Anxiety..how to help her...???

Chamomile is safe for dogs and a holistic way to calm an anxiety.  It#%92s rather cheap if you buy it in bulk or from an herb shop.  I add a couple pinches directly to my dog#%92s food to help a little with her high anxiety.
 
I have also used anxiety drops made for dogs to help calm them.   The main herb in the one I used is chamomile with other ingredients that help calm the dog.

ORIGINAL: Xebby

Chamomile is safe for dogs and a holistic way to calm an anxiety.  It's rather cheap if you buy it in bulk or from an herb shop.  I add a couple pinches directly to my dog's food to help a little with her high anxiety.

I have also used anxiety drops made for dogs to help calm them.   The main herb in the one I used is chamomile with other ingredients that help calm the dog.

 
Hi Xebby,
 
Does it really work? Do your dogs have issues like mine? it just breaks my heart to see her get so upset for no reason you know?

My first dog had high seperation anxiety, she would scratch at the doors or when outside would climb the fence just to get to us.  She was mostly crated or she would destroy the house.  Just to name a few things she did within a week of bringing her home, she toar apart the carpet while I was in the shower, ate my wallet, left really deep scratch marks in the doors (my landloard still doesn't know[:-]) and even ate a few shoes.  When she was in her crate she broak out several times, she bent the wiers just squeezing out thew the doors, I had to add extra clamps onto the crate to keep her in, she was not very happy in there, leaving her outside in a kennel was out also because she ran away once and followed my boyfriend to school on his bike, I got a call at work from someone I knew to go get my dog.  Her origanl owners gave her up for the same anxiety issues they could not deal with.

I started by leaving the TV on while I was away, I just felt that if there was some nose in the room it would help her calm down.  I aslo gave her chamomile and after a year of working with her I could finaly let her roam free in the house without being crated and without worry of her distroying things.  By the time she left to a new home she was very well behaved.  I mostly worked on making her confortable and a walk or exercise before being crated also helped.

Giz has her share of anxity issues but it's more because of her breed being high energy than her being alone.  She will often just go off into a play mode that is overbaord and I'm afrade she will hert herself, she has before.  For Giz it's more of giving her something to do to keep her occupied so she doesn't feel the need to have an explosion of energy.  She has fear anxity toward other dogs as well and any calming aid seems to help.

I too have just recently been introduced to one of these "natural holistic anxiety drops" I was VERY skeptical about them. I didnt want it to make Rory lethargic or drowsy but it was reccomended for when she goes to the vet, ie when she is the most excited.
So I tried it myself, it consists of 6 natural flower herbs and I ahrdly felt a thing. It did not make me as drowsy as taking a benedryl, I should also mention that I am the biggest light weight when it comes to things that could make one drowsy. One glass of wine and I;m ready to party, he he. But the Rescue Remedy wasnt anywhere near that effect. Here is a link, its safe and worth a shot in my opinion.
[linkhttp://www.bachflower.com/rescue_remedy.htm]http://www.bachflower.com/rescue_remedy.htm[/link]
 
Xebby, I had never heard of the chamomille trick, that seems like a great idea as well, cheaper, and safe too. What form do you buy it in? How much do you use?

Juuust FYI, the Bachs flower essences are in brandy if I'm not mistaken. I used to work in a store that sold them and every once and a while one of the bottles would drop and break and then our store would smell like a very high-class bar for a while.

I just buy the dried flower and stems from a local herb shop, they sell it by ounce.  Still is very cheap.  I just sprinkle a couple pinches into her food and that seems to do the trick, if I'm taking her out to somewhere new or the vets then I'll use a little more that day.
 
I personally like chamomile tea for myself when I'm feeling a bit stressed or overwhelmed and I find it calms me to a level to where I can think straight without making me totally drowsy.  If it works that way for me I like to think it has the same effect on my dog.

brandy! no wonder it calms dogs down. Chamomile makes me sleepy. I can only imagine what would happen if I had some along with some brandy...

I found my bottle of anxiety drops here is what it says:
 

Natural Homoeopathic Remedy
Anxiety
 
Dosage: Once in the morning, evning and bedtime into the mouth or in water.  Under 10lbs...5 drops, 20-100 lbs...10 drops, over 100 lbs...15 drops.
 
Reduce dosage with improvement, repeat with flare up.
 
Ingredients: Chamomilla, Valeriana, Borax, Cypipedium Pub. Ignatia A., Colch, Vertat. A, 6&30C in 20%alc. in purified water.
 
No known side effect-Cruelity Free Research
 
HomeoPet, LLC

 
I found it's rather expensive for a little 15 mL bottle (about $20/bottle from my vet) so I decided to just use chamomile instead and save the drops for when I really need them.  The bottle I have is still full and I have been happy with just chamomile alone.

my little dog Kota is developing worse and worse seperation anxiety these days.  I've had to start crating him because he actually got up on the desk and pulled papers out our mail slots and shredded them.  Some bills including our mortgage!  Luckily we pay that online.  But he hates being confined.  Oddly, he's fine in the van.... hmmm... but when we leave in the morning he's shaking, whining, barking this high pitched awful noise.   I don't make a big deal of it and I give him a treat when he goes in.  However if I give him a chew bone, he won't touch it.  If it's food, as long as I'm there long enough for him to eat it, he will, otherwise it's still there when I get home.

So chamomile eh?  I will have to look for some.  Xebby, can you get that at pharmacy's?  Or does it have to be like a specialy herb store or what?

I have also seen chamomile sold at the grocery stores.  Here in NM it's found with the mexican herbs but in this state it's farely common to see many hispanc foods mixed in with regular stuff, the spanish word for it is manzanilla(sp?).  You could even buy the plain chamomile tea from the tea sections in your local store and that should work the same.  I've even seen places online where you could order herbs by the ounce.  Oddly enough I've even bought herbs on e-bay.  Here is a listing right now on e-bay for it: [linkhttp://cgi.ebay.com/Chamomile-Flavored-Loose-Leaf-Herbal-Tea_W0QQitemZ150068416691QQihZ005QQcategoryZ38180QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.com/Chamomile-Flavored-Loose-Leaf-Herbal-Tea_W0QQitemZ150068416691QQihZ005QQcategoryZ38180QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem[/link]  Almost anywere you can find loose leaf tea you should be able to find it there.
 
Chamomile is what works for my dog, I'm sure there are also other calming aids that should help just as well.  I personly prefer the holistic approce for long term treatment.  The drops I have that I mentioned in my above post are what my vet reccomended to me.  There are also some medications for sevear cases of anxiety but always talk to you vet first befor giving anything like that.

ORIGINAL: tashakota

my little dog Kota is developing worse and worse seperation anxiety these days.  I've had to start crating him because he actually got up on the desk and pulled papers out our mail slots and shredded them.  Some bills including our mortgage!  Luckily we pay that online.  But he hates being confined.  Oddly, he's fine in the van.... hmmm... but when we leave in the morning he's shaking, whining, barking this high pitched awful noise.   I don't make a big deal of it and I give him a treat when he goes in.  However if I give him a chew bone, he won't touch it.  If it's food, as long as I'm there long enough for him to eat it, he will, otherwise it's still there when I get home.

So chamomile eh?  I will have to look for some.  Xebby, can you get that at pharmacy's?  Or does it have to be like a specialy herb store or what?

 
I dont think stuff like this is reccomended to treat SA alone. Up his exersice before you leave him, that should help as well!