrong. Essentials oils don’t have to be directly places on your dog to do damage, just the smell alone can be a no no.
To I have done a lot of googling and found a list of oils that are not good for your four legged friend.
These lists are only a guide and you should always consult your vet before using anything on your pooch.
DANGEROUS FOR DOGS
- Cinnamon
- Citrus
- Pennyroyal
- Pine
- Sweet birch
- Anise
- Clove
- Thyme
- Juniper
- Yarrow
- Garlic
- Tea tree (melaleuca)
- Wintergreen
- Ylang ylang
- Peppermint (maybe?) check with your vet.
OK FOR DOGS
- Lavender: Universal oil. Useful in conditioning patients to a safe space. May help allergies, burns, ulcers, insomnia, anxiety, and car sickness, to name a few. Not for use with cats.
- Copaiba: Supports the cardiovascular, immune, digestive, urinary, respiratory, musculoskeletal, and nervous systems.
- Frankincense: Promotes cellular health and immunity. Supports the nervous system and digestive tract.
- Petitgrain: Helps to calm the nervous and digestive systems. Good for dogs with stress or anxiety.
- Peppermint (the jury is out on this one): It seems that in small doses is ok but I would still check with your vet. Supports the respiratory system and soothes aching joints.
So what should I do now? Ask your vet!!!
This is just what I have been able to find on the net and after all I am just a 3 year old Labrador Retriever that shouldn’t be using dads computer while he is at work. 😉
You have peppermint listed as dangerous and safe.
A definitive answer would be great.
Good pick up. I thought I still had this one in draft because of peppermint oil. It turns out that 2 vets at the same practice have different opinions so….. peppermint seems to be ok in small amounts but I would ask your vet first. And thank you for visiting my new site. 😀
I bought my wife a diffuser for Christmas and started using it with Cinnamon oil we had it running pretty much nonstop for about 24 hours and our lab started growling and snapping at our children we had no idea what the problem was. We continued to use it for the next several days and he continued to growl snap and bite at my kids (11 and 15 yrs old). Took the dog to the vet and they suggested a calming collar and a pill, but really had no idea what caused it. Then it dawned on us that the only thing that had changed in the house was the diffuser so we turned it off and got it out of the house. It took about 10 days but the dog is back to being his sweet lovable self.