Dogs can become nervous or anxious during thunderstorms, fireworks, car rides, or vet visits. Natural calming aids include valerian, CBD oil, and lavender, while prescription sedatives like acepromazine or diazepam require veterinary supervision. Vet-reviewed by Mag.med.vet. Emin Jasarevic.
Is your darling often at home in a quiet environment or not used to car rides? If a birthday is coming up or a long journey is imminent, your dog may quickly start to panic.
Some possible anxiety situations may include:
- Events with noise
- Dealing with too many people
- Trigger situation due to trauma
- New Year's Eve noise
Whether your protégé suffers more from nervousness or fear is dependent on the personal character of a dog. The breed, experience and other factors play an important role.
An ideal solution to protect your faithful companion in stressful situations is to administer sedatives for dogs. However, these can also have some side effects. To avoid taking any risks, let us inform you in detail.
When are sedatives advisable?
Please don't always reach for tranquilizers for your pet right away. Sometimes it is better to resort to an alternative.
If your dog is afraid of car rides, for example, you can start getting him used to car rides early on. If he then has to ride in the car once, the acclimatization will have a positive effect.
To make sure your next trip to the vet isn't too stressful, you can start getting your faithful companion used to car rides today.
These exercises help
Set training times. Once a week is a reasonable workload. Take your dog with you regularly when driving and he will soon get used to it.
Start with small steps. First of all, put him in the car and calm him down for a few minutes. You can continuously increase the duration of the exercises after several attempts. For example, after you have been in the car with your dog for three minutes, the next exercise can last 5 or 10 minutes.
These exercises require patience. Don't expect too much at once and you'll perceive quicker feelings of success than under pressure. There are also situations that are difficult to practice. If you have a traumatized dog, it will be difficult to get used to it without professional help.
Then, as a last solution, the dog tranquilizer is an option. But which sedative is really suitable? What are the advantages and disadvantages? And what other measures can also help you?
Few disadvantages are found in the sedatives, which consist of natural ingredients. Globules, Bach flowers & Co. Are here the most widespread means.
In this section we want to introduce you to the different homeopathic and herbal sedatives for dogs. We will also show you the advantages and disadvantages of these remedies.
1. The insider tip: CBD oil
Not for nothing is the CBD oil the absolute insider tip.
Cannabidiol (CBD) is a barely psychoactive cannabinoid from the female hemp. Medicinally, it has anticonvulsant, analgesic, anti-anxiety and sedative effects. When buying, look for a high quality oil*.*
2. Valerian
Valerian calms us humans and dogs, cats and other living creatures.
The dosage for the dog depends on age, size, weight and the reason for the fear. Therefore, it is recommended that you contact your veterinarian in advance. He can advise you more precisely and tell you the optimal dose.
Valerian - unlike pharmaceutical tranquilizers for dogs - does not act directly and in full. Administered continuously, your dog will reach a state of sedation in the period of 5-7 days.
The danger here is that the drug is administered for too long. Valerian is not a universal solution. It is better to find the reasons for the anxiety situation and work through them in the long term.
3. Hops
Hops have been used by humans for a long time. This herbal remedy is also suitable for dogs. However, it does not have a strong effect. It is best administered as a supportive measure while counteracting the cause of the anxiety.
4. Lavender with anti-anxiety effect
Lavender has an anxiolytic effect on dogs. the fresh scent and the intake as a dietary supplement is helpful in stressful situations. One-off stressful situations - such as noise on New Year's Eve or birthdays - are wonderfully prevented. Lavender is best administered to your pet as a tincture.
5. St. John's wort - against anxiety and depression
St. John's wort is used as a last resort before taking chemical medication. However, the herb has a mood-lifting and anxiety-relieving effect on humans - and on our dogs.
The best effect is achieved in combination with valerian. It is advisable to contact your vet beforehand regarding the correct dose. They will give you more information about the dosage as soon as they know your dog's weight and size.
Caution: St. John's wort and valerian should never be combined with a pharmaceutical dog tranquilizer. The interactions are enormous and can be fatal.
