How Do I Help My Anxious Dog Naturally?
If your pet has separation anxiety, fears, phobias, nervous energy, destructive behavior when left alone, then a few of these more natural remedies could help! Start with 2-3 and be consistent for at least 2-4 weeks to see if their stress decreases. Many times we can’t fully get rid of the behavior, but we can “turn down the volume” on the fear and anxiety. Always talk to your vet to rule out other causes such as pain, illness, seizures, trauma, allergies, or other ailments that may look like fearful behavior.
Trainer or Behaviorist – You need to work with a trained professional to pin point, correct, and educate yourself and family on how to help with your pet’s behavior. This is such an important step, because each animal, family, environment, and circumstance is different!
Physical and Mental activity – they become bored and restless just like humans! Releasing their energy through walks, fetch, games, sniffing new smells, playing with different toys, or even agility classes can tire them out. Some dogs do better with mental activity such as food puzzles, learning tricks and manners, or playing hide and seek with toys or treats.
Canine Rescue Remedy – This is a Bach Flower product to relieve stress and fear. It comes in a tincture to give your stressed out pet as needed. It can be found at many human grocery stores, or pet stores!
L-Theanine – Extracted from Green Tea, this promotes calmness in both humans and dogs by blocking excitation receptors. In senior dogs with Sundown Syndrome it can help promote sleep, and some research shows that it is neural protective, which helps decrease the risk of dementia! For small dogs use 100mg twice a day, medium 200mg twice a day, large dogs 300mg twice a day, extra large 400mg twice a day ;)
CBD – Cannabidiol acts as an anxiolytic agent, meaning it reduces anxiety by mimicking serotonin, among many other actions. There are lot of products out there, so be sure to buy animal specific, organic, full spectrum CBD (with less than 0.3%THC), and look at the Certificate of Authenticity (CoA) on the company’s website for purity, any pesticides, toxins, and correct concentration.
Zylkene from Vetoquinol – This is a colostrum derivative that decreases anxiousness without the sedative effects. Giving this supplement consistently about a week before a stressful event or change in environment (move, trip, fireworks) can help turn down their stress level.
Probiotics – Bifidobacterium Longum is a specific strain of bacteria that has been shown to help with behavioral issues. There is a mind-gut connection that can benefit mental health, and Calming Care Probiotic from ProPlan is a great probiotic to add into your pets daily routine.
It usually takes about 4-6 weeks to see results, so stick with it!Adaptil Pheromones- These dog appeasing pheromones sends odorless signals to your pet to promote calmness, and ease anxiety. It comes in a collar, a diffuser, or a spray for travel. Its been proven to help with puppies and newly adopted dogs during training!
Ashwagandha – An Adaptogen that has been used for many years, it helps the adrenal glands to adapt to stress. Over time, stress can wreak havoc on the body, and cause metabolic and systemic illnesses. Dogs can receive about 25-50mg/lb of body weight of the dried herb extract twice a day. As with any new supplement, talk to your vet and watch for tummy upset! Look for Ashwagandha in your local health food stores.
Diffuse Lavender or Frankincense Essential Oil – Lavender and Frankincense EO has calming properties that will help you and your pet relax! Our animals feed off our vibes, so if we are stressed, anxious, on edge etc then they will think there is a threat nearby.
Music - Studies performed in animal shelters show that Classical Music, Reggae, and Soft Rock have calming effects when played, whereas agitation was witnessed more frequently when heavy metal was played! Spotify and YouTube both have calming canine playlists, or just tune into some Easy Listening for your pet.
Hope this helps!
XO
Dr. Tori