Essential Oils Are My First Reach
Years ago, when I first started using essential oils, I had no idea how deeply they would eventually become part of the way I care for my dogs — or myself.
In fact, my first starter kit sat in the hall coat closed for over a year before I really learned what to do with it. I was interested, but I was also skeptical and unsure. I used a few oils here and there, especially for emotional support, but they were not yet the first thing I reached for when somebody didn't feel well or something unexpected happened.
Boy, has that changed.
Today essential oils are woven into daily life here. My dogs have their own collection in the kitchen. I keep a smaller group in my car for first aid. Oils travel with me because a handful of bottles fits easily into a bag without requiring half of my supplement cabinet to come along for the ride. I use them personally for just about everything, and I have used them with my dogs through senior years, recovery, digestive upset, emotional stress, seasonal wellness and the very ordinary bumps in the road that happen when you live with dogs.
That is why I still say essential oils are often my first reach.
First reach does not mean only reach. It means they are one of the modalities I know extremely well, I usually have them within arm's reach, and I know how useful they can be when they fit the dog and the situation.
Why are essential oils often my first reach for dogs? Because I have them on hand, they travel easily, I know how to use them, and they give me flexible options for everyday wellness, first aid, digestive support, senior dogs, emotional support and other situations that come up in real life.
They are not always the right tool. But they are one of the tools I know best. And they are almost always included somewhere in the process -- even if not first.
I Didn't Just Fall in Love With the Bottles
I did not wake up one morning and decide essential oils would become one of my primary modalities. That happened over time through use, education and experience. The more I learned, the more intentionally I used them, and eventually I realized there was a very big difference between owning essential oils and actually understanding how to work with them.
That pushed me deeper into animal aromatherapy education. I wanted more than a list telling me Lavender is for this and Frankincense is for that. I wanted to understand oil chemistry, quality, routes of use, dilution, the individual animal, cautions, combinations and why one oil may make sense while another does not.
My studies eventually became advanced work with veterinarians and other professionals in animal aromatherapy, along with continued education and my involvement with the Veterinary Medical Aromatherapy Association. Essential oils stopped being products sitting on a shelf and became a modality I genuinely knew how to think through.
That is an important distinction. I don't want dog moms blindly grabbing whatever smells good or copying random recipes from Facebook. I want you to understand what you are reaching for and why.
My Dogs Have Their Own Essential Oil Collection
There is quite literally a group of oils in my kitchen that belongs to the dogs.
Some are there because I use essential oils proactively as part of how I think about longevity and everyday wellness. I rotate rather than assuming every dog should receive the same oil every day forever, and the oils I consider change with the dog, the season, age, current health and what I am trying to support.
That is really no different from the way I think about food, herbs or supplements. I don't want to throw everything at a dog simply because I own it. I want to know why it belongs there.
Huey and Howie used essential oils regularly during their senior years. Copaiba, Orange, Grapefruit and Frankincense were among the oils I reached for frequently with them. Those years shaped a lot of the way I think about aging dogs now because I wasn't waiting for every day to become a crisis. I was thinking about comfort, mobility, resilience, digestion, emotional health and quality of life as part of normal senior care.
The fact that both boys made it into very advanced senior years certainly influenced my interest in longevity, but it also taught me something bigger: proactive care happens in all the ordinary days between veterinary appointments.
Essential oils were part of those ordinary days.
Harvey Has Given Me a Very Different Reason to Value Them
Harvey's needs have been completely different from Huey and Howie's, which is a pretty good example of why I don't believe in one oil plan for every dog.
With Harvey, essential oils have been part of the bigger picture around his neurological wellness. Frankincense is one I continue to value as part of that support, while his actual health plan also includes veterinary care, medication, nutrition, supplements and everything else I consider for a medically complicated dog.
I also use oils as part of how I support his body's normal detoxification and liver pathways. When a dog is taking medications or dealing with a chronic condition, I don't look at one isolated symptom and pretend the rest of the body stopped existing. I am thinking about the liver, digestion, inflammation, nutrition, nervous system, stress and how all of those pieces interact.
That does not mean Frankincense is treating a neurological disorder or that an essential oil replaces medication or veterinary care. It means I have another support modality available as part of the larger picture.
That is really how I use oils now: not as magic in a bottle, but as one tool inside whole-dog care.
Poppy Has Needed Something Different Again
Poppy has had her own reasons for using essential oils over the years, including mobility and ligament support, seasonal issues, emotional support and recovery. I used oils around her knee surgery years ago, both as part of the preparation and again during her recovery, but the oil did not replace the surgery. It was part of the supportive care around it.
That is another lesson I have carried forward. Holistic support does not have to compete with conventional medicine. There are plenty of times when diagnostics, surgery, medication, emergency care or pain control are exactly what the dog needs. My job is not to turn every situation into an essential-oil problem.
My job is to know when oils belong in the picture and when they don't.
