Professional and personal responsibilities, tight schedules, deadlines, and demands stress even the best of us out, especially in today’s fast-paced environment. Unfortunately, you aren’t the only one that deals with stress.
As it turns out, man’s best friend is just as susceptible to stress and anxiety and their negative effects as we are. Luckily, identifying stressors and managing them may be able to help - as may some choice calming herbs for dogs .
What Stresses Your Dog Out?
It might seem like your dog has the life, sleeping, playing, and eating for the majority of the day, but he or she is just as likely to experience stress and anxiety as you here. There are a variety of factors that can cause anxiety or induce stress in dogs, including but not limited to:
- Inconsistent rules or erratic schedules.
- Vet visits or travel, especially to stressful locations.
- Separation from a loved one, such as yourself, can cause separation anxiety.
- Lack of exercise or routine.
- Exposure to loud noises, such as fireworks or thunderstorms.
- And many other factors.
While some of these factors can be controlled or at least managed, not all of them can, so it’s helpful to be able to identify some signs of stress or anxiety in your best friend. While meek behavior and timidity are associated with fear or stress, identifying stress is not always that easy. Look for these signs of a nervous dog:
- Yawning, panting, and pacing.
- Wide eyes or pinned ears, indicating stress or fear.
- Changes in bowel movements such as diarrhea.
- Loss of appetite or weight, though this can be caused by many other things.
- Shivering or trembling, despite not being cold.
- Keeping the tail town between the legs.
- Defensive behavior, such as growling, showing teeth, snarling, snapping, or even biting.
Being on the lookout for signs of stress can help you remedy the situation the best you can. It’s only natural to want to help in any way you can. Luckily, there are a wide range of options at your disposal for managing stress in dogs. Some dog owners choose to use calming herbs for dogs, which may be able to help your best friend cope with stressful situations.
Can Calming Herbs for Dogs Help?
Calming herbs for dogs are not a cure for stress or anxiety and are not intended to entirely prevent it. However, some of the natural remedies we sell here at Animal Essentials may assist you in providing your beloved pet with a less stressful living situation. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular among them.
California Poppy: Eschscholzia californica
A small dosage of poppy extract may help relax the body. California poppy extract may also be able to soothe feelings of anxiety held by your dog and may even help him or her sleep as well, especially when administered in small, frequent doses.
Skullcap: Scutellaria Laterifolia
While the name is slightly intimidating, you have nothing to fear from this little perennial member of the mint family (Lamiaceae) or its pretty purple flowers. It may very well be an effective calming herb for dogs.
Like our glycerin-based extract of California poppy, the Skullcap extract we sell here at Animal Essentials may be able to help your dog relax and even sleep better. In fact, Skullcap has historically been known as “mad dog weed” because it was once believed to cure rabies. It doesn’t - but it has a long reputation of being able to calm nervous, scared, or irritable dogs.
Passionflower: Passiflora incarnata
Passionflower is a perennial plant that, like Skullcap, has beautiful purple flowers. It has a long history of use, even among humans, for its reported therapeutic benefits. Proponents allege that Passionflower can soothe feelings of stress and may even help regulate sleep.
Passionflower has a wide range of reported benefits as a calming herb for dogs as well. It may be able to help calm your dog’s nerves and promote a feeling of wellness, and it may even help your pet sleep better, too!
Valerian: Valeriana officinalis
Valerian is another perennial herb. It is native to Eurasia, where it is known for its attractive, sweetly-scented white or pink flowers. Like Passionflower, humans also use Valerian for its purported calming effects; some also use it because they believe it promotes better, more restful sleep.
Valerian root is also believed to promote wellbeing to dogs (and cats) and may be able to help calm a restful dog. Our glycerin-based Valerian extract is easy to administer and ideal for those looking for calming herbs for dogs that may be able to help them cope with stress due to thunderstorms, fireworks, new people, and more.
Oats (Flowering Tops): Avena sativa
Oats have a long history of use among humans for their benefits to skin and hair, but oats are also believed to help humans relieve stress and encouraging feelings of calmness and relaxation. It is possible that these same benefits may extend to dogs. Oats are said to help calm the central nervous system, so we’ve included extracts of the flowering tops of oats in our Tranquility Blend.
Calming Herbs for Dogs: What Else Can Help?
Calming herbs for dogs are not intended to serve as a cure or even as a treatment for anxiety or stress, despite the fact that they may be able to help. You can also do your part to help your best friend cope with stressors when they cannot be avoided. In addition to the sensible administration of calming herbs, you may also:
- Provide a regular, dependable schedule for your dog.
- Minimize introducing your dog to new people or company if these make him or her feel nervous.
- Reduce exposure to loud noises or other stressful situations.
- Some dogs may be soothed by music.
- Providing him or her with good training.
- Approaching and interacting with your dog in a calm, relaxed, reassuring manner, avoiding pointing, yelling, or scolding.
- Massaging, petting, and brushing your dog may also help him or her feel safe, secure, and reassured, as will spending time with him or her.
If you have any questions about symptoms of stress or anxiety in dogs, about how you can provide a better atmosphere for your beloved best friend, how you may be able to calm the nerves of an anxious dog, or simply about our products, please feel free to get in touch with us at 888-551-0416 or at info@animalessentials.com.