Can I Give Chamomile to a Dog? Uses and Benefits

Chamomile is a plant with numerous medicinal properties, which we can use on humans and pets alike. If you're wondering whether you can give chamomile to your dog, the answer is yes.

As well as being used as a fungicide to clean around dogs' eyes and tear ducts, it can also be given as a cold infusion. But what benefits does chamomile bring dogs? Let's look at all the details.

The Properties of Chamomile

Known scientifically as Matricaria recutita, it has been used since ancient times across numerous European regions thanks to its medicinal properties.

As well as being known for its digestive, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic and calming properties, current studies state that it stimulates the immune system and lowers blood glucose levels.

All of these benefits can be obtained by drinking the tea, but it's also possible to apply compresses or poultices to the affected areas.

Is It Good to Give Chamomile to a Dog?

Fortunately, your dog can benefit from chamomile's properties, even as a puppy. The right dose will depend on the complaint it's suffering from, the dog's age and also any other medication you're giving it.

This means you can indeed give chamomile to your dog. It's recommended, though, that you do so under a vet's supervision.

When to Give Chamomile to a Dog

There are multiple ways you can make use of chamomile's benefits for your dog. These are some of them:

Chamomile for Diarrhoea

You can give chamomile to a dog with diarrhoea; it's a very effective home remedy. The way to do it is to make a tea, let it cool and offer it to your dog.

Chamomile tea will help regulate its digestive system while also hydrating it. Recent research states that chamomile reduces gut motility and with it diarrhoea. This remedy will tide you over while you take the dog to the vet, since it's no substitute for medical care.

Chamomile Soothes Vomiting

Remember that when there's vomiting (more than 3 episodes), we should avoid the oral route — that is, offer our pet nothing to drink or eat — and go straight to the vet so they can administer anti-emetic medication.

If it's fewer than 3 episodes of vomiting, or if the period of constant vomiting has passed, we can give our dog chamomile tea. As with diarrhoea, wait for the tea to cool to lukewarm before offering it. There's no need to add sugar or sweeteners.

You can give this remedy once your dog has gone more than 3 hours without vomiting. That way you avoid it bringing the chamomile straight back up. It isn't recommended in puppies that are vomiting.

Chamomile as a Relaxant

Dogs get nervous in all sorts of situations: a car journey, the Christmas period, moving house, and so on. To help it relax, you can use chamomile as an air freshener.

The procedure is simple: soak a cotton ball with 10 drops of chamomile oil. Place it in the space where your dog will be (the car, a room, etc.), and let it scent the air for 30 minutes. Then remove the ball and let your dog into the space. The residual smell will help calm it down.

Another way of making use of its calming properties is to use it as a natural sedative. To do this, make the chamomile tea, let it cool and give it to your dog. Many won't like it, so try giving it with a syringe. This way you get ahead of things and calm the dog down if you know it's about to face a stressful situation.

For Inflamed Eyes

During walks, some bit of debris may get into your dog's eyes and inflame them. This will cause discomfort, redness and some watering. To relieve it, you can make a chamomile tea, wait for the bag to cool and then empty the contents onto a gauze pad. Apply this gauze to your dog's eye.

If the injury gets worse or shows discharge, don't apply chamomile and see your vet immediately, since in very isolated cases some pets are allergic to chamomile's essential oils, and your furry friend could be one of them.

For External Parasites

You can bathe your dog in chamomile water to protect it from fleas and ticks. This doesn't replace applying other remedies, such as sprays, spot-ons or flea collars.

In these cases, chamomile is used in two ways. In the first, bathing with this plant will serve to soothe the irritation on your dog's skin; thanks to this, it will stop scratching for a while and you'll prevent it from hurting itself.

The other way is to apply it before removing a tick. Place a tea bag or a few damp chamomile leaves wrapped in gauze over the tick and then extract the insect with tweezers. Remember that you have to remove the whole tick, including the jaw, to avoid irritation.

To get the tick's jaw out, pulling it off isn't enough; you need to do it by turning anticlockwise. Chamomile can also be used this way against insect bites or to soothe a wound. Apply it with the leaves in a gauze pad and you'll see the inflammation come down very quickly.