Dog poisoned by a diffuser

Dog owner Debra Lansdowne has discovered a potential source of poisoning for dogs which neither she nor many others were aware of and so, she has shared her story.

A genuine warning

One night I returned home late and my dog ​​didn’t seem to recognise me but I thought that perhaps I had woken him up and he was having a night terror.

The following day he was still acting weirdly and remembered that I had been running my new diffuser and decided to turn it off and happily by the afternoon he seemed to be much better.

Then the next day, my dog sitter contacted me at work to say that he wouldn’t come out from under the bed which was very odd as he is generally a very happy dog.

I came home from work early and once again he seemed very confused about who I was so I took him to an emergency vet.

It turns out that the tea tree oil I was using in the diffuser is toxic for dogs.

Fortunately the test showed that his liver was ok but we weren’t out of the woods yet and he was given fluids under his skin to get the toxins out.

The vet and the poison control are saying that they see these cases often now that the popularity of essential oil is growing so please make sure that the essential oils you are burning are not toxic for your pets.

The list of dangerous oils

Here is a long list of essential oils not to use if you have a dog at home

Anise (Pimpinella anisum)

Birch (Betula)

Bitter Almond (Prunus dulcis)

Boldo (Peumus boldus)

Calamus (Acorus calamus)

Camphor (Cinnamomum camphora)

Cassia (Cassia fistula)

Chenopodium (Chenopodium album)

Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum)

Garlic (Allium sativum)

Goosefoot (Chenopodium murale)

Horseradish (Armoracia rusticana)

Hyssop (Hyssopus sp. with the exception of Decumbens)

Juniper (Juniperus sp. with the exception of Juniper Berry)

Mugwort (Artemisia vulgaris)

Mustard (Brassica juncea)

Oregano (Origanum vulgare)

Pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium)

Red or White Thyme

Rue (Ruta graveolens)

Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparissus)

Sassafras (Sassafras albidum)

Savory (Satureja)

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

Tea Tree Oil (Melaleuca alternifolia)

Terebinth (Pistacia palaestina)

Thuja (Thuja occidentalis)

Wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens)

Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

I was lucky but not everyone may be a fortunate, so please keep this advice in mind.

There are a number of dangers that can affect your dog adversely but perhaps the other great risk at the moment is the fact that this is now the season of the toxic pine processionary caterpillar about which so much has been written.