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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Traveling with your pet

Traveling with your pet
With the holidays here we are all considering what to do with our pets when we go out of town. Whether we are boarding our pets, hiring pet sitters to come to or stay at our house, having family watch our pet or otherwise, there are things we can do to make our pets more comfortable and happy while we're gone.
Supplementation: No one wants to drug their pet with prescription sedatives during travel or times of stress. Fortunately there are herbal calming supplements available for your pets. If you would like something to help your pet relax consider Pet Essences remedies (such as Anxiety/Fear, Travel, Loneliness/Home Alone, etc), Happy Tails Sleepytime Tonic, Naturvet Quiet Moments or Animals Apawthecary Tranquility Blend.
Other recommendations:
-Sleep- in a t-shirt or with a pet blanket (like West Paws Big Sky Blanket) so your smell gets onto the blanket, then let your pet sleep with it while you are gone.
- Chew Bones- Get some long lasting chew bones to distract your dog while you are away. Long term bones like Ostrich Femurs, Bully Stix, Sarge bones, Bare Bones stuffed with Wysong Organic Peanut Butter or yogurt is a good way to help pass the time away while you are gone. Chew bones are only recommended for dogs that are responsible chewers and won't swallow large chunks of bones when left unattended.
-Intelligence Toys- Tug-a-Jugs, Planet Dog Orbees and Orbos and Kongs can all be filled with treats that your dog must learn to get out. They are extremely durable toys that are hard to chew up (a couple of them are even guaranteed) and you can customize the flavor to your dogs desires. Laser toys are also good for pets to chase and burn some energy on. They can't catch and destroy a laser light but it makes for lots of fun. Lasers should only be used under adult supervision, as they can cause eye damage if pointed directly in the eye.
-Spray- Naturvet Quiet Moments sprays are good for calming cats and dogs in kennels, rooms and other strange situations.
-Catnip- Catnip is calming for dogs and cats. A couple of strategically placed catnip toys or a little bit of catnip in the food can help your pet sleep and relax.
-Aromatherapy- Lavender aromatherapy and other herbs can be very calming to your pet during times of high stress.
-Sometimes separation is the best treatment for stress. If your pet stresses easily, sometimes the best thing you can do is give them a little space. Don't reinforce bad behavior by trying to soothe an over-reactive dog or cat. Simply let them know that you're there for them but leave them alone... give them a chew bone or toy and a calming supplement and take them OUT of the stressful situation, even if that means taking them on a walk or putting them in a kennel.
Our next newsletter will have more tips about how to help your pet cope with children, travel and decorations during the holidays.

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