Scent is one of the strongest sensory experiences for most animals, including dogs and horses. A dog’s sense of smell is exponentially greater than humans; depending on the breed, it can be 10,000 times (short-nosed breeds like pugs) to 100,000 times (bloodhounds) more acute.¹ In the nostrils alone, dogs have up to 300 million specialized scent receptors, whereas the human nose, by comparison, has approximately 6 million receptors.²

When a dog inhales, the functions of smell and respiration are separated into two different areas of the nose so smell can be analyzed thoroughly. Kittens and puppies do not develop their senses of sight or hearing until days or even weeks after birth; they must rely entirely on smell and touch to navigate. Kittens follow scent trails that lead them to a specific nipple to nurse. Horses roaming in wild herds use their sense of smell to find water, recognize family members, and detect danger in the form of predators from distances of up to a mile.

Many animals are equipped with a special filtering structure called a Jacobsen’s organ that is anatomically capable of separating the chemical nature of a smell into each of its constituents. Imagine the delicious smell of an apple pie coming out of the oven. You and I smell pie but your dog smells apples, flour, butter, and each spice that was added. Hounds can store a single scent and distinguish it from an entire forest of smells—even when that smell is hours or days old. Recent research indicates that dogs can detect cancer cells within tissue samples with over 90 percent accuracy.³

With all that in mind, including essential oils and other aromatics as part of a health and wellness practice for animals is a wise move but one that requires special consideration. Animals can be easily overwhelmed by essential oils and other scents, so products must be of the highest quality to avoid undesirable reactions.

Harley’s Story

My first experience with essential oils and animals involved a horse named Harley, who had a history of aggression and tactile hyperesthesia (extreme sensitivity to touch). As an animal bodyworker, I spent nearly three decades working on various species of animals, including horses, dogs, and zoo animals, and had never encountered an animal so averse to contact. His dedicated owner tried everything at her disposal and, upon recommendation, asked me and my colleague Joan Sorita for help.

I first noticed Harley’s sullen posture as I entered his stall. He immediately set to pinning his ears, grinding his teeth, and keeping one hind leg cocked and ready to kick out. As I worked to establish a relationship with him through reiki and gentle tapping, Joan offered him an array of small glass bottles to sniff. He passed his nostrils across each small vial held carefully in her outstretched hand. One elicited a curled lip and wide eyes. The next earned a quick sniff and a pinning of ears. When a small vial of clary sage essential oil was offered, he paused. He drew a small breath through the left nostril and his ears pricked forward in interest. He shifted and moved one nostril and then the other back and forth over the bottle. A prolonged blink of his eyes and a softening of his lips showed a promising interest. After several seconds poised over the bottle, Harley let out a heavy sigh and his head drooped toward the ground. Harley was able to remain relaxed throughout our session as long as Joan kept the oil available to him. The physiological response of his brain to the unique structure of that particular oil opened a door that had remained closed for years.

Self-Selection Method

Harley’s exercise was a classic example of the self-selection method that is a cornerstone of Joan’s work as an internationally recognized author, educator, speaker, and National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) certified aromatherapist. She trained with world-renowned Caroline Ingraham, whose methodology includes Applied Zoopharmacognosy, the study of animal self-medication in the wild. Zoopharmacognosy derives from Latin: zoo (animal), pharmaco (remedy), and gnosy (knowing).

We can observe animals, both domestic and wild, choosing specific plants and flowers to self-medicate or relieve physical or emotional discomfort. As practitioners, we can tap into this innate ability to seek and select specific plant medicines by offering and sequencing plant-based chemical signals in the form of essential oils, hydrosols (aqueous suspensions), dried or macerated herbs, and flower signatures.

While the use of essential oils in massage for people is common, one major advantage is the person’s ability to provide verbal feedback and consent. With animals, the self-selection method improves accuracy and outcomes.

Method of Exposure

Another difference in using aromatics with animals is the method of exposure. Essential oils are often mixed with carrier oils and applied directly to the skin during human massage, with caution regarding allergies or sensitivities. With animals, surface dirt and fur can present a risk for topical application, and certain oils can be caustic or photosensitive for animal skin. Knowing the chemistry of the oils is key in choosing compounds that might help with a given set of symptoms or behaviors and choosing the proper mode of delivery.

Essential oil application in animals is largely done through inhalation, with profound effect. With proper training, many oils can also be offered topically in a diluted or hydrosol form or given in food or water as a tincture. Knowing each oil’s chemical nature, physiological effects, preparation, and energetic signature is key.

