There are two reasons someone would want to know what essential oils dogs hate.
- They want to use essential oils in their house but want to make sure their dog won’t hate it.
- They want to use it as a dog repellent.
If you fall into the second group, you can skip straight to the section where we go over the essential oils that dogs hate the most. However, if you fall into group one, you might want to read this whole article to learn the best practices when it comes to essential oils and dogs. Some essential oils can actually be very harmful to your furry friend.
The most common essential oils that dogs hate (and the ones that work best as a dog repellent) are
- Citrus
- Cinnamon
- Eucalyptus
- Mint
If you want to keep a dog out of a particular room or if you’re going to use essential oils to stop your dog from urinating on furniture, those four oils work wonders.
Using Essential Oils to Repel Dogs
Whether you want to keep stray dogs out of your yard or you want to keep your own dog from having accidents in the house, essential oils can be a huge help. Here are a few ways to effectively use essential oils to repel dogs for different situations.
Eliminate Potty Accidents In The House
If you notice your dog continues to go to the bathroom in your house in the same spot, it’s for two reasons.
Their brain has made the association that that spot in the house is where they should urinate since they’ve done it so many times.
The scent brings them back each time they need to go to the bathroom.
So what’s the solution? Essential oils! If you know the exact spot your dog urinates inside, place a few drops of either citrus, cinnamon, eucalyptus, or mint essential oils on the spot. The scent will repel your dog from the spot, and it will also cover up the scent from their past accidents so they won’t continue coming back.
Prevent Your Dog From Entering Certain Rooms
There might be some rooms in your house you don’t want your dog going in. Maybe it’s the baby’s room, the guest bedroom, or the kitchen. Whatever the room is, you have your reasons for wanting to keep the dog out.
You can use essential oils to keep your dog out of the room. The best way to do this is to use a diffuser in the room. You can purchase a diffuser for less than $20 online. Use one of the four essential oils that dogs hate in the diffuser.
Important: If you do plan on using this in the baby’s room, make sure you check whether or not the essential oil you plan on using is safe for babies.
Keep Your Dog Off Furniture
The best way to keep your dog off furniture is to make the furniture unappealing to them. Dogs rely heavily on their sense of smell, so by placing a few drops of an essential oil you know your dog can’t stand the smell of will keep them off the furniture.
The best way to use essential oils on your furniture is to fill a spray bottle with water and place about 10 drops of oil in the bottle. You can then give a few sprays to the furniture you want your dog to stay off.
Those are just a few of the ways you can use essential oil to repel dogs or to correct behavior. Feel free to get creative with how you use the oils. You can even use them to keep stray dogs out of your yard.
Important Rules For Essential Oils & Dogs
It’s important to be cautious when using essential oils with dogs. These oils are incredibly concentrated, which means a tiny drop is potent. Generally speaking, a dog’s sense of smell is 40x greater than humans (yes, 40x). That means essential oils are 40x more potent for dogs than for humans.
This means we have to follow a few rules when using essential oils around pets.
1. Always Dilute The Oil
Never place a few drops of essential oil directly on the furniture or carpet. It’s best to dilute the oil with water by filling up a spray bottle and putting a few drops of essential oil in the spray bottle or by using a diffuser.
2. Don’t Use Directly On Your Dog
Not only would this drive your dog insane because now they’re walking around with an overpowering scent they can’t get rid of, but it’s really bad for the skin and can cause serious irritation.
3. Don’t Allow Your Dog to Ingest The Oil
Don’t put the oil in their water or on their food. Yes, some oils are safe for dogs to ingest, but as a best practice, we recommend completely avoiding this.
4. Talk to Your Vet When in Doubt
As always, be sure to call the vet if you have any questions regarding essential oils and dogs. Always better to be safe than sorry!
Oils That Are Dangerous For Your Dog
You might be wondering why we only mentioned four essential oils that dogs hate (citrus, cinnamon, eucalyptus, mint). Surely there has to be more than four, right? Yup! There are a lot more than four essential oils that dogs hate. The problem is those four are the only ones that have been proven to be safe for dogs.
The following oils can be considered toxic for your dog. If you have a dog in your house, avoid the following:
- Pennyroyal
- Pine
- Sweet birch
- Garlic
- Thyme
- Tea tree
- Wintergreen
- Juniper
- Ylang ylang
Although these oils can be safe in very small amounts, if you have a dog you may want to consider keeping these oils out of the house because of the potential downsides.
How to Tell If Your Dog Has Essential Oil Poisoning
One of the main reasons essential oils can be poisonous to dogs is because the chemicals in essential oils are processed through the liver. A dog’s liver does not handle these chemicals as well as a human liver.
That’s why the safest way to use essential oils around dogs is through a diffuser. Make sure to never allow your dog to ingest essential oils orally or that you never apply it directly to their skin.
If you suspect your dog might be suffering from essential oil poisoning, here are a few symptoms to look for.
- Shortness of breath
- Shaking
- Drooling
- Vomiting
- Lethargy
- Weakness
- Scratching mouth or face
When in doubt, it’s best to get your dog to the vet ASAP. Don’t try to induce vomiting on your own, this could make the situation worse.
Use Essential Oils With Caution
Don’t let this article scare you away from using essential oils with pets around. Just remember to be safe and never apply it directly to their skin or let them drink it.
There are many reasons you might be trying to figure out what essential oils dogs hate. Maybe you’re trying to make sure you don’t use any of those scents around your dog, or perhaps you’re trying to keep your dog out of a particular room. Whatever the case may be, just be sure to use caution.
Recommended For You