Minty Vanilla Dog Spray

This Minty Vanilla Dog Spray that I keep on hand for my dogs is something I never want to be without. Like ever. And luckily, since I make this at home, I don’t have to. Yay!

You see, like most dogs, our Golden Retrievers – Ranger and Miss Annabelle – run and play hard outside which causes them to smell less like they’ve been freshly groomed and more like they’ve crossed paths with a foul-smelling friend while on their jaunts on the farm.

Don’t get me wrong, they are just doing their thing, which I love! I just am not the fondest of the smell that comes along with it.

A while back, we moved Annabelle back to being primarily an inside dog. This was in preparation of her being spayed and also to rest a strain she’d gotten while flipping over a huge planter on my back porch one day.

As we brought her in, my husband said, ” I just don’t want to smell her.”

With that, I was on a mission to make it next to impossible for my husband’s very perceptive sniffer to be able to detect that Annabelle was now an inside dog.

And so I bought potion after potion at the pet store to remove that smell that Annabelle just gets after she’s been running around and playing.

I have to say that many of them worked, but they came with other scents that we just didn’t like at all. It became a toss up on whether I’d rather smell dog or the spray. That’s when I knew I just needed to make something for her that I liked.

So, I created my own and Annabelle now smells like cupcakes.

Seriously.

Cupcakes! 

I start with a small travel size spritzer bottle. I fill it nearly to the top with water and then a mixture of peppermint oil, clear vanilla extract, and coconut oil.

Then, I place the top back onto the spritzer bottle and shake it until the coconut oil has completely combined with other ingredients and you don’t see bits of coconut oil in the spritzer. Alternately, I’ve also used Argan Oil,  if you’d rather use that. It does mix easier and there isn’t a need to shake as aggressively as you do with the coconut oil.

I will say to use care when using peppermint oil any other essential oils or extracts on your pets. Make sure you use only pure, non-synthetic essential oils as well as pure, non-synthetic coconut or argan oil. Don’t add a larger amount of the peppermint oil to this spray solution.

I contacted our groomer to discuss this mixture before I used it on my dogs to make certain the spray wouldn’t harm them. Also, I sprayed it on my own arm for a day or so before I used it on my dogs. As you are spritzing your dogs with the spray, be sure to keep it away from their nose, mouth, or eyes as it may cause irritation and well, I wouldn’t want anything to be sprayed in the eyes either.

I also checked for recommendations from well-known veterinarians such as Dr. Karen Becker, DVM for safety in using these oils on dogs. She recommends the book by Dr. Melissa Shelton, DVM titled The Animal Desk Reference: Essential Oils for Animals. 

I hope you enjoy it. I promise, it sure makes things smell a whooooole lot bettah!

Here’s my “recipe” for Minty Vanilla Dog Spray.

Ingredients

1 (2.5-ounce) spray bottle

2 ounces water

2 drops peppermint oil (pure, non-synthetic oil)

1/4 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon melted coconut oil or argan oil (use pure, non-synthetic oil)

Directions

1. Remove the spray top from spray bottle and add water, peppermint oil, clear vanilla extract, and coconut oil or argan oil, whichever you prefer.
2. Return spray top to the spray bottle and shake with vigor until well-combined.
3. Spray onto your arm or a cloth to make sure you enjoy the fragrance.

Here’s to good smelling puppy dogs everywhere!

Robyn xo