Aroma Pets

Dog's Wellbeing

Dogs have a very good instinct for essential oils and even seem to know what is good for them. If you put an oil that is digestive on one hand, and a pesticide oil on the other, a dog with a stomach upset will invariably come forward to lick the hand that will do him most good. Remember though that dogs have a much stronger sense of smell than humans, so generally aim to use a minimum quantity of essential oil and increase the quantities if and when necessary. It is thought that dogs have about 200 million olfactory recepetors, perhaps twenty times the numbers we have.

The essential oils discourage the fleas, ticks and other minute parasites for which dogs seem inevitable homes. If you shampoo your dog, one of the easiest ways to deal with this problem is to add 1 drop of either lemongrass or citronella oil to his shampoo. Large dogs like Great Danes will require 2 drops. Most dogs seem to like the aroma,  and it gives them a nice fresh smell. Fleas can be as much of a problem  for the rest of the household as for your dog. Here is a remedy that will not only get rid of fleas and other parasites  but will keep your dog's coat in good condition too. The essential oils don't disturb the natural oil balance of your dog's skin and coat and will do  him nothing but good.

Take and old steel brush and a piece of material the same size of the face of the brush. The material needs to be quite thick so a single piece of flannel or sheeting folded three to four times  will do. Pull the material down over the teeth of the brush so that it lies about 20mm above the base, depending on the length of your dog's hair. Prepare a bowl of warm water and mix four drops of Cedarwood or pine oil and soak the prepared brush in this before brushing your dog's coat. This treatment will disinfect the dog, condition the coat and collect the parasites  and eggs in the brush - which must be rinsed out  thoroughly several times during the brushing, in the bowl of essential oil water.

If your dog is suffering seriously from fleas or other parasites, put 4 drops of Cedarwood or lavender oil directly on to a piece of material, as above, and rub the material together to disperse the oil before putting it on the brush. Then use with plain warm water and rinse several times while brushing the dog. If your dog is cut or grazed, bathe the area in a water solution of thyme or lavender oil. Use 6 drops of either essential oil to half a washing-up bowl of water. The essential oils will help clean  the wound as they are natural antibiotics and disinfectants, and you can rest assured that if the dog licks the wound afterwards he won't be taking in any unnatural substances.

It is very important to ensure that all dirt is removed from a cut, but as animals are difficult to confine to bed until healing is complete, you may have to keep attending to the wound. If an animal has a wound which has become ulcerous and weeps pus, the first stage in treatment is to draw away from the wound as much infection as possible. At this stage essential oils applied directly on to the wound would make it heal too quickly and if there was still an infection inside this would clearly lead to further problems. So to draw out the toxins we use the cabbage-leaf treatment. Wrap and ironed leaf around the wound, secure fimly and change the leaf four to six times a day, or until the toxins have been drawn off. Now wash the wound thoroughly in solution of 4 drops of lavender  oil  to 150ml warm water. This is an extremely expensive method of treating bad wounds  and can be applied to any animal - dog, cat, horse or donkey, sheep or cow.

Dogs suffer from coughs, colds and flu, just as we do, and the best essential oils for them in these circumstances are niaouli, tea tree and eucalyptus. You can use two methods - one oil-based and the other water-based - but in either case , have respect for your dog's greater sense of smell  and start treatment with the minimum  quantity of essential oil. increasing the dose slowly if necessary. The following rub should be applied over the chest, all around the rib-cage, around the throat and, most importantly, in a direct line from the ears to the shoulders. For the oil-based treatment, add 2 drops each of any two essential oils mentioned above  to 30ml vegetable oil.

Some people don't like the idea of putting oil on a dog's coat, and with long-haired pets one can see their point. So, for them, make a 'mother tincture' by adding 2 drops of essential oil to 1 tea spoon of alcohol (vodka, brandy, ect) and then adding this to 6 teaspoons of water. You will need to make up a bigger quantity because this, like the oil-based treatment, needs to be applied twice a day for three days. If your dog is very poorly, eucalyptus oil can be used neat and applied lightly to the areas mentioned, for a few days only.

You should also treat the area where the dog sleeps to get rid of the bacteria and the viruses lurking there. Blankets can be washed in essential oils, depending on the size of the blanket 5-6 drops should do the job. If you are washing the sleeping area, add 6 drops of essential oil to half a bucket of warm water. Alternatively, you can use an essential oil and water dilution in a plant-spray around the area. A good formula would be 6 drops of hyssop and 6 drops of eucalyptus oil to 600mls water.

Reference: Fragrant Pharmacy/ V.A. Worwood