Maybe even you have a small four-legged stressed-out dog at home. In such case, read carefully, maybe you will find something here, what you haven’t tried yet, while trying to get your pet rid of stress.
I used to have an amazing dog adopted from a shelter. However, as it often is with dogs from a shelter, she had a character flaw – timidity. She was afraid of other people, unfamiliar things and sound. Once, on an evening walk, she even got scared by her own shadow. I was looking for means, how to mitigate her timidity. If you have a timid dog at home and you’re looking for the right way to help them, maybe you will find some of these tips handy.
Of course, that the results are individual as with anything and every dog may react positively to something else. So, when one thing doesn’t help, you shouldn’t give up and try another one, until you’ll find out, what it is that helps your dog. I’ll share the methods that I’ve tried with you.
Spot on
This is a 100% natural extract from valerian and the application is repeated every week. It works on the principle of slow release and therefore, a long-term effect. It is recommended, for example, in case of excessive barking or whining due to anxiety from separation or in case of destructive or undesirable territorial behaviour. You can also use it when you’re seeing the vet, while travelling, during a storm or fireworks. Generally, the dog is calmed down and it prepares a better environment for our work with them. Unfortunately, in our case, it wasn’t very successful.
Pheromone collar
Pheromone collar imitates pheromones that are produced by a female dog to calm its offspring – puppies. A calming lavender and camomile scent helps to entirely remove or mitigate the feeling of fear and restlessness in dogs. Dogs will recognize these pheromones for their whole life and in this way, they easily manage stress and fear. After you put it on, the collar releases a powder with pheromone content. Its effectiveness is about 30 days, however, the dog should not take a bath with it. This shouldn’t be an issue, since it is removable and you can use it with interruptions. Its use is recommended in the same situations as a spot on. After brief wearing, results began to show in my dog miss, she was a little bit calmer, which showed especially at home. Since our issue with timidity was quite severe, the collar still wasn’t enough for stressful situations.
Bach drops
These drops should mitigate fear and distrust in a dog. It is a mixture of essences for anxiety, rootless fear, for greater tolerance, balance and calmness, to supress disbelief and fear of new things and to process a physical or mental trauma. Bach drops – not only those intended for fear in a dog – are much praised for their effects by dog and cat owners. I got my best results with Bach drops. My little dog was calmer, her reactions were still disproportionate, but much milder.
Anti-stress vests
This is a method that got me really interested. I think, that I could achieve good results with it, unfortunately, I’ve discovered it only too late. Therefore, I don’t have any personal experience of it, but I believe in its effectiveness, and I’m thinking of trying it out on my current dog, who might not suffer from fear, but is unconcentrated, hyperactive and suffers from a mild separation anxiety. I like about this method, that the dog is not receiving any substances in any way.
The only disadvantage that I can see is, that dog might be warm in this vest in summer and that’s why its wearing probably has to be adjusted according to the weather, it is not entirely universal. An issue could arise even when you’re putting it on the dog, if the dog is not used to human contact. The effective principle is a mild constant pressure that has a significant calming effect in issues with anxiety, fear or hyperactivity. Based on tests, this method is effective in more than 85% of cases. Around the world, it’s use is wide-spread and it is recommended both by veterinarians and dog trainers, and not only for stress and timidity, but also as a supporting treatment for epilepsy, for example.
The pressure on the dog’s chest provokes a feeling of safety and it significantly calms the nervous system of the dog. A similar principle is used in the methodology of animal training called TTouch®, in people with autism, in children with some behavioural disorders and also to calm down new-borns.
I hope, that I could have helped someone with these tips, or at least, that I’ve led someone to another option how to help your dog get rid of fear or stress. Have you got any advice on how to deal with fear and stress in a dog? What worked in your case?
Arthritis ranks among the most frequent diseases of the joints in dogs. It is accompanied by pain and limitations for physical activity. And because it cannot be cured I’ll give you some tips how to make the life of your buddy with arthritis easier.
It is nowadays completely normal to have dog restaurants, saloons and spas. People try to indulge their pets with all the luxurious things. Some procedures are more helpful than others. But thalassotherapy is one of those that can have a positive...
Nowadays even our pets are subject to diseases of civilization. Obesity is no good for them as well as for people. Do you know how to tell if your cat is obese and what are its causes and consequences?
The season of ticks is back again and so it is the right time to start protecting our pets. These parasites also bring anaplasmosis except from borreliosis. And the fact that this disease is not generally know does not undermine its serious impacts on...
You, as cat keepers, will probably be frightened when hearing “cat plague”. But precisely this phrase is sometimes used for panleukopenia which is a very dangerous cat disease. You may not only prevent it thanks to information obtained but to identify...
The whiskers on cats’ face are probably too noticeable to ignore them. But do you know all the places where cat’s whiskers with sense of touch are? And do you know how this comprehensive tactile body functions?
As you might know, the assistance dogs help people with various physical or mental disabilities nowadays. But there is a program in the US and in other countries which helps children to improve their reading and communication skills.
We are all try to give our dog companions the best, from health care to the leisure activities. Nutrition is no exception to that and it is prone to modern trends similar to those of regular human food. Reducing or opting out the grain from the diet is...
Whether it has undergone castration or any other surgery, your dog needs to rest more after it. But this can sometimes seem almost impossible. To “force” your beloved pet to rest is not easy, indeed. A few tips how to handle this situation follow.
The last time, I shared with you my opinions on castrations in general and I’ve named the advantages and disadvantages of this procedure in bitches. Now, let’s take a look, how it is with dogs.
Castration is still quite a tricky and discussed topic. Today, I will introduce you to the facts about this procedure and about its consequences and I will also share my opinion.
If you have one of the furry furring balls at home, maybe you know, in what kind of devil some of them are capable of turning into, if you need to give them a pill. If your cat belongs precisely among those, in which it’s almost a superhuman task, I...
