Treating Anxiety and Travel Sickness in Dogs

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     The Christmas holidays are approaching, and you may be getting ready to go and stay with relatives or packing for a family break away somewhere over Christmas. However, if you are taking your family dog away with you, your trip can quickly go from fun and exciting to stressful and arduous.

Dogs do not always travel well, and taking them to a new environment can sometimes provoke a high level of anxiety. This article offers advice on how to prevent nervousness and travel sickness in dogs using simple herbal remedies and some basic training techniques.

For dogs who are not used to it, car journeys can be an uncomfortable experience. Dogs often suffer from a mixture of anxiety and apprehension, and in some cases can be affected by motion sickness (although this is relatively rare). Young dogs who haven't been in the car much before are likely to be the worst affected, because it will be a new and scary experience for them.

An easy way to reduce this 'fear of the unknown' is to get your dog accustomed to being in a stationary car, meaning that when you finally do take to the road the dog will be much more comfortable in their surroundings. The next step would be to take your dog on short trips around the block, as a gentle introduction to the feeling of a car's motion. The idea is not to spring these new elements on a dog all at once, as this is what is likely to cause the anxiety and sickness.

It is generally not advisable to give your dog food right before a journey, but it can help to give them scullcap and valerian tablets in order to get them relaxed and to reduce excess salivating. It is recommended that a dose of two tablets per 5kgs bodyweight be given around 12 hours before a journey, and the again 2 hours before you set off. This herbal treatment can be gradually reduced in dosage on subsequent trips as your dog gets accustomed to travelling.

While the above solutions are great when you have a bit of time to plan ahead, we all know that Christmas can be a bit hectic, with plans constantly changing and decisions being made at the last minute. If you need to take your dog in the car and haven't had time to prepare them for it, you can use Organic Valerian Compound in liquid form, and this will help to calm them for the journey.

If your dog has travel problems that don't appear to be influenced by anxiety or nervousness, it may be that your dog is suffering from motion sickness caused by the movement of the car. In this case, one possible solution would be to give a herbal digestive supplement tablet a couple of hours before the journey starts, to settle and soothe your dogs stomach.

The straightforward training techniques and herbal remedies described in this article are proven to be effective at treating dogs suffering from travel anxiety and sickness. Often it is simply a matter of giving your dog a bit of reassurance, so that they view the family car not with trepidation and fear, but as something completely natural and an environment where they know they will be safe and comfortable.

Dorwest Herbs are a leading UK supplier of herbal remedies for dogs. Dorwest have a tried and tested set of products, including herbal treatments for travel sickness in dogs.

Dorwest Herbs are a leading UK supplier of herbal remedies for dogs. Dorwest have a tried and tested set of products, including herbal treatments for travel sickness in dogs. http://www.dorwest.com/