There are many items to keep out of reach from dogs within the home, including food as well as items like candles.
But there are some which many think would be suitable to have inside, such as diffusers to keep the home smelling nice.
However, Marianne Whyte from New Zealand took to social media to issue an urgent warning after her dog was “poisoned” by an oil diffuser.
Sharing the news in 2019, the dog owner wrote: “Saturday night I got home late and my dog didn’t recognise me. Being a nanny, I thought I woke him up and he was having a night terror.
“Sunday he was still acting weird. I realised that I had been running my new diffuser and decided to turn it off, Sunday afternoon he was feeling better.”
However, the following day, the dog sitter informed Marianna that her dog was refusing to come out from under the bed.
Marianne added: “I took him to the emergency vet. It turns out that the tea tree oil I was using in the diffuser is toxic for dogs.
“Thankfully the test showed that his liver was ok, but we weren’t out of the woods yet. 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. Please make sure that the essential oils you are burning are not toxic for your pets.”
Other oils which are not suitable include juniper, cassia, calamus, cold, birch and anise.
Pet owners also shouldn’t burn oils including wintergreen, wormwood, yarrow, rude, oregano, mused or goosefoot.
Her post was quickly shared nearly 100,000 times, with more than 13,000 comments from pet owners. Many thanked Marianne for sharing the news as they didn’t know how an oil could be toxic for pets.
Zoe Costigan, a vet from Itchpet.com, said: “We need to be cautious when it comes to keeping essential oils in our homes as many oils could be potentially toxic to our pets.
“Essential oils as well as being used in room diffusers are found in many products such as shampoos, air fresheners, insect repellents and may be accidentally ingested, absorbed across the skin or inhaled by animals.
“Signs of toxicity are variable depending on the type of oil, the concentration of the oil and how the pet has been exposed.
“Common initial signs of a problem may be irritation to the face, paws or area of application, hair loss, inflamed skin, hypersalivation, retching or coughing.
“In more severe cases animals may experience behavioural issues, ataxia, depression, tremors, seizures and difficulty breathing.”
