Herbal remedies for dogs?

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Slightlyconfused

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Do any of you use them?

Was talking to a lady in the pet shop today and she has a new rescue and it's quite nervous so is using valerian to help until they get to know each other more and will be weaned off it. Another had chamomile as thats what he got on with better.
She said she always uses herbs for her rescues and different ones for different dogs needs.

So your thoughts? I thought it was interesting and rather like the horses liking certain plants at certain times of the year.
 
Look up The Complete Herbal Book of the Dog by Juliette di Baralci Levi. She lived with Bedouins and it's a very interesting book. Certainly not a newfangled fad. I always try to treat things naturally where and when possible.
 
I used oat tincture (avena sativa) for several years for my rescue - I found it mentioned in a book recommended for longterm stress and anxiety with associated digestive upset, which fitted my boy who had been in isolated kennels for 18 months and found coming into the real world incredibly stressful.
It was an absolute godsend - I tried several times to wean him off just to test if it was still doing something but each time I tried within 2 days he was back to scrounging anything vaguely edible, whining and pacing constantly, completely obsessed with food to the exclusion of everything else. It took 10 days each time to get him back on track but once on it he was much more relaxed, didn't steal, didn't obsess over food and his digestive system was much calmer. Being oats I think it is supposed to be effective on the nervous system, but I think the most direct effect was by somehow tempering the acid he produced in his stomach, making him more comfortable and less "heartburn"y.
He eventually came off it a few months after feeding raw - the bone content seemed to give his stomach a proper job to do and he has never looked back since.
 
I'm not a great fan. I like to know what I'm letting myself in for with a rescue, the good the bad and even the downright ugly! I tend to let them get on with things themselves with little interference and find their way around for the first few days, making no demands on them and being somewhat indifferent to then. Depending on how they've behaved, I'll I address any issues, if any, bit by bit.
 
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