Herbal calming remedies

Has anyone tried Sleepytime Dog Tonic or CSJ Calm Down herbs?

I use a DAP collar for Cain and thought I might try a herbal remedy to sooth him while working on his training. We also have a vet visit coming up soon which he finds stressful and I thought it may help. I have tried Bach's Rescue Remedy drops and also a fear aggression tincture made from Bachs flower drops but it didn't really help. So I'm unsure if they will help him, but no harm in tyring.

I'm considering Sleepytime dog tonic http://dog-store.co.uk/dog-storeprod...ime-tonic.html (although called Sleepytime, it's not a sedative apparently although it does contain a little valarian, it's just a calming product). Here's the ingrediants

Sleepytime Tonic

Vervain (Verbena Officinalis). Reduces restlessness and muscle twitching and supports liver functions.
Skullcap mild natural sedative beneficial in treating anxiety, insomnia, and pain.
Passion Flower helpful in reducing restlessness, anxiety, and nervousness.
Valerian Calms nerves and aids in physical relaxation.
Zisyphus a plant used as a sedative in traditional Chinese medicine
Wild Lettuce Natural sedative and sleep aid.
Blue Flag gives temporary relief of a variety of skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis, helping the skin by aiding the liver.
Liquorice Lubricates, soothes and protects mucous membranes. Acts as an anti-inflammatory. Relieves pain and itching.
Parsley Boosts kidney function and helps relieve gas.

Bach Flower Essences

Aspen helps to reduce general anxiety and fear.
Cerato increases dog's attention and ability to focus.
Wild Oat alleviates depression due to boredom. Helps stop chewing and destructive behavior.
Mimulus reduces shyness, fear and nervousness due to common stressors such as travel, vet visits, new places, etc. Good for aggressive dogs.
Larch boosts confidence in shy dogs.
Impatiens helps alleviate irritability and anxiousness.
Honey All natural honey added for flavor and sweetness.
Pure Grain Alcohol (natural herb extractor and preservative) The alcohol used is 100% pure grain alcohol and is used to extract ingredients from the raw plant.


Or CSJ Calm Down powder http://www.csjk9.com/productcart/pc/...duct=3#details

Contains Camomile, Lemon Balm, Vervain, Lime Flowers, Skullcap.

Camomile is valuable in helping support the nervous system. Commonly known as the most popular herbal tea for a "relaxing sleep", Camomile is often used as a 'calming and digestive aid'. It can also help maintain healthy skin.
Lemon Balm is known for its 'calming' action. It was thought historically that Lemon Balm revived melancholy or in our modern terms "stress".
Vervain's main property is to help support the nervous system but is also a 'calmer' and can help give the dog a general 'boost'.
Lime Flowers is used mainly to help support the immune and nervous systems.
Skullcap can be beneficial for dogs showing signs of excitability and general restlessness.

Anyone have experience with herbs? Thanks

Aconite is the flower essence of choice if you are going to the vet.

Flower essences sometimes need to be combined to give the right effect (for some dogs it has no effect) but you MUST have correctly identified the triggers of the unwanted behaviour, and for that you do need a) someone other than yourself usually who is a skilled observer and b) someone who understands the correct use of Flower Essences.

I would also look at Rescue Recovery plus.

Hilton Herbs and Dorwest Herbs both do supplements that may help some dogs eg Tranquillity and Tranquillity Gold by Hilton Herbs and Scullcap and Valerian by Dorwest.

These are herbal calmers which may or may not affect your dog, you need to be realistic about their effect.

Have you considered Magnesium?

Nupafeed have an excellent product called Stressless which may be beneficial to your dog. It is not a drug and is a mineral that the body needs and can usually get from food although some dogs require MORE, it has been used successfully in horses for years.

You may also wish to consider 5 HTP, which contains a form of tryptophan which is a precursor to serotonin as a regular supplement.

Let me know if you wish to know more

good 'ole 5htp

Meant to say this to you last time you were over actually - magnesium has a scientific basis, because a magnesium deficiency can cause anxiety. My cousin mentioned them the other month as she's taking supplements herself and OH has just started taking them as he's a bit of an irrational worrywart and he does think they'd making a difference. Obviously there's the chance it's just a placebo affect but from reading, you can't overdose in it so he thought he'd give it a try. Healthspan had them in their sale for about £3 for 3 months supply but not sure if the sale is ongoing now.
I did ask about it on another dog forum (in the off-topic chatter, I'm not saying OH is a dog ) and several people actually did bring up that they'd used it with dogs and found it very effective, one member who worked in a rescue that took on anxious poundies said it had a near instant (within 2 weeks) effect on lots of the dogs.

Wow SB, that's a whole lot of information! That's really helpful though so thank you I have no idea where I could find an experienced observer of dog behaviour for Bachs but I'll have a look. I will research your other suggestions and see what suits, including magnesium (thanks also Karly). Cheers, I have a lot to ponder. Probably should try some magnesium myself

I'm still using the CSJ calm down herbs, I think it was you that told me about them after I couldn't get the bach flower fear aggression drops any more.
It's been quite a while since I've been using them & still only half way down the tub (which is huge!)

hiya
if you're happy to try Bachs flower remedies then Tisserand do a really good tincture called "Calm Down" with I think Passiflora amongst other things. got it for myself but perhaps that might be ok to use with a pooch?
Emma

Thanks everyone, many things to try! I've been Reading up but want to read up a bit more, I can't decide what to try first! I want to try just one thing at a time so that I know if it's working.

I think I might try Magnesium first. Does anyone know the correct dosage for a 45kg dog?

Am I right in thinking that the Nuprafeed Stressless is a magnesium supplement of sorts so might be a good place to start?

I've ordered the Nuprafeed Stressless liquid version. I've got 100mls, sounds like he'll need 4.5mls a day (akthough I think you need to play with the dosage, not sure how to do that) so it'll last him around 22 days, so hopefully by the end if thr bottle I'll know if it's helping him or not.

Very helpful SMOKEYBEAR, thanks for this