How to Naturally Ease Your Pet's Anxiety

• Posted on 10 September 2014
• By Dr. Jill Tack
• Posted in anxiety, bach flower remedies, essential oils, herbal blends, holistic care anxiety, natural remedies, naturally easing pet anxiety
• 0

Just like humans, pets can experience anxiety. Luckily, there are several ways to naturally ease your pet's anxiety that will take effect immediately and leave you worry-free about any side effects.

Just like humans, pets can experience anxiety. Pet anxiety can be triggered by a number of factors including separation from owner, storms, fireworks, travel, and meeting new people or animals. When pets are anxious, you'll notice changes in their behavior. For dogs, symptoms of anxiety include:

• Going to the bathroom inside
• Obsessive barking or howling
• Chewing
• Digging
• Trying to escape
• Shaking
• Hiding
• Biting
• Pulling out fur
• Tucking their tail under their body

If you take your pet to the vet, he or she will probably prescribe an anti-anxiety medication, which not only comes with a handful of potentially dangerous side effects but also can take weeks or even months to take effect and can even end up increasing anxiety. Luckily, there are several ways to naturally ease your pet's anxiety that will take effect immediately and leave you worry-free about any side effects. 

Natural Ways to Ease Pet Anxiety

There are several natural tools you can use to relieve your pet of his/her anxiety: essential oils, Bach Flower Remedies, and herbal blends.

Essential Oils

Essential oils are mankind’s first known form of medicine. When used appropriately, they are more potent than any other health remedy. The oils listed below will help ease pet anxiety:

Rocky Mountain Tranquility Essential Oil

Blend of: Orange, Tangerine, Patchouli, Lime, Ylang Ylang, Lavender, Blue Tansy, German Chamomile, and Citronella

This oil helps reduce depression, ease anxiety, stress, and tension. It helps bring a feeling of joy to the heart. It balances and stabilizes the emotions, gives patience, and calms worries.

Peace and Quiet Essential Oil

Blend of: Sandalwood, Organic Lemon, and Vanilla

This oil calms emotions, eases tension, anger, frustration, resentment, grief, feelings of isolation, and aggression. It is a sedative, quieting for obsessions and egocentric behavior.

How to Use These Essential Oils

There are several ways you can use these essential oils with your pets, including:

• Topically: Apply right onto the spot of concern, onto tips of ears, etc.
• Petting: Put the oil onto your hands and rub through pet's fur.
• Ointment/Salve: Mix the oil with a carrier oil to apply topically on a broad area.
• Cat litter: Add to cat litter and it will be absorbed into your cat's feet when they use the box. This will also help eliminate bacteria in the body.

Note: Essential oils should be diluted 1 drop per 100 pounds. So if you have a 10-pound pet, use 1 drop of essential oil to 10 drops carrier oil (i.e., coconut, almond, or avocado oil), blend together, and apply one drop of the mixture to your animal. 

Bach Flower Remedies

Bach Flower Remedies are based on the discovery that flowers have a particular quality that is the exact equivalent of a human emotion. They can be used internally or externally and are grouped into categories: fear, uncertainty, lack of interest in the present, loneliness, oversensitive, despondency, and over concern for others. The following remedies are great for easing pet anxiety:

Rescue Remedy

Blend of: Impatiens, Star of Bethlehem, Cherry Plum, Rock Rose, and Clematis

This mix was created by Dr. Bach to deal with emergencies. It can be used to help us get through any stressful situations.

Nature's Sunshine Distress Remedy

Blend of: Arnica, Star of Bethlehem, Rock Rose, Impatiens, Clematis, Cherry Plum, and Red Clover

This promotes presence and awareness in traumatic situations and also eases stress.

Nature's Sunshine Be Courageous

Blend of: Mountain Pride, Aspe, Scleranthus, Mimulus, Cerato, Blackberry, and Red Clover

This remedy helps face fears and find inner courage and self-confidence. 

Herbal Blends

Herbal blends are a combination of herbs known to help with relaxation or anxiety. They come in liquid, powder, and pill form. They work quickly, are non-addictive, and have no side effects.

Nature's Sunshine AnxiousLess

This blend helps quickly ease anxiousness without drowsiness and promotes a feeling of confidence and security.

Nature's Sunshine Stress Relief - Chinese

Chinese Stress Relief is a combination of 14 herbs and natural substances used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to support emotional balance and calm a stressed fire constitution. The Chinese call this formula a shen, which can be translated to mean “to pacify the spirit.” These herbs also may help to nourish the nervous system and subsequently help improve gastric strengthen the urinary system.

Nature's Sunshine Stress-J

This herbal blend supports the nervous system, promotes natural calming, supports proper stress mechanism function, aids in digestion, and provides help for occasional stress relief.

Nature's Sunshine Nutri-Calm

This remedy supports the nervous system, soothes frayed nerves, aids in relaxation and encourages restful sleep, boosts the immune system, and provides antioxidants and 100% or more of the daily value of nine important nutrients.

Holistic Blend Herbal Calmer

This helps settle mental and physical nerves and does not induce drowsiness. It is safe to use daily and is great for:

• Anxiety
• Nervousness
• Travel
• Thunder Storms
• Grooming

Animal Essentials Tranquility Blend

This is a sweet tasting, alcohol-free tincture formula for dogs and cats to promote a calm and restful state during thunderstorms, fireworks, and other stressful events.

Herbsmith Calm Shen

This is for the pet exhibiting nervousness, hyperactivity, and discontentment in response to environmentally-induced stress. It also helps maintain contentment during separation, travel, and changes in the pet’s daily routine. The herbs in this formula help to maintain balanced behavior. 

Treats, toys, and training can also help put your pet at ease when they're feeling anxious.