Natural Solutions To Help Your Dog
Firework time is nearly upon us here in the UK as we come up to Bonfire Night on 5th November. The noise of fireworks is deeply distressing, sometimes panic-inducing, in most domestic and wild animals, and a lot of people too. Very few things will take away this fear and stress completely but we can do a bit to help our animals and ourselves cope better during this time. As an Animal PsychAromatist (self-selection essential oils for animals) and Advanced Flower and Vibrational Essence practitioner with my own range of flower essences I have helped a lot of animals with fears of fireworks, noises and other things.
Here are some things that we can do to help our dogs and ourselves:
Practical
Try to let dogs out only when there are no fireworks but if you have to then don’t let them in the garden during fireworks without being on a lead no matter how high your fence, dogs in a panic will find a way out. Our first dog when I was a child would jump over a five foot gate if she was outside or through the closed window if she was inside. She would run up the road across the common, across a main road and sit by the cemetery. She did this once too often and unfortunately was run over on the main road and killed. Don’t let this happen to your dog.
Stay with them, don’t leave them alone in the house. They will need your presence as reassurance, leaving them will make them panic and be stressed more.
Be quiet and calm before and during any fireworks, this might sound obvious but we sometimes forget how our energy affects our dog’s energy.
Essential Oils
There are quite a few essential oils that can help with the fear and trauma of the noise of fireworks. Essential oils are very concentrated and dogs’ noses are very much more sensitive than ours so they must be offered and not forced and the dog must be able to walk away if they don’t want the oil or when they have had enough. This is very important and key to healing. Watch for nose twitches, eyes going soft and half closing, yawning and licking as some positive responses to the oils. Hold the bottle away from your dog and allow your dog to come to the oil, don’t chase her with the bottle. Offer the oils before the fireworks start and just at the beginning. You can try later during the noise but some dogs will shut off and go into strong flight mode and may not be responsive to the oils. Oils to offer are:
Frankincense – for fear of noises, helping to deepen and slow breathing
Violet Leaf – for anticipation of pain, grounding and comforting, giving confidence
Valerian – deeply relaxing
Thyme – the ‘brave’ oil, for courage
Lavender – relaxing and soothing
Spikenard – deeply relaxing, a little ‘lighter’ than Valerian
German/Blue Chamomile – for anxiety
Flower Essences
Flower essences are very gentle and totally safe for all animals with no contraindications. They are yet very powerful and effective. They are best used in the run up to the fireworks, a couple of weeks before they are needed as they work by bringing the vibration of the ‘sufferer’ to their own beautiful vibration. A few drops can be added to water or stroked on their fur, external application of the flower essences is an effective way of using them. The best known flower essence is Bach’s Rescue Remedy and this is an excellent one to use for this purpose as it has two fear remedies, one out of control remedy and one shock remedy. You can, however, use the individual flower essences and their are many flower essence ranges to investigate and use, they all have different vibrations and different ranges will suit different individuals. The Bach range is the one most available to the High Street shopper but others can be ordered online. The Spirit in Nature range works very well with animals, with Pear being their emergency/rescue remedy essence.
Of the Bach individual ones:-
Mimulus – fear of known things
Aspen – shaking with fear, fear of unknown things
Rock Rose – intense fear and dread
Cherry Plum – loss of control
Elm – overwhelmed
Larch – loss of confidence
Star of Bethlehem – for shock, needing comfort in distress
Red Chestnut – imagining the worst
Present Moment
Being in the Present Moment is very helpful for dogs at any time and in times of stress and worry it helps to bring them back to a calmer state and one where they can respond instead of react. I wrote a blog post especially about this topic (here) as this is such an important thing to do for both ourselves and our dogs and is so effective. It is so simple to do, does not require much time if you don’t have it and can be done anywhere. You don’t need any equipment or to purchase anything. This helps dogs (and us) hugely. All you have to do is focus on what you hear, what you feel, what you smell, what you see (focus on a small area is best, like a dot) and observe without judging or labelling. Just those sounds or just the touch or just the smell. Or observe your breathing – in and out – without judgment or trying to change it. That is it. For a few minutes or more. This is giving your dog the space to relax, come back to a grounded and centred state and lowers their adrenaline.
Music
There are CDs/downloads of music that are especially for calming dogs in various situations. The only one I have found to be helpful in one of my dogs’ separation anxiety and for helping to relax another of my dogs’ general nervous state is John Barnard’s In Our Silence album. You can find it here. I have not tried it for fireworks yet.
Herbs
I am not a herbalist but am very interested in herbs, so these are just suggestions for you to research further. Herbs such as Valerian, Skullcap, Passionflower, Chamomile could be helpful. Herbs are best taken as a tincture, extract or even a tea (cooled) rather than tablets or dried as they take longer to be absorbed and are harder work for the digestion than the liquid versions.
Flower Energetics
I offer energy healings with the energy of the flowers (and other things sometimes such as colour, essential oils, flower essences, crystals) which are very effective for animals. The healings are very high vibrational but can help grounding as well and go very deeply into the soul to help all levels that are needed. If you are interested in a Flower Energetics healing please see more information here and then email me to book one.
Homeopathy
I am not a homeopath but use homeopathy with my own animals. I saw a post on Facebook from a naturopathic vet in the US (Dr Peter Dobias) that giving Aconite 30c or 200c two to four times a day can help with firework fear.
I hope these suggestions help with such a stressful time for our dogs and if you have any questions please email me.
With love,
Victoria Ann