It was close to midnight when I took my Field Labrador for a walk before settling down for the night. We walked two blocks to a nearby playground. At the end of the park area was a road, and nearby, there was a bleary streetlight piercing the darkness with a pale-yellow light. My dog, Jhana, was close by when out of the black of night a dog smaller than my 95-pound lab bolted out of nowhere to attack my dog! Jhana turned towards the dog to be friendly, but in a second, he threw my dog to the ground and put his teeth into his shoulder. My dog screamed as the dog continued to lock his teeth into his flesh. The owner of the dog ran out of the night and yelled at his dog but to no avail. Finally, he pulled on his dog and took him to the ground and laid spread eagle upon him to stop his ferociousness. During this time, I was doing my best to not get between the two dogs, but everything happened so quickly I could not get close to do anything. The man grabbed his dog in his arms and ran back into the night never to be seen again.
Now, you would wonder why, for no reason, a dog would bolt out and attack another dog or even a person unprovoked. A couple reasons come to my mind. One reason is the animal may be experiencing environmental poisoning. Perhaps he ate something toxic, or chemical exposure, toxic household products, fumes of some kind. However, there is a more common problem many dogs suffer from: a daily diet of cheap, dried dog food. How can an animal survive on dried nuggets of lifeless fiber devoid of minerals and live nutrients? The kidneys cannot take constant dried food. The bones become brittle, the nervous system becomes weak, the coat is no longer vibrant and of course, the disposition of the dog is in a state of irritation and stress. When there is a lack of minerals in the diet, the nervous system is under tremendous stress, the endocrine system cannot function properly and you have a dog that barks constantly, is aggressive, chews on the furniture and is beside himself because his body and mind are so unhappy. This is what I suspect was the temperament of the dog, when he attacked my dog, Jhana.
My dog in comparison has a loving disposition, shares his affection with everyone. He likes a routine, loves to exercise, swim, go for car rides, and be involved with life in general. His diet includes a small amount of carefully selected dried food, cubes of meat such as turkey, chicken, duck, lamb, some beef, but never pork. A blend of parsley, carrot and celery is included along with supplements. He enjoys chewing on bones. If he is exercised more than usual, he requires more calories, and his diet is adjusted to accommodate this. His water bowl is filled up during the day with fresh purified water, he exercises twice a day and interacts with people during the day.
After the dog attacked Jhana, I am sorry to say, I did not have any essential oils with me and may have been in part, why his leg, paw and shoulder swelled up three times its normal size. I just moved into a new house and could not locate the kit with the oils for pets, so I went to my personal kit and selected Frankincense, first thing. Young Living Frankincense does more than what science says it can do according to its components. While massaging the oil into the shoulder area I discovered an unusual situation where a golf ball sized lump had formed on his shoulder.
It felt like a ball of string as the fibers from the muscle, ligament and flesh knit together into swollen fibers where the skin was pierced by the poison from the attacker's teeth. Next, I applied Lavender to relax him and continued layering with Eucalyptus. I then sealed the oils with Animal Scents Ointment so the oils would not wick off. I did this two times a day for three days. On the third day, a black colored blood discharged out of the areas where the skin was pierced. I then switched to a new formula which included Pine oil, Lemongrass, alternating with Lavender and Cedarwood. On the fourth day, the swelling started to slowly come down. I continued with this routine for a few more days. Scabs began to form on the injuries and then I found marks on his head. Each time I opened a bottle of oil, I placed the bottle near his nose, so he knew what to expect. He graciously accepted the oils and knew they were helping him. Now he began to walk normally, and I cut back to using selected oils once a day and then every other day.
In my regular oil kit for animals, there were several blends which would have been perfect for his situation, but those oils were not handy, so I had to act fast and selected oils from my own personal oils I use daily. Normally, I would choose from any of the following:
Animal Scents T-Away - Helps in situations of stress, nervousness. Handy to put on pets before traveling or taking them to the vet.
Animal Scents Puriclean - Helpful for cleaning up from injuries, scrapes, scratches.
Para Gize - Helpful for tummy upsets, parasite issues, wrong food, or bad water. Massage on paws and tummy. Can also be used in a diffuser.
Infect Away - Avoid infections with the antibacterial qualities of this oil blend which includes Myrrh and includes Dorado Azul from our Young Living Ecuadorian farm. Helps to soothe irritation and aids the healing process.
Animal Scents Shampoo - A concentrate that goes a long way. If your pet has grit, dirt, odor or just needs a good shampoo, this is one of the best shampoos you can use, however, you can add water to it as an option. The Essential Oil Cleanser removes any residue, the fur feels clean and is soft. This shampoo is often recommended by veterinarians. A good one to take to the dog parlor to be confident of using a product with no artificial petro chemicals, perfumes, dyes or fragrances. The essential oils added are selected to improve the skin and the fur. Often used to clean horses' tails when they are being dressed out for performances.
Animal Scents Ointment - This can be used on animals and humans. It is a little heavier than most salves. It can be used on its own, but in this case, I applied it over the oils to prevent them drying off too quickly and seal in their healing abilities, as well as to protect the injury. The salve contains herbs and essential oils. It lasts a long time and is handy for whatever comes along that needs a natural remedy.
So, everything is back to normal now. Jhana is healthy and happy! Hopefully, my experience will help you to use the Young Living Oils with confidence with your animals. It always amazes me how quickly the essential oils work for animals and it is amazing how they show their gratitude.