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Pet Care: Relieving Anxiety in Pets |
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by Shawn Messonnier, DVM
Pet Care
Relieving Anxiety in Pets
One of the more common
behavior problems for which
I am consulted involves
anxiety-related issues in
dogs and cats. The problems
range from simply being anxious when going
to the doctor’s office or grooming shop, thunderstorm
phobias and all the way to severe
separation anxiety.
While behavior modification is very
important in dealing with any type of anxiety
and phobia (and should not be replaced
by medications or supplements), there are
situations where various natural therapies
may be helpful in dealing with these issues.
While conventional tranquilizers such as
acepromazine can immobilize pets, these
drugs do not relieve the terrible anxiety the
poor pets experience. Therefore, they really
should not be used as the sole therapy for
anxiety disorders in dogs and cats. This
article will briefly review some of the more
commonly recommended supplements for
dealing with anxiety in pets.
Flower essences are extracts of various
plants. Flower therapy was developed by Dr.
Edward Bach during the 1930s. He was a
conventionally trained physician who
studied immunology and was involved in
the development of a number of vaccines.
However, he desired to find a less invasive
way of treating patients that would have the
same favorable results as he saw with conventional
medicine.
During his studies he learned about
homeopathy and was attracted to Dr.
Samuel Hahnemann’s [a German physician
who introduced homeopathy in 1796 and is
known as the father of homeopathy] philosophy
of treating the individual patient. As a
result, Dr. Bach began preparing homeopathic
preparations of the vaccines he had
created.
During this time Dr. Bach began to
notice that people could be grouped based
upon their emotional states. For example,
he noticed that some individuals seemed
lonely, some were distracted, some were
fearful and some were more outgoing. He
further noticed that people who fell into
these groupings responded best to the same
type of homeopathic vaccine. By matching
the homeopathic vaccine with a person’s
emotional “grouping,” He achieved even
better results in his patients.
Dr. Bach then began searching for harmless
plant-derived materials for his vaccines
(rather than relying on the bacterial products
used at the time to prepare the vaccines).
He desired to find plants that would
have a healing effect on what he thought
were the negative emotions that were at the
root of many diseases he saw in his patients.
This would allow him not just to heal the
immediate illness but also heal the root
cause of the disorder. By freeing the body
from its negative emotional states, the body
would be free to heal itself.
The system Dr. Bach discovered during
his research led to the creation of the flower
essences. The flower essences (flower
therapy) are extracts of flowers; each essence
addresses a specific trait of mind or personality
type.
These flower remedies are used to
improve the attitude, personality and mood
of the patient, which Dr. Bach felt was the
key to many disorders seen in his patients.
He said, “Health is our heritage . . . and is
the complete and full union between the
soul, mind and body. True healing can be
obtained by right replacing wrong, good
replacing evil and light replacing dark.” Dr.
Bach felt that the action of the remedies was
to open the patient to healing from within
by replacing bad virtue (fear) with good
virtue (calm). Since mental and emotional
state can determine health or disease, the
flower remedies are used to achieve harmony
in the patient. According to practitioners
of flower essence therapy,
harmonious patients are healthier as harmony
precludes disease.
“Rescue Remedy” is the best known
essence and produces a calming in many
nervous pets. It is composed of the essences
of five flowers: cherry plum, clematis, impatiens,
rock rose and Star of Bethlehem.
While I prefer combination products
instead of simply choosing one or two herbs
for anxiety, it is important to understand
which herbs may be indicated for anxietyrelated
problems.
Valerian is an herb that promotes restfulness
and has not been reported to interact
negatively with other medications commonly
used with pets. The active ingredients
in valerian bind to the same receptors
in the brain as the drug diazepam. Kava is a
well-known antianxiety herb. The active
ingredients cause mild sedation, relief from
anxiety and muscle relaxation. While safe in
pets, there have been a few reports of liver
failure in people with preexisting severe liver
disorders. In my practice I have not seen any
problems but would exercise caution in pets
with liver problems. Catnip is a well-known
herb used for its calming properties. In
some cats it can cause excitement (similar to
a mild “high” seen in some people using
illegal drugs). However, when combined
with the other herbs in this formula, its
sedative and calming properties predominate.
Finally, L-tryptophan, being a precursor
to serotonin, reduces aggression and
anxiety.
Finally, keep in mind that your pet can
pick up on your own stress level. Whenever
I remove a pet from its owner during the
examination and bring it to our treatment
area to perform a procedure, I notice that
most pets calm down since they are not
sensing the stress the owner also experiences
during the visit.
And don’t forget the importance of a
strong immune system. Using antioxidants,
feeding the pet a healthy natural diet and
reducing the amount of vaccines given, can
relieve extra stress on the pet’s immune
system.
Each pet is different and there is no
cookie-cutter approach that works on every
case. For owners interested in avoiding conventional
medications (which are usually
expensive and often have the potential for
undesirable side effects), I encourage readers
to consider these safe natural options before
resorting to stronger conventional medications.
Make sure to work with your veterinarian
before using herbs, as even these
natural “medicines” can have side effects in
certain pets.
Shawn Messonnier, DVM is the author of
8 Weeks to a Healthy Dog, The Natural
Health Bible for Dogs & Cats.
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