“I am not a vet, and I suggest you talk with your vet first before you do anything.”
I was in a pet supply store today. This store is supposed to be “Natural” and “Healthy.” As I stood in line with 4 other patrons, we listened to a sales clerk tell a woman about a product that they sold in the store.
The woman’s elderly dog has hip displaysia. The dog’s vet suggested Rimadyl for the pain. The sales clerk suggested essential oils.
“I love this stuff. I use it on everything. My dog has seizures, and he was having a seizure once and I squirted this in his mouth and he stopped seizing!”
I think that trying natural things first is important. A lot of our medicine comes from plants and other natural things. And, sometimes you’re just so desperate that you’ll try anything. But I also trust the experts. There are very few vets who work in pet supply stores.
I’m sure that the sales clerk was well trained, she really knew the contents of her store. But, giving medical advice that differs from, well, the medical community, is a dangerous thing. Not that a few essential oils were going to harm this poor old boy, but what if that were Tea Tree Oil? Did you know that Tea Tree Oil is toxic to dogs? Yet, places still sell shampoo that contains it. You know where I learned that? From a vet.
We have given our share of medical advice to pet owners. But we always preface it with “I am not a vet, and I suggest you talk with your vet first before you do anything.” We suggest this for everything from puppy teething to newly developed aggression in an older dog. People have lots of opinions about things, and they can be a wealth of knowledge. But you need to take all of it with a grain of salt (or in some cases, a salt lick.)
It takes a lot of work to become a Veterinarian. And, of course, medicine is an art. Some people are better at it, or have more of a gift for it. There are very bright people in this field, so there are a lot of differences of opinions. But the one thing that vets having going for them is that they have science on their side. All of the vets I know are happy to show you the science behind their decisions.
I don’t think that the store clerk would be able to show the science behind her claims. And, sadly, from the horrific experience of having a dog that had grand mal cluster seizures for 4 years, I know that essential oils would never have stopped him from seizing - unless that essential oil was Oil of Valium, administered rectally.
If you have questions about the health of your pet and want to learn how to help them, go to your vet and ask questions. They love answering questions. If you want to learn about what is in your dog’s food, ask a store clerk. Although, this clerk taught this woman that Labs have notoriously bad livers. Is this true? I don’t know, but I bet I know someone who does….and they have a DVM after their name.