Are Candles Bad for Dogs? Quick Answer: No!

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Just as humans are attracted to the sweet aromas of scented candles, it’s no surprise dogs and other pets may be, too. Dogs have an incredible sense of smell and may be drawn to the appetizing scents of the delicious-smelling candles throughout your home. 

Before you worry too much, though, on the whole, candles don’t pose a significant health risk to dogs. While it’s good practice to keep candles, especially lit ones, out of the reach of your furry friend, some candles help eliminate foul pet odors and offer many other benefits–from aromatherapy to enhanced relaxation. 

Are you wondering, “Are candles bad for dogs?” The quick answer is no. But if you’re concerned about an open flame around an energetic pup, you have other options available to you to keep your space smelling sweet and inviting. 

Risks of Candles and Air Fresheners

While the scents used in Homesick scented candles are not harmful to dogs and other pets, some scented candles and air fresheners, such as plug-ins and aerosol types, may contain irritating or harmful ingredients.  

Some of these products may release synthetic fragrances that aggravate existing respiratory illnesses like asthma in people and pets or harmful toxins, such as naphthalene or phthalates. There have been cases in which phthalates released from some burning candles were suspected to have caused endocrine system disruption, leading to other serious diseases, such as diabetes and cancer. 

Essential oils, used in some air diffusers and scented candles, are another substance that can cause some sensitivities to humans and pets alike. Several essential oil varieties should be avoided if you have pets in your home, as they have been shown to adversely impact your pet's health. These oils include eucalyptus, tea tree oil, wintergreen, pine, peppermint, camphor and clove. Depending on the oil concentration, even a few drops can cause illness, ranging from vomiting, diarrhea, seizures, depression and more. Even when they are diffused, some oils may still cause mild allergy symptoms or a cough. With this in mind, it’s recommended you don’t apply essential oils directly to your dog’s skin or fur. 

Safe Candle and Scented Options

While some scented products should be avoided for you and your dog’s health and safety, at Homesick, we make safe candles with a natural soy wax blend and 100 percent organic cotton wicks for a smooth, long-lasting burn. If you’re wondering: “Are soy candles safe?” we can say with certainty they are. 

Soy wax burns clean, and when you follow safe candle-burning practices, it produces little or no airborne particulates. And these delightful candles can help eliminate unwanted odors from your dog’s coat and leave your home smelling fresh. Like any candle, it’s best to keep an open flame away from happy dog tails to avoid the possibility of knocking them over and starting a fire. 

If you’re concerned a strongly scented candle may irritate your pooch’s sensitive nose, try burning it in a well-ventilated room to keep your dog’s eyes and nose from becoming irritated. 

Dogs have an incredibly powerful sense of smell that scientists believe is 10,000 times as acute as our sense of smell. For this reason, they may immediately pick up on the presence of a new scented candle and sniff it out. 

Because some pets might find our candles’ scents so delicious, there’s always the possibility their strong noses might mistake it for a tasty snack. While ingesting these candles will likely result in nothing more than an unhappy stomach or diarrhea, it’s a good idea to keep your unlit candle out of your dog’s reach so they can avoid digestive distress and you can continue to enjoy delightful scents in your home. 

If you’re looking for a fragrant solution that doesn’t pose a fire hazard, you can choose from one of our many reed diffuser scents that releases a wide range of delicious fragrances. A reed diffuser is a liquid air freshener that uses reeds to absorb the scent from the liquids and releases pleasant fragrances into the air. From tropical to energizing and comforting fragrances, reed diffuser oils offer an array of delicious scents to help mask pet odors and sprinkle your home with uplifting notes from your favorite aromatic ingredients. 

The Bottom Line

If you’re a candle lover or someone who likes to diffuse their home with scented oils, with the proper safety precautions, you can fill your home with beautiful aromas posing no health risks to your dog. When you buy a Homesick candle reed diffuser, be assured all our ingredients are non-toxic and free of lead, paraben, phthalates or synthetic dyes to keep your home smelling great and your dog happy and healthy.