Living With Dogs and Chamomile Oil
The one animal-poison authority that lists chamomile, the ASPCA, lists it as toxic to dogs, and no source we found establishes a safe amount of chamomile essential oil for a dog. That does not mean every dog that sniffs a diffuser is in trouble. It means this is a decision for your veterinarian, and a clear look at the different ways a dog meets the oil helps you decide what to bring to that conversation.
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Our own Roman Chamomile Essential Oil, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
From $32.99
Shop Now →If the dog swallowed it or chewed the bottle
This is the highest concern, so call your veterinarian or a poison control line immediately without waiting for signs. Tisserand labels neat Roman chamomile as a flammable liquid that may be fatal if swallowed and enters the airways (Tisserand). That wording is written for people, but the airway hazard belongs to the liquid. The ASPCA's entry for Anthemis nobilis lists vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, contact dermatitis and allergic reactions for dogs, cats and horses, and gives its poison control number as (888) 426-4435, with a consultation fee that may apply (ASPCA). Bring the bottle, because the label tells the vet which oil it was.
If it is on the coat
This route has the most published animal data, though not for chamomile. A veterinary report on melaleuca (tea tree) oil put on dogs and cats described depression, weakness, incoordination and muscle tremors, mostly when owners used too high a dose for a skin complaint, with recovery over two to three days under supportive care (Villar et al., 1994). It shows concentrated oil on skin can poison a dog; it does not show chamomile does, and it gives no safe chamomile dilution. We will not give one. Our 0.5% to 2% guidance is for human skin and was not derived from dog studies. Dogs lick themselves, so a topical product quickly becomes an oral one. If a skin complaint tempted you toward chamomile oil, that is a visit to the veterinarian.
If you are wearing it and the dog is close
A dog licking your arm or sleeping on your pillow is a small skin and oral exposure that no source quantifies. As our own judgment rather than a study result, wash a diluted blend off before cuddling the dog, and keep the blue German oil away from the dog's bed, since it can stain fabric.
If it is in the air
We found no study of chamomile oil diffused near dogs, so we will not invent a run time or room size. If you diffuse anyway, give the dog a way out of the room, avoid closed rooms, and stop at the first drooling, vomiting, lethargy, stumbling or labored breathing. Puppies, older dogs and dogs with breathing problems are cases to raise with a veterinarian first. Our posts on inhalation and humidifiers add more.
Why "chamomile tea is fine" does not carry over
Many people think of chamomile as mild because they know the tea. The ASPCA entry is for the plant, and among the toxic principles it names are a volatile oil, bisabolol and chamazulene, which are constituents of the oil itself. Distillation concentrates them, so a flower in a cup and a bottle of oil are not comparable doses. That is reasoning about concentration, not a finding from a dog study. Chamomile is also a daisy-family plant, and the ASPCA lists allergic reactions among the signs, though we found no source for how often dogs react.
Roman and German
We sell both. The ASPCA entry uses the botanical name we list for our Roman oil. We found nothing on German chamomile oil in dogs, and the absence of a listing does not make it the better choice.
What to have ready if you call the vet
- The dog's weight, age, breed and any known conditions or medicines.
- Whether it was Roman or German as printed on the label, the bottle size and roughly how much is missing or spilled.
- Whether the oil was neat or diluted, and in which carrier.
- The route (swallowed, on the coat, licked or breathed) and the time it happened, plus any signs with times.
Our practical advice
Keep the closed bottle on a high shelf, since dogs chew things, and see our storage guide. Do not apply chamomile oil to a dog or add it to a bath, shampoo, spray, bedding or collar. If a dog is exposed by any route, call a veterinarian first. If the home also has a cat or a child, our guides on cats and children cover those households, and the safety overview covers the rest.
Your dog's nose is far better than ours, so when in doubt, keep the bottle closed and ask the vet.
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil
Roman Chamomile Essential Oil from our own shop, in sizes from 0.5 oz to bulk.
From $32.99
Shop Now →