The key is to start slowly, in a relaxed and joyful situation. That way your dog will associate essential oils with pampering and good feelings.

Then, when you are faced with a difficult situation, you can use your essential oils and your dog will not only experience the wide range of benefits from the oils, but will also remember that these oils “feel good”.

It goes without saying that when you are dealing with something of concern in your dog, always consult your Veterinarian. And as I mentioned our last bulletin, quality is everything, so always make sure you are using the Young Living brand, because their oils are guaranteed pure and unadulterated, and free of any harmful additives. I don’t know any other brand that goes to these lengths to ensure their oils are the absolute best quality available on our Planet, and are safe for you and your human and animal family.

Can essential oils support emotions in dogs?

Whether you have feathers, fur or skin, essential oils have a powerful balancing effect on your emotions. As soon you inhale an essential oil, the aromatic molecules trigger receptors in your nose, which in turn send signals to the limbic region of your brain where emotions and memory are stored. The same happens for your dog.

By stimulating this part of the brain, essential oils help to balance, release and soothe emotions. Their impact can be incredibly fast and effective, which is why so many dog owners never want to be without their essential oils.

I’m not sure if you’ve met my sister Susan? Where I’ve channeled my volunteer work into native wildlife, Susan is a volunteer carer for Pugs SOS, who rescue dogs from puppy farms and find “forever homes” for them. Here’s what Susan has to say about using the Young Living oils on dogs:

“As a dog foster carer, I see so many arrive from traumatic backgrounds. To help support their transition from fear back to love, I always turn to Young Living’s emotional oil blends. I choose oils to suit the needs of each individual dog. I diffuse oils and use them topically on the dogs, and their transformation is nothing short of a miracle!”

Your BEST essential oils & blends for emotions in dogs

CALMING & SOOTHING: Peace & Calming, Lavender, Stress Away, Valor, Pet Care*, Valerian, Cedarwood, Copaiba
DE-STRESSING: Valor, Peace & Calming, Lavender, Stress Away, Grounding, Pet Care*
SHOCK & UPSET: Pet Care*, Trauma Life, Valor, Grounding, Harmony
UPLIFTING & PLAYFUL: Inner Child, Joy, Orange, Lemon
CHANGE: Transformation, Acceptance, Release
GRIEF & RELEASING THE PAST: Release, Joy, Trauma Life, Pet Care*, Frankincense, 3 Wise Men, Valor
EMOTIONAL BALANCING: Feelings Kit (Valor, Present Time, Harmony, Release, Inner Child, Forgiveness)

*Pet Care is part of the AnimalScents range, and it’s called “T-Away” in some markets and “Pet Care” in others. Regardless of its name, it’s the same beautiful essential oil in the bottle.

5 ways to use your oils to support emotions

There are a few simple ways to apply your essential oil. These were covered in last week’s bulletin, however let’s recap and elaborate:

1. Apply a drop to the underside of each ear flap; OR
2. Place 1 to 2 drops into your palm, rub your palms together, and stroke or massage your dog; OR
3. Place 1 to 2 drops along their spine or on the base of their skull where it joins their neck, and massage in, OR
4. Apply 1 to 2 drops to yourself, rub it into your skin, then cuddle your dog so they get to breath in the aroma, OR
5. Add 5 to 10 drops of essential oil to your ultrasonic diffuser (last week we talked about starting with 5 drops, then building up over time if your dog is comfortable around the aroma).

Let’s now take a look at some of the really common situations that dogs and dog owners find themselves in, where essential oils can come to the rescue:

Travel

Are you planning a trip away with your dog? Turn your dog’s carry cage into a safe haven.

A week or two before you travel, start to spritz their carry cage with Lavender oil each day. To make a spritzer, put 4 or 5 drops of Lavender oil into a 60ml glass or PET plastic bottle, and top up with water. Invite your dog to “hang out” in there. You can even leave a Young Living Dental Pet Chew or other treat inside the cage for it to enjoy.

Then on the day of travel, place 1 or 2 drops of Lavender oil onto your finger tips, and massage onto the inside flap of your dog’s ears and on its neck, and add 1 to 2 drops of DiGize oil onto its belly.

Our French Bulldog “Lucas” had never been on a plane before. We put a drop of Lavender oil behind his neck, and loaded him into his crate. When we collected him at the other end, he was resting peacefully. After witnessing other dogs on the flight, we know the Lavender oil kept Lucas as calm and stress-free as possible. – Allison S.

I have had a ground breaking result with Grounding oil for my dog “Annabelle”. Whenever we take her away from home, Annabelle becomes extremely stressed and anxious. I apply Grounding Oil on the morning we are going out, when I arrive at our destination and also periodically when we’re away from home. It has made a profound positive effect on her and it is my saviour for her. – Kim L.

When I got “Zinnia” she was six months old. She’d done very little car travel before she came to me. With me, there have been lots of car rides to training, competitions, to the beach and to nice places to walk. She was drooling a lot during the car rides, so we started rubbing DiGize* oil on her tummy. I’d start with a drop on my hand, then I’d put a drop directly onto her tummy. We repeated this for a couple of weeks and then she didn’t need it anymore.Two years on she is super relaxed in the car. – Michelle-Anne K.

*The AnimalScents “Inner Balance” oil is another good one to use during car rides, as an alternative to DiGize.

Thunder, Lightning and other Stressful Events

Choose one of the oils recommended above for “De-stressing”, and either diffuse or apply topically.

