Essential Oils

I use essential oils with Chance for various issues.  Immune support, stress/fear/anxiety, joint issues, allergies, etc.

I started my essential oil journey by using a product designed by a veterinarian.  
As I further educated myself on essential oils, I realized the usage instructions were not safe.  Essential oils are very powerful and can cause many problems with improper use.  As with most things in life, less is better.  I found out it was much safer, and just as effective, to apply a highly diluted oil instead of one that was a higher concentration or not diluted at all.

I became concerned with her formulations.
Many products contained a lot of different essential oils.  If a reaction occurred, how could I figure out which oil caused the problem when there were 19 essential oils used?  
Some products contained essential oils that were best avoided with dogs for various reasons.

I discovered the veterinarian had no formal training in the use of essential oils other than what was provided by the brand she first started using and her experiments on her personal animals and clients' animals.  

I began to research and found a wonderful group on Facebook that is run by Kelly Holland Azzaro, RA, CCAP, CBFP, LMT.  She is an Animal Aromatherapist and educator.
If you are a member of Facebook, her group can be found here: Animal Aromatherapy (Safe Use) 
If you are not a member of Facebook, she can be reached here: Ashi Therapy 

Using the information from her group, I have been able to figure out what works best for Chance and custom blend essential oils or pick the best single oil for a specific issue.  
We have seen an accelerated rate of healing on her nose from diffusing the essential oils for stress and fear-based emotions.  Her rehab vet commented that she may have a "normal looking" nose with the degree of healing we are seeing.
I created a blend that worked remarkably well when our fireworks-crazy neighborhood went nuts on New Year's Eve.  I never had luck with the four blends from the veterinarian's company.