Treating Your Pet to Aromatherapy

As pet owners, you want to do whatever you can to make certain that your beloved family pet lives in health and comfort. You want the best food and products for your pet. In addition, you never want to irritate your pet's skin and eyes with harsh chemicals from bathing or grooming products. Now there is a new way to pamper your pooch or kitty. You can use essential oils for aromatherapy for your pet. Certain smells from essential oils can be an alternative treatment and can affect the health and mood of your pet.

In fact, if you look around, you will see that there are many natural products that use essential oils for your pet. You can stop using harsh and damaging flea sprays. You will even find gentle and natural shampoos and washes that make your pet's fur fill of shine. Not only will your pet look great when you use these products, but your pet will smell great, too. This aroma from the essential oils can help your pet stay active and healthy.

Every dog owner knows the importance of grooming. Proper grooming not only makes your dog look better, but helps your dog stay healthy. With regular bathes and clippings, your dog will stay itch-free. The next time you are ready to groom your dog, check into the natural products that use aromatherapy by essential oils. There is no reason why you should ever have to use products that can irritate and hurt your pet again. You can find everything from shampoos and conditioners to sprays that will improve the way your dog looks and feels.

When you live with a pet, you worry about fleas. Even if your pet never stays outdoors for more than a few minutes, your pet is at risk for flea infestation. You can purchase flea powders and sprays to help combat the problem, but many of these products contain chemicals that can leave your pet with hair loss and itchy rashes. Why take the risk? There are many sprays that can naturally repel fleas and ticks without the chemical smells that you have used in the past. With the help of aromatherapy and essential oils, you can safely use oils such as eucalyptus, lavender or fir needle. These naturally repel fleas and will soothe irritated areas or hydrate dry skin. Another interested fact is that essential oils are also known to calm the dog that suffers the fear of rainstorms or vet visits.

Using aromatherapy on cats, however, is another matter and you must use care when deciding on using aromatherapy on your feline companions. The essential oils that pamper your dog can kill your cat. This is because a cat's body cannot metabolize the essential oils the way a dog or even human can. Cats have thinner skin, allowing oils to absorb faster, thus causing toxicity buildup. A cat liver cannot handle the toxicity and so some of these products can actually poison your cat and make your pet very ill.

This does not mean that you can never use essential oils on your cat. You only have to remember to very careful and if there are every any questions, you should consult your vet for his or her opinion. Essential oils must be handled differently with cats to make the products that lavish comfort and fragrances for cats will not harm them. Never use essential oils straight from the bottle. Instead, these oils must be diluted. These are safe to use on cats. They offer the same benefits and are used as antiseptics, for skin care or as ear cleaners and soothers. For example, lavender can be used on burns or to induce a calming effect on your pet. Rose is good for skin irritations and rashes. Also, you must remember that cats dislike strong smells. So that which entices your dog, can be a major turn off to your cat. You can experiment and mix a few together and you might wind up with gentle scents even your cat will enjoy. Also, this milder form can be used not only for cats, but also for puppies, kittens, rabbits and ferrets, as well.

If you are a horse owner, you might be surprised to learn that Horses can also benefit from the properties of aromatherapy. Many horse owners discover after bringing their new horse home that the animal has some odd behaviors. They may be head shy, trailer shy or just plain hard to deal with. This can often be a symptom of abuse at the hands of their last owner. Essential oils can go a long way to alleviating some of these issues and adding to the mental and emotional well being of the animal. Some oils to consider using include Bergamot, frankincense, and chamomile. These are all known to contribute to a more relaxed and easy horse. Sweet orange will give your horse the feeling of self-assurance. Others essential oils used in aromatherapy for horses include basil or lemon, which may contribute to the ability to focus.

There are several ways to use aromatherapy on your pet. You can burn essential oils near your pet. Most of the time a few minutes of inhaling the scent will result in a calming difference. You might even try putting the essential oil on your clothes and your pet will inhale the scents while you are spending time with your pet. Either way, using aromatherapy is an interesting and natural way to treating your pet. If you decide to try essential oils, it is likely that you will see a benefit in you and your pet.