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A few weeks ago, we did a post on how your home can be toxic to your dog. We went over how our dogs sense of smell is a lot stronger than ours and how benign cleaners and candles can be harming your dog. An alternative is to use essential oils. There is a lot to learn about using these so we asked Nicole from Pupologie what she has found out by using essential oils. Here is what she had to say….
Working in the pet industry my eyes have been opened to how difficult it is to get the straight facts about what really goes into the products we use for our animals. Much like human care, the veterinary world works on reactive treatment vs. proactive and preventative wellness. I was shocked to recently read a statistic that said we are approaching a nearly 50% incidence of cancer in our canine companions. Something has to change! That’s where oils for me and my household have come into play. I can help eliminate synthetic ingredients and chemicals that can bring harmful side effects. The natural function of oils as the lifeblood of a plant is to protect, heal, and support the flourish of the living organism—and I can use that to my full advantage. In my personal experience thus far, my dogs respond far better to the properties of oils than the chemical alternatives.
I have a couple favorites for ways I use oils with my own fur-kids.
Calming: The first is as a calmative and focus aide. My own little girl can be a nervous-anxious nelly. When she has to stay home alone, when there are loud scary fireworks, when we’re working on training or socialization—oils to the rescue! She loves a single drop of Lavender or Stress Away as a lite ear massage and pet down her back. Calms her right down and takes the edge off. I also diffuse while I’m away to keep the energy in the room nice and comfy safe. Working on social skills? Reactivity? Separation anxiety? Try ‘Valor’ for a confidence boost or ‘Peace and Calming’ for a bit of chill pill.
Cleaning: My next oily pet favorite is green cleaning! Our pets live their lives on our surfaces, with four feet on the floor instead of just our two. I’ve eliminated all of my chemical household cleaners to keep absorption of nasty chemicals to a minimum. Thieves Cleaner (made from the Thieves essential oil blend) is 100% plant sourced and 99.9% effective in killing surface germs. I can safely wash dog beds and blankets, use it on carpets and hard floors, or add it to my dog shampoo to help repel those pesky pet bugs that no one wants 😉
Skin Irritation: Another great application is topical treatment of skin irritation and itchies! It’s bound to happen to the best of us…the dreaded hot spot, a cut or a scrape. When skin gets red and inflamed during those seasonal or food related flare ups, it’s important to be able to provide quick and effective relief. My favorite skin healing potion includes Lavender (because it is the Swiss army knife of oils), Frankincense (the ultimate healer) and coconut oil. Mix approximately 3 tbsp of coconut oil with 2 drops each of the essential oils. Mix lightly and apply to the affected area or rub into skin in an all over massage. If you’re dealing with chronic severe allergy issues, Ningxia Red juice is an amazing dietary addition to support cellular detoxification and repair.
When it comes to essential oils, exercising safety in their use is paramount. While they are natural remedies, they should be treated with the respect you would give any medicine because they are potent.
With the rapidly growing popularity of mainstream essential oil use, there has come a market saturation of synthetic fragrance knock offs, labeled to be passed as pure, therapeutic grade, or organic. It is important to know there is no regulation entity testing the quality, safety, or purity of essential oils since they fall under the cosmetics category.
When we’re talking about growing and harvesting plants, there is no way to rush nature. New companies have to outsource, partner with other growers and place trust in their ‘promise’ to deliver what they say they will. Short of growing and producing my own oils, where I could be certain of the life cycle of the plant, its growing conditions and the distillation method used, I sought out a company that I could trust to be producing the best oils on the planet.
Young Living has been creating premium essential oils for more than 20 years. They are responsible for the creation of the term and standard for ‘therapeutic grade’ in the oil world. It is truly a craft of heart, reverence for the earth, and the process required to create the finest product. The Young Living Seed to Seal philosophy ensures there is control over every single step of the process. Owning their own farms, harvesting their own seed, using only oils for pest control, having a distillery on site at every location and bottling only the first distill is just the tip of the ice berg.
You can go visit the farms and walk onto the soil growing the precious oil producing plants. Products will go out of stock and be produced in very limited amounts before ever sacrificing the standards for quality over quantity. The essential oils are tested for potency and purity to meet a list of guidelines for the efficacy of the product no less than five times before it is in your hand.
When it comes to pets, there is danger when we start using things we believe to be pure and are inadvertently allowing preservatives, diluting oils, and synthetic fragrance to be absorbed into cells and affect major body systems. Nature loves nature and essential oils can therefore be a wonderful bridge between human, animal, and earth energies—when they’re pure and produced to the highest standard.
Young Living produced the Animal Scents line which is formulated, blended, and diluted for pet safety. For those looking to explore the constituents and applications of the core oils for more specific emotional, immune, or body system support with the blends a bit deeper, Young Living produces 235 different singles, blends, and serums.
For more information, contact Nicole at teamericksonoils@gmail.com or click HERE to order.
We hope that this has helped you to stay educated on keeping your pup as healthy as can be! Please let us know how essential oils have helped your pup in the comments below.