Oils that have one effect in humans can sometimes create a different physiological response in animals. For instance, lavender is commonly the first oil people think of when they want to relax. However, in some animals, particularly intact males (such as stallions), it can act as a reproductive stimulant in certain environments.

Cats can be particularly sensitive to many essential oils and require careful application due to their unique metabolism. Hydrosols (diluted aqueous sprays) are recommended for cats and animals under the age of one year. Certain oils, like oregano, should be used with extreme caution. Even using essential oils in your home in a diffuser or in common household products can have a negative impact on cats and other pets. Your pets may be passively exposed to unsafe levels through common household products such as soaps, candles, and cleansers.

Below is a list of six essential oils and hydrosols commonly used with animals, along with some of their physiological and psychological properties.

• Angelica root (Angelica archangelic): Calming on both physical and emotional levels; used for skin disorders, such as sarcoids; emotionally, it is encouraging for animals that are shut down or appear stoic in the face of stress or trauma

• Rose (Rosa damascena): Addresses anger, hormone balancing, trauma, holding onto aggressive memories; emotionally comforts the heart

• Sweet orange (Citrus sinensis): Excellent for digestive issues, teething, skin disorders, and insect bites; emotionally uplifting

• Vanilla absolute (Vanilla planifolia): Can relieve anger and nervous tension that leads to biting, aggression, or self-mutilation; emotionally nurturing, supports animals in season (during breeding cycles)

• Violet leaf (Viola odorata): Reduces fear or anticipation of pain, nervousness; decreases anxiety, can aid in anxiety relating to new home placement

• Yarrow (Achillea millefolium): Used in cases of inflammation, urinary and kidney concerns, and for wound healing and skin damage

Quasi the Coatamundi

The trio of angelica root, rose, and sweet orange played a particularly transformative role in the life of one of my patients. Quasi was a coatamundi (similar to a skinnier, larger raccoon) who lived with a troop of family members at a zoological park in Florida.

Coatamundi or coatis are South American mammals that live in small family groups and forage together for fruits and small invertebrates. Their social structure includes lots of mutual grooming and feeding one another. They even rub oils and sap from plants into each other’s coats to fend off bugs and parasites.

Poor Quasi was born with a skin condition that left him hairless and covered in bumps and lesions. His sister attended to him lovingly, but other members of the troop refused to eat with him or engage in grooming activities. He was not thriving, and the zookeepers who cared for him were faced with the decision of making him live a solitary life or euthanizing him.

Massaging Quasi was going to be a trick, as coatis can be aggressive and are equipped with sharp canines and claws. After some thought, I decided to try a different approach to providing him with bodywork. My goal was to improve the health of his skin, reduce his and his sister’s stress, and support his inclusion in the community.

Using a selection of toothbrushes and paintbrushes, I massaged him through the bars of a small metal chute we coaxed him into with some tempting fruits. I offered him several essential oils that I thought might help, and he showed strong interest in rose and sweet orange. I placed a few drops of the oil—diluted in jojoba oil and fractionated coconut oil—onto the toothbrushes and scrubbed him liberally.

Jojoba oil is a natural wax and good for topical use as it does not clog pores or carry things across the skin easily. Coconut oil was selected because of its antibacterial properties, its ability to fight yeast infections, and its delicious scent and taste.

Quasi’s keeper repeated the sessions daily, and within days, his sister and a few other members of the troop began showing interest in him, attracted by the smells. On the third day, I decided to add angelica root to help his sister cope with her stress, so I dipped a few of the paintbrushes in his pan of fruit to get some of the juices onto the few hairs on his arms and belly. The addition of angelica root proved to be the magic alchemy. His troop instantly gathered around when he was returned to the group and began grooming him attentively.

Quasi’s sister brought him several gifts of grapes and blueberries, something she had only done in secret before. This was a program that could be easily adopted by the keepers and allowed Quasi to remain with his troop until his passing. It was, for me, a tremendous lesson in the healing power of aromatherapy.

Proper Use of Aromatics

Recently, I visited Bermaga Farm (see sidebar page 65) to watch animal massage students finishing up their professional training. As I sat at the back of the class, I marveled at the many ways the students chose to best help the animals. Three horses hung their heads over the stall gates in anticipation, and a cat stretched lazily across the lap of one student who held a bowl of barley grass and hemp oil in offering. Four dogs were lying or sitting on beds next to students in the afternoon sun, sniffing from various vials of geranium, peppermint, copaiba, and holy basil.

