If you’ve got a cat or a dog that suffers from anxiety, you know how disheartening it can be. Because we can’t explain fireworks or car rides or veterinary visits to our four-legged friends, it can be difficult to watch them struggle with things that make them nervous (even if we know that they’re totally safe!) so Green Dog Dental has put together some tips that should be helpful.
SITUATIONAL ANXIETY
Some pets suffer from situational anxiety, or anxiousness that derives from a certain experience or external stimulus. Fireworks, thunderstorms, and car rides are perfect examples of this kind of anxiety. The dog or cat is fine, until they see the pet carrier or hear that first crack of thunder. It’s impossible to completely eliminate these kinds of stressors from our pet’s lives, but we can help them feel more at ease.
CALMING YOUR CAT OR DOG
Sometimes simple solutions are amazingly effective. Keeping your cat in a windowless room during a firework display may help muffle the noise and keep them calm. Or, if your dog is jittery with thunderstorms, a weighted dog coat may be enough to soothe them until the storm has passed.
A LITTLE QUIETTIME
At times, though, pets require a little extra help, and this is where supplements and medication can be beneficial. Natural remedies that utilize essential oils or hydrosols like purrfectCALM and quietTIME can help calm an anxious cat or dog and, if your pet requires a little more, prescription medication from your vet can make a big difference in their anxiety level.
TRY NATURAL REMEDIES FIRST
Other times, pets are simply anxious, regardless of what’s happening around them. This kind of anxiety can be even harder to fix because it’s not always clear where the anxiety originates. Sometimes this kind of anxiousness is a result of past trauma, a breed characteristic, or is just a personality quirk. In these cases, it’s often prudent to explore natural remedies first, because long term prescription medication isn’t always tenable. Calming sprays, diffusers, and behavioral modification can all help keep your pet calm and help boost their confidence, a lack of which is sometimes at the root of anxiety issues in animals.