Chamomile For Dogs: Benefits And Uses
From the ancient pharaohs of Egypt to a cup of your sleepy time tea, chamomile has been used for hundreds of years amongst human cultures due to its natural healing and calming properties. Its many benefits for hoomans have been widely studied, but what pawsitive effects does it have on our furry friends? Well, before you start brewing a pot of chamomile tea for your pooch, read on to uncover the wide array of pawesome benefits and uses of chamomile for dogs.
What is Chamomile?
Chamomile is a species of flower within the daisy or Asteraceae family. This flower has been used for thousands of years across an array of human cultures, not just for flower crowns or daisy chains, but for its medicinal and healing properties. With its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and calming powers, it‘s commonly used to treat muscle spasms, inflammation, insomnia, digestive issues, hay fever, and pain.
What are the Benefits of Chamomile For Dogs?Calming Stressed Out Pooches
Many of us reach for warm mugs of chamomile tea after a stressful day due to its calming and relaxing properties. This calming effect of chamomile also stretches to our furry friends.
Chamomile for dogs can help manage mild forms of anxiety, helping to relax stressed-out pooches. In fact, in this study on the effect of infused chamomile on dog behaviour, shelter dogs became more relaxed and barked less when exposed to the smell of chamomile.
So if your dog is exhibiting signs of dogxiety such as restlessness, whining or whimpering, shaking or looking afraid, using chamomile may be beneficial. Remember though, it’s always impawtent to consult with your vet if your dog is showing signs of anxiety and stress to formulate the best course of management for them.
1. Soothes Upsets Tummies
Chamomile is a natural anti-inflammatory so can be used to help soothe upset doggy tummies. It also has antispasmodic effects so can ease the pain caused by stomach cramps and spasms in those dogs that have more sensitive tums than others.
It’s best to pair a dog-safe chamomile dog treat or supplement with a high-quality natural dog food that is highly digestible to promote optimal dog gut health. There are so many dog foods on the market these days, so it can be difficult to separate the fluff from the good stuff. If this is something that you’re struggling with, head on over to our ultimutt dog food guide where we’ve laid out all of our tips and tricks on how to choose the ideal dog food for your pooch.
2. Helps Dogs Get to Sleep
With chamomile’s mild sedative properties, it’s no wonder it’s a staple ingredient for sleepy-time teas. Giving your dog chamomile is a great way to help them nod off to sleep quicker. We love using our Nibbles Dog Calming Treats with added chamomile as a delicious daily dog bedtime biscuit to help our pups catch some Z’s quicker.
3. Reduce Irritation and Itchiness
The antimicrobial effects of chamomile can help to reduce skin and eye irritation or itchiness. This is helpful for those pooches that love to roll around in the grass or at times to our disgust, the most smelly thing that they come across on their daily walk.
How to Use Chamomile For Dogs and Is it Safe?
Chamomile for dogs comes in many forms, from supplements to powders, to liquids, and even to yummy chamomile dog treats. In the right quantities, chamomile is totally safe for your dog.
Keep in mind though, that large quantities of chamomile for dogs can be toxic, so it’s not advised to brew your own chamomile supplement or concoction for your pooch. The safest way to provide all these pawesome benefits of chamomile for dogs is to use a product that you know incorporates high-quality and dog-safe levels of chamomile.
The easiest way to do this is to source your chamomile supplement or treat from a reliable and trusted dog food brand that is PFMA and FEDIAF-approved (hint Scrumbles). This way, you can rest assured that what you’re feeding your pooch is safe.
Can Dogs Drink Chamomile Tea?
As we said, making your own chamomile supplement or brewing a cup of chamomile tea for your pooch isn’t a great idea as it’s difficult to know the right dosage of chamomile for dogs if you’re not an expert. Additionally, many chamomile teas on supermarket shelves are mixed with other herbs or flowers which can be toxic to your pooch. That’s why it’s always easiest to leave it to the professionals and buy a specially formulated chamomile treat or supplement that you know will be safe for your pooch.
Stay Chilled with Scrumbles Dog Calming Treat
We love Chamomile and its many amazing benefits for our dogs. That’s why we created our Nibbles Dog Calming Treats with safe levels of high-quality chamomile, to give you peace of mind when feeding chamomile to your floof.
We add highly digestible and scrumptious turkey to our Nibbles which also contains the amino acid L-tryptophan to naturally promote a restful sleep and good mood, perfect for those pooches that need a chill pill from time to time.
Either use them daily as a pre-bedtime snack, or ahead of stressful events like going to the vet, or fireworks season, and create some zen in your dog’s life!
Whilst you are here why not read,
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