One horse had arrived at Bermaga Farm for rehabilitation from a physical and mental trauma. He had spent the last weeks sulking at the back of his stall, depressed and unwilling to engage with people or other animals. On the first day of class, he regarded the students with suspicion and rejected oil after oil offered, with a curled lip and a stomp of his massive front hooves.

The day that I was in class, Katie Carter, a practitioner and student with a long history working in hydrotherapy and animal rehabilitation, stood by the horse’s door clasping a vial of rose essential oil. He stood several feet away with an eye turned in her direction. Gradually he inched closer and extended his neck cautiously. As his nostril passed over the bottle, an ear twitched forward involuntarily. He retreated with a deep inhale and stood blinking, before coming back over and taking a long drag from the bottle with each nostril. Again, he retreated, but this time yawned and lolled his tongue. A heavy breath escaped him, and he came back a third time—this time placing his head over the gate directly into the student’s hands. He stood that way for several minutes with all of us watching in silence.

To those that don’t know horses well, it may have seemed like a very small concession. But for those who have looked into the eyes of a horse with deep affection, it was a small miracle in action. Fear was replaced with trust, depression was replaced with interest, and tension was replaced with breath.

Plant Essence and Animals

Plant essences have special meaning for animals who spend so much of their lives immersed in scents. Horses can select specific plants based on a single blade of grass, and in the wild, they choose plants that calm an upset stomach, fend off parasites, or fight off a worm infestation as easily as you or I select items in the grocery store aisle.

The use of essential oils can be enhanced with preparations of plants, such as barley grass, blue green algae, dried herbs, and flowers and flower signatures. Teas and tinctures made from hops or valerian can help with sleep disruption or anxiety (though competition animals may be restricted from competing during use). Raspberry leaf is commonly used to level moods in mares with ovarian concerns. Chasteberry is a powerful herb to help with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, also known as PPID or Cushing’s disease, a common endocrine condition seen in older horses and dogs. Calendula and marigold petals can be used to line laying boxes for hens, as they are calming to the hen and enhance the color and flavor of yolks. German chamomile and lavender can be suspended in a hydrosol to use in conjunction with acupressure along the kidney meridian. My own horse, a thoroughbred who retired from nine years of racing and is now exploring a second career in jumping, benefits from a calming blend of nine dried herbs he selected, and he receives regular massage with an oil of magnesium and macerated yarrow.

Endless opportunities exist to introduce these powerful plant medicines to animals in a safe and informed way. Whether you are exploring ways to improve the health and longevity of your family pet or a four-legged athletic partner, or you are considering paths to diversify your bodywork practice, aromatics for animals can help you meet these goals.

Training in Aromatherapy for Animals at NWSAM and Bermaga Farm

The Northwest School of Animal Massage (NWSAM) has been offering aromatherapy classes for animals for 20 years through its affiliation with Joan Sorita and her special line of tinctures and flower signatures.

In 2017, NWSAM introduced an Animal Aromatic Science program for professional certification. The course combines online learning with hands-on practical training to ensure students get the science and the practical experience they need to successfully add aromatics to their animal practice or to better understand how to bring this healing modality to their own pets or horses. NWSAM has also partnered with LabAroma, one of the most highly regarded international aromatherapy training programs, to offer a LabAnimal course in the use of aromatics and cannabinoids for animals. Sorita developed both the NWSAM and the LabAroma courses for animals.

Hands-on trainings are held at Bermaga Farm in Montesano, Washington, where Sorita grows many of the medicinal plants and flowers used in her products. Students who attend class there have the unique opportunity to see the products in every stage of their development, from plant to bottle, and to then apply them in their work with the farm’s many animals.

Animal Aromatics Courses at NWSAM

• FREE Introductory Course

• Fundamentals of Aromatic Science for Animals

• Aromatic Sciences for Animals Certification

For more information, visit nwsam.com, call 877-836-3703, or email info@nwsam.com.

For more information on courses and resources, visit these websites:

• Northwest School of Animal Massage—nwsam.com

• Bermaga Farm—bermagafarm.com

• Therapy Corner Store—therapycornerstore.com

• National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy—naha.org

Notes

1. Ashley Berke, “The Nose Knows: Sniffing Out Cancer at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center,” University of Pennsylvania, September 9, 2016, www.vet.upenn.edu/about/news-room/bellwether/penn-vet-extra/penn-vet-extra-september-2016/the-nose-knows.

2. Ashley Berke, “The Nose Knows: Sniffing Out Cancer at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.”

3. Ashley Berke, “The Nose Knows: Sniffing Out Cancer at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center.”