Calm

Doc Johnson

Calming a dog with herbal supplements is possible. Some care must be taken to avoid dosing too much. Or wasting time dosing too little. The two products listed below have vitamins and minerals which contribute to well-being. Care must be taken that no single component of a capsule be overdosed, hence the dosing below which is corrected for a canine, and the canine’s body weight.

(Here’s a link to a johnsonvet.com website article on alpha-casozepine milk-protein calming agent. Impressive.)

Here’s a link to an overview of Anxiety in Dogs.

But back to the herbal anxiety-reducers.

The three most effective herbals that impact dog anxiety are:

  • Valerian root
  • St. John’s Wort
  • Bacopa

These are available in the following two products, which are packaged for people, but are safe for pets as of this writing (Mar 2019).

Either of the following would be dosed at one capsule per 40 pounds of body weight once or twice a day. At 50-80 pounds your dog might get 2 capsules per day. It kind of depends on whether one capsule per day “does it” for your dog.

  • In all probability, twice daily dosing will be needed.

Dose limiting ingredient in the following is the Zinc. The dosing above is from the safety-basis of Zinc in general.

Anti-anxiety I
https://amzn.to/2Jw9QcW
“Contains Vitamin B1, B2, B5, B6, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Gluconate, Rhodiola, Lutein, Ashwaganda, Chamomile, Gaba, Lemon Balm, Skullcap, Hawthorn, Bacopa, Magnolia, Passion Flower, Valerian, L-Theanine, Oat Straw, Mucuna Pruriens, St John’s Wort, Hops, Griffona Seed Ext 5-Htp.”

Anti-Anxiety II
https://amzn.to/2YiwQj1
“Over 25 Active Ingredients to Support YOU – Contains Vitamin B1, B2, B5, B6, Biotin, Niacin, Calcium Carbonate, Magnesium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, Potassium Gluconate, Rhodiola, Lutein, Ashwaganda, Chamomile, Gaba, Lemon Balm, Skullcap, Hawthorn, Bacopa, Magnolia, Passion Flower, Valerian, L-Theanine, Oat Straw, Mucuna Pruriens, St John’s Wort, Hops, Griffona Seed Ext, 5-HTP.”

Other animal intended anxiolytics that are / may be popular:

The above, in particular Anxitane, Solliquin, Harmonease, and Composure, are mixes of Lactium and L-Theanine. Which are great except they’re a lot cheaper in this (still pricey) supplement. Which would be given at 1 capsule per day to most dogs over 15 pounds and under 50. Over 50 pounds and you should consider 1 capsule twice a day or two capsules per day but some experimentation may allow you to use less depending on your dog’s reaction. Spreading out the dose into 2x daily is favored by some researchers. I mean look at that stuff, though – if you’re giving two caps once or twice a day you’re going to be in a hundred bucks by month’s end.

Johnson Vet Services 2023