Frequently Asked Questions

Essential oils are botanical extracts made from the bark, leaves, flowers, rinds, roots, stems, or wood of aromatic plants. They are highly concentrated substances that are derived through distillation, cold-expression, and solvent extraction methods. 

Essential oils aren’t the same as fragrance oils or perfumes. Typically, fragrances contain synthetic chemicals like solvents, stabilizers, UV-absorbers, preservatives, and dyes.  Pure essential oils only contain plant extracts and have extremely powerful medicinal properties. 

Aromatherapy is a safe and effective alternative therapy for many animals and can be used therapeutically for both physical and behavioral issues.  The oils are absorbed through inhalation or skin contact, and sometimes ingestion. Animals, particularly dogs, have a stronger olfactory sense than humans, so inhaling essential oils quickly transports the effects into their bloodstream. This makes aromatherapy fast-acting and is the reason why it can help with the treatment of certain conditions so well. Used correctly, oils can be used to target specific areas by triggering chemicals associated with certain biological tissues in the body.

Essential oils can be used to treat a wide array of conditions and ailments. The following are some of the effects of essential oils, depending on which combinations are used.

• Anti Agents - many oils have antiviral, antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, anti-toxin, and anti-venom properties. 

• Mood Control - some oils can be calming, sedating, energizing or rejuvenating and can be used to help with anxiety, nervousness, separation, and aggressive behavior.

• Pest Control - some oils are great for repelling insects and parasites such as flies, mosquitos, fleas, lice, ticks, mites, etc. 

• Physical Conditions - some oils can help relieve pain and inflammation and help with joint problems, degenerative conditions, growing pains, hair regrowth, etc. 

• First Aid - some oils can help alleviate allergies, motion sickness, cuts, burns, stings, rashes, and other minor skin conditions. 

• Dental Care - some oils can be used to improve bad breath and even combat abscesses. 

Essential oils can be used for so many other preventative and treatment measures, which make them a viable and valuable alternative to allopathic approaches. 

This question is not simply answered with a yes or no. 

Animals are more sensitive to essential oils than humans, so there are special dilution guidelines required for different animals and oils. As long as they are diluted and used appropriately, essentials oils are safe for use on animals. On the other hand, there are some oils that are toxic and should not be used, so it is important to educate yourself and be careful using oils around animals. 

One of the most important things about aromatherapy is efficacy and using 100% pure, therapeutic grade essential oils.  Many essential oils are adulterated with chemicals that are very toxic to pets to breathe in. We use and recommend  doTERRA products. 

Why doTERRA?  The essential oil industry did not have standards to ensure purity, so doTERRA created one.  Every batch of doTERRA essential oils goes through a rigorous testing process—well beyond what would be considered “good enough.” After that, each oil is sent to an independent third party for further testing and validation.