Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals: A Comprehensive Guide to the Use of Essential Oils & Hydrosols with Animals

by Kristen Leigh Bell

It is only in recent years that aromatherapy, or essential oil therapy, has gained substantial acceptance; this is primarily due to French veterinarians who have begun using essential oils and hydrosols in their practices. Laypeople, of course, have been enjoying great success treating animals with the very same substances for many years; for it is not just the medical professionals who can safely and effectively administer these aromatic oils. Anyone enabled with quality essential oils or hydrosols and adequate knowledge can use a plant's most concentrated and energetic byproducts to improve the health of their animals, and treat and prevent various illnesses and common ailments. Aromatherapy is actually a science that has a much larger archive of supported scientific data than most other holistic care methods. However, most of these studies were originally published in French or German. Aromatherapy was the first natural, holistic therapy the author began using, and she relies on it as my primary form of healthcare to treat and balance all sorts of minor ailments and discomforts in the lives of her family and their pets. She has rarely needed to use any other sort of remedy to achieve the desired result. These powerful substances are the most fascinating, sensual and complex of all natural therapies -- a combination that proves to be so enthralling it eventually develops into a grand passion for many.

Genres: Reference, Animals, Health, Nonfiction, Dogs

244 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 1, 2002

Reviews

[Luminea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very detailed an informative book, not only about aromatherapy for animals but also the benefits of holistic health care in general.One important thing to now, however, is that the book was published over 10 years ago in 2001. I was disappointed when I visited the author's website and discovered that she no teaches classes or offers products related to aromatherapy for animals. Nonetheless, the recipes in her book are still just as valid today as they were when it was published. I intend to search for more books on this topic to see what has been published on more recently in this area. Still, I highly recommend this book as a valuable and thorough basis for learning about aromatherapy for animals.

[Jasmine Goh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very informative book, albeit a little more outdated than I would have preferred. I wish the author would release an updated version of the book.As many have pointed out, this book is dedicated mostly to dogs, so there's only a scant bit of information for other pets, unfortunately.

I love the list of 52 safe essential oils for dogs and the fact that there is a page dedicated to each one and explaining why the oil is beneficial for dogs specifically. There is even a list of top 20 essential oils in case one's budget doesn't allow for getting all 52 oils. There are also some recipes that are comprehensive in covering the various doggy ailments that can be treated with oils.

My main frustration with this book, however, is that while she lists the top 20 oils, her recipes call for more obscure oils (eg oppoponax, rosewood) that are not in that top list. Worse, she doesn't provide any suggestions for substitutes. So, even if you owned all top 20 oils, you still wouldn't be able to create any of the products from her recipe. Some of the top 20 oils aren't even used in any of the recipes. Since my main purpose for buying this book was to create safe essential oil remedies for my dog, this is somewhat frustrating because I now have to hunt down rather hard to find oils just to create a simple anti-tick spray. I could substitute, but oils aren't made equal, so the ratio would be pretty iffy for me.

Also, many of the spray recipes call for a decent amount of alcohol. My girl has very sensitive skin, so I'm scared to use alcohol on her. Yet, there is no alcohol-free version of her recipe so my choice is to either omit the alcohol and hope it doesn't lower the efficacy of the product, or include and hope that it doesn't irritate my dog's skin (which I'm loathe to do).

On the whole, I'm irritated and disappointed by the inflexible and limited recipes. But I am grateful for all the other helpful information provided. I do think that a lot of it could be found from careful online research, but it is nice to have it all compiled in a single resource.

[Shirley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a novice in using essential oils and purchased Holistic Aromatherapy for Animals for guidance in the use of these oils with my beloved Golden Retrievers. The book exceeded my expectations.

I was surprised to learn that the life expectancy of Goldens was fifteen or sixteen forty years ago. Their life expectancy is now seven years. (VIII)

Katherine Leigh Bell gives sound advice on how much oils need to be diluted for the sensitive noses of our dogs. She also lists signs of toxicity to watch for to make sure we aren't "over-medicating" our pets on oils.

One of our dogs only drools when we take her to visit other pet owners. She loves to go with us and seems to enjoy these visits, but now I think this may be a sign of stress. I suspect a dosage of oils before our visits might be a solution. Our other Golden is petrified of nail grooming. We need to try one of Bell's oil suggestions for calming before we try trimming the nails again. One of my first major blunders in oil selection was to purchase Wintergreen which is on the list of oils to be avoided with our dogs.

The book dedicates an entire page to each of fifty-two essential oils. The source, the scent, the uses, and applications are described. What a great resource! The book also provides examples of essential oil use by veterinarians and by others who provide holistic care for animals.

Besides being educational, the book is an enjoyable read. I recommend it highly.

[Tami Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came incredibly handy for me with my two labradors. Each has severe allergies and prone to flea allergies as well. The two recipes I used in here were for skin irritation and itching and a flea spray. Both worked! Highly recommended. This is one I will be keeping for my travels on the road.

[Leslie Wetzel-Moldenauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book could use to be updated. It is however still worth a read to help keep your furry family safe.

[Margaret Metz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I got this book because I'm new to using oils and i have several rescue cats. I don't want to hurt them when trying to help myself. The section on cats is very short - and summarizes as use hydrosols instead.

Still, there was a lot of information that was beneficial for choosing, storing, and using oils for me as well as lots of useful tips for dogs.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you have pets and want to safely use essential oils, you need this book!

[Laurie (barksbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind to the earth and animals too, I had hopes of learning how to create holistic remedies to make my furry friends feel better but in the end I was far too lazy.

I read and skimmed through most of this book and it contains some valuable information and many recipes that I need to put together when I find some time. I use aromatherapy in my home and it definitely changes the mood of the household. When the kids are stressing me and/or each other I put on my calming music, diffuse some lavender oil and the mood shifts considerably. My dogs though are normally relaxed (and lazy) so it's hard to tell if this affects them.

I ended up sharing this book with someone else because I know I'll never order all of the supplies needed due to lack of $$ and time.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sound useful information we can add to our library of resource books. Excellent hydrosol section and concise explanation on reading a Gas Chromatograph and Mass Spectometry report! Discussioning chemiacal compositions of the oils- Rich in several topics regarding the use of essential oils as well as overview of some of the oils commonly used with pets. Kristen covers usage with cats and clears up some questions I had as she offers safe essential oil advice for using with our cats! This book is complete with recipes for many different animals...

[Lea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was amazed at how easy to read this book is. Written for the layperson, while not talking down to us, is hard to accomplish. This book contains a lot of useful information, references and recipes for dogs and cats as well as information on small animals and horses/livestock. It is all useful information for everyday life with pets. I'm excited to learn more about hydrosols with Catty's book, already on my shelf.
Would recommend this for all essential oil users with pets.

[Liisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Detailed and science-based, this is a great book for clinical aromatherapists interested in applying their knowledge to their pets' healthcare.

[Ling Chua · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very useful as aromatherapy for dogs is quite different from aromatherapy for humans.

[Jessica Silagy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm new at learning about aromatherapy. Reading this book was very informative and I was able to easily understand.