6. Bach flowers - against stress
As a last possibility and variant here is Bach flowers for dogs. Also helps well with anxiety and stress states.
Pharmaceutical tranquilizers for dogs are usually prescribed by a doctor. In common stress situations, it is best not to resort to them straight away.
Common situations are those that your dog encounters more often in everyday life. The risks of such frequent administration of pharmaceutical agents otherwise outweigh the benefits. Therefore, it is especially important to weigh.
A pharmaceutical dog tranquilizer can be used in the following situations:
- upcoming operation
- medical interventions
- severe pain
- serious illnesses
- enormous stress situations
One of the advantages of these sedatives is the rapid effect. After administration, this effect occurs within minutes. Unfortunately, pharmaceutical means can also have disadvantages.
These side effects and risks could occur:
- Physical dependence
- Drowsiness
- Nervousness and restlessness
- Aggressiveness
- Risk of overdose and thus a burden on the liver, kidney and gastrointestinal tract.
It is important that you and your veterinarian weigh when a pharmaceutical sedative is best for your dog.
The administration options also differ depending on the product, food supplement or remedy. For example, if your product is a tincture, this tincture is added to the food. Take a look at the enclosed instructions for more information.
Once you have decided on a sedative, you can search the internet for suitable products. These products usually come with instructions on how to administer them. Otherwise, you can also consult your vet again on this point.
Be sure to check the quality of these sedatives when ordering. A glance at the reviews is often enough. These should be predominantly positive.
In certain situations, there is the possibility to resort to so-called skills. These skills are completely harmless and are neither chemical nor natural.
1. Familiar smell
If your pet is panicked or afraid of certain situations, it is recommended to put a piece of clothing with a familiar smell near him. Most often, the smell of the owner has the best effect.
2. Pressure
If you often notice that your dog gets scared while walking, you can resort to skills that work against fear with pressure. A special dog shirt is the best solution for this. The tight shirt makes your dog feel more protected and safe.
3. Hearing protection and blindfold
A frightened or panicked quadruped is overwhelmed with the many stimuli. In addition, different stimuli with noise, smells or other impressions can increase the fear in your quadruped.
Hearing protection and/or blindfolds offer the perfect solution, to hide some stimuli for your darling.
However, these products should not be used for the first time when your protégé is already in a panic situation. This will cause the fear to intensify, causing your dog to engage in avoidance behavior.
Get your dog used to the hearing protection or blindfold so that he is already familiar with it before a stressful situation occurs. The best times to exercise are when your pet is is relaxed and feels safe.
4. Desensitization through "stimulus CDs
You might realize that there is no universal solution to the dog's anxiety. At best, you should identify the reasons that are responsible for your darling to react panicky, fearful, nervous or even aggressive.
The next step is a Desensitization Desensitization is a method that allows your dog to get used to the stimuli that cause fear. Desensitization is especially useful in stressful situations where noise is the triggering factor.
Is your dog afraid of thunder and lightning, shooting sounds or screaming? Then get yourself a CD on which the fear-inducing sounds can be found. On the Internet you can often find products that play the common sounds. "Stimulus CDs for dogs" or "Sound CDs for Dogs" helps you as a term in the search.
However, you should not use these noise CDs too late. Your protégé needs patience, quiet and time to get used to fear-inducing noise. If New Year's Eve is coming up, you should get your dog used to it at least 3 - 4 weeks beforehand. Ideally, you start with this training about 2 months before New Year's Eve.
there are always situations where a pharmaceutical sedative can be resorted to.
If your dog is in a lot of pain or has a one-time extreme stress moment waiting for him, you can sit down with your veterinarian and discuss administration.
Fear serves as a useful instinct.
If your furry friend often suffers from anxiety in apparently harmless situations, you should get to the bottom of it. If necessary, you can desensitize your pet with various therapies, solutions and exercises.
Quick Quiz
Question 1 of 3What should you try before using calming remedies?