You’ll be amazed at how easily essential oils can transform your dog’s state of mind!

Fear & Excitement

“Kai” is an American Staffy. He’s a gentle boy, with a sensitive nature. After being bullied by the dog next door, he was reluctant to go outside. I put a drop each of Valor and Stress Away oil into my palms, and I rubbed this mix around his shoulders and chest. It lifted his confidence so much that our outdoor adventures could resume. – Alison S.

My dog “Bruce” is terrified of the wind. A drop of Stress Away oil massaged into his fur and added to the diffuser and he is completely chilled! – Holly F.

Sensitivity & Soothing

My big boy “Haggis” (pictured left) loves his Pet care oil. It has turned is whole world around. From the first time I brought it home, he went straight to it. He tends to be very sensitive and emotional. We joke that he’s like a toddler even though he is 5 years old and weighs over 150lbs/68kg. Whether we are diffusing the Pet Care oil in the house or in our car diffuser, he will sit right next to it and breath in all of what it has to offer him. We have definitely notice it helping him with new people coming over, new situations, car rides, occasional anxiousness, etc. It’s a must have for any pet lover. – Amelia M.

Our puppy got quite agitated and a bit bitey when she was growing her adult teeth. When she needed to calm down, I would let her choose which oil she needed out of Pet Care and Copaiba. It was amazing to see her calm down when I would rub Copaiba directly on her jaw. Within minutes she would go from agitated to calm. – Nicole B.

Whelping and Whimpering

I am a registered breeder of pedigree labradors. I use Stress Away oil in the diffuser while my girls are whelping. It soothes them (and me) and really calms the whole experience, particularly with first time mums. I continue to use it in the puppy room every couple of days while the pups are little. I have very content lactating mothers and calm puppies. When they go to their new families they take a towel that has been infused with the Stress Away oil, and I always get great feedback on how content my pups are. Nearly all the families tell me they only have a few minutes of crying over the first couple of days (not all night long, like some puppy stories I hear about). – Tracey E.

Competition & Training

I’ve been using Peace & Calming oil on my agility dog, who was getting over-excited and not listening to me on the course. I’m pleased to say we’re running like a team now, and I’m sure the oil has an effect on me as well. Now we look good out there, and smell good as well! – Sharyn P. (represented AU at the World Agility Championships)

Gracie loves her Peace & Calming massages. Peace & Calming and Stress away are her two favourite oil blends – perfect for just a cosy, snuggly massage any time or a good massage after an agility trial. – Eva-Lotta B.

Barking

Let’s face it, whether you are the owner or the neighbour, having a dog that’s constantly barking can be pretty stressful!!!

To calm down a barking dog, use any of the calming oils listed above under the “Calming & Soothing” and “De-stressing” category, and stroke their fur with it! You can also place a drop of Frankincense oil or 3 Wise Men oil blend onto their crown, being careful that the drop doesn’t land into their eyes.

“Molly” our 13 year old beagle (pictured left) gets very agitated and barks at the wind on windy days, or when there are storms around. I apply the Pet Care oil down her back and around her ears and she settles within minutes. I love that the AnimalScents range (including Pet Care) is pre-diluted for easy use and as with all Young Living blends it smells amazing!! – Lucinda W.

One of my dogs passed away recently, and my other dog became anxious and was barking non-stop. I started putting 10 drops of Stress Away or Lavender oil into the diffuser each day to calm her. The great news is that within 48 hours she’d stopped barking and is much more chilled, plus my home smells gorgeous when I return from work! – Sally P.

Grief and Change

When I studied Zoology, I was introduced to the concept of Anthropomorphism. That’s a long word that means “projecting human emotions onto animals”.

That concept could only have been created by someone who has no idea about animals! In working closely with animals for decades, I have seen animals respond in a deeply emotional way to many types of triggers, including the loss of a playmate or owner.

If you are working with a dog who is experiencing grief or change, use oils from the “Grief & Releasing the Past” and “Change” category listed above, or from Young Living’s Feelings Kit. These can be used topically or diffused.

Adjust spacing between lines in this next section – it’s too big: I still remember when I was first getting into essential oils a bit over 20 years ago, and one of my neighbour’s elderly dogs passed away. This dog’s brother (a West Highland White Terrier, aka a Westie) who was still alive began spiralling downhill. He wasn’t eating properly, and he’d stopped wagging his tail. My neighbour Desley said to me that he was always bossed around by his sister, and wouldn’t even eat unless she told him to. She had always been his compass. Without her, he was utterly lost, and Desley was concerned they would lose him, too.

I had never done any emotional work on dogs at that point, so he was my first. I sat with him, and with my oils case. I began by applying a drop or two of Valor under each of his rear paws. I waited a few minutes while I chatted to Desley, then I’d intuitively “feel” that it was the right time to put another oil on, and I would sense which oil was next, and where I should apply it (usually just a single drop).

Over the next 20 minutes or so, I applied 5 or 6 oils to him (mostly oils from Young Living’s Feelings Kit). By the time I finished, he was calm and settled. Within 24 hours he had picked up so much emotionally, that he was back to his normal hip swaggering, tail wagging happy Self. It was such a joy to see his transformation!

Click here to read Dogs & Oils – Part 3

Enjoyed today’s bulletin? Please contact us if you have any questions. And make sure you check out next week’s bulletin as well, about using essential oils on animals for physical benefits.

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