I Use Essential Oils Because They Work in Real Life
There is a very practical reason oils continue to earn so much space in my toolbox: they are easy to live with.
They travel incredibly well. I can carry several useful oils in a tiny case rather than lugging powders, jars and bottles everywhere I go. I keep a small first-aid collection in my car because dogs do not schedule splinters, bug bites, stressful moments or minor mishaps around my office hours.
If something happens while I'm away from home, I like having familiar tools with me. My article on using essential oils for first aid with dogs goes further into that part of my toolbox.
Essential oils also give me flexibility in how I use them. Depending on the specific oil, the dog and what I am trying to accomplish, I may consider aromatic or topical use. With appropriately selected preparations and situations, I may also use oils along the gums, which can become especially useful when a dog is nauseated, recovering or simply refusing to eat.
I don't always want to turn the only food a sick dog will accept into a chemistry experiment by hiding six powders and three capsules inside it.
Sometimes I appreciate having a tool that doesn't require the dinner bowl's cooperation.
A Good Starter Collection Can Take You a Long Way
I actually do believe most dog homes can benefit from having a good starter collection of essential oils. You do not need fifty bottles before you can do something useful, and you certainly do not need to own my kitchen cabinet.
If you have a thoughtfully chosen collection of versatile oils, there is a very good chance I can help you get started with something you already have for many of the everyday questions people bring to me. Then, if your dog has a more specific need, we can talk about adding a more targeted oil later instead of feeling like you need to overnight half a catalog before you can begin.
That is actually how I prefer people to learn. Start with a useful foundation. Learn those oils. Understand how to use them safely. Get comfortable enough that they actually leave the bottle when you need them. As your knowledge and your dog's needs become more specific, your collection can grow with you.
Not Sure Which Oils Belong in a Starter Collection?
I have an entire article on the 7 Essential Oils for Everyday Use With Dogs. These are the kinds of versatile oils I like having available before something happens, rather than trying to find the perfect bottle after the dog already needs it.
Frankincense is still my answer when somebody asks me which single oil I would hate to be without.
There is another benefit to learning this way: confidence. When you've already used an oil appropriately for ordinary things, you are much less likely to panic when something more stressful happens. You have experience with the bottle, you have watched your dog's response, and you are not trying to learn an entirely new modality in the middle of a crisis.
And Yes, I Use Them for Myself Too
My dogs are not the only reason there are essential oils everywhere around here.
I use them personally all the time. Digestion, sleep, emotional support, discomfort, skin, seasonal issues, first aid, household use — they are simply part of the way I live. That familiarity is probably another reason I reach for them so naturally with my dogs. I don't have to suddenly remember that somewhere in the back of a cabinet is a remedy I bought three years ago and never opened.
I know where the oils are. I know which ones I use often. I know what I am trying to accomplish with them.
That is very different from collecting bottles.
First Reach Does Not Mean Only Reach
This is probably the most important thing I would add to the original version of this article after many more years of education and working with dogs.
When I say essential oils are often my first reach, I am not saying they are always the answer.
Sometimes the first thing that needs to change is the food. Sometimes I want an herb. Sometimes homeopathy fits beautifully. Sometimes Reiki, muscle testing or another energetic modality gives me useful direction. Sometimes the dog needs medication. Sometimes I want bloodwork, imaging, surgery, emergency care or a specialist, and I don't want anyone standing at home trying bottle number seven because they're determined to solve everything naturally.
Essential oils occupy an important place in my toolbox because I know them well and they work very well for the way I practice. That does not mean every modality is interchangeable, and it does not mean oils replace everything else.
It means that when I look at the tools available to me, my hand often reaches toward the oils first.
Get Them Out of the Bottle — But Learn What You're Doing
One of the things I used to tell people years ago was, "Reach for your oils first. Try them. They won't work if you don't let them out of the bottle."
I still believe that.
But after years more education, I would add a second half now: learn a few oils well. Understand why you are using them. Learn safe application, dilution and quality. Pay attention to the individual dog. Rotate when appropriate. And know when the oil is not the tool you need.
If you are nervous because you've read twenty conflicting opinions about whether essential oils are safe for dogs, start with my Essential Oil Safety for Dogs article. I would much rather have you learn how to use oils thoughtfully than leave a useful starter kit sitting untouched in a closet for a year like I did.
And if you want the bigger picture of how I use aromatherapy with dogs, my Essential Oils for Dogs section brings the safety, applications, emotional support, first aid, digestive support and other pieces together.
I still reach for my oils first a lot of the time because I have them. They travel with me. I know how to use them. I've seen where they can be useful through many years, many dogs and plenty of very ordinary real-life moments.
And yes, because I love oils.
After all these years, I think I'm allowed to admit that.
And the website isn't called The Well Oiled K9 by accident.
“Reach for your oils first. Try them. They won’t work if you don’t let them out of the bottle!”