To help pet owners prepare, experts at Pets at Home have shared their top tips on how to keep your furry friends calm and at ease this firework season Know the signs of an anxious pet A growing number of pet owners are turning to Pet Remedy for its many stress-reducing benefits, including the fact that there are no known negative side effects for the clear majority of pets. For rabbits and guinea pigs, it’s best to not bring them inside if they’re not used to it – this could make them more anxious. You should provide them with lots of bedding to hide in and partly cover the hutch in blankets to help muffle the noise. Both pets are sociable animals so should live in pairs or groups of their own kind to be happy, healthy and feel safe in the long term. Try pet calming products Unlike most other natural calming supplements, Pet Remedy is delivered indirectly as a fine aerosol. Our Plug-in diffuser periodically delivers small ‘puffs’ of the formula into the pet’s environment, where very smallamountsare inhaled while the bird remains in that environment. To put this into perspective, we are all ‘bathed’ in a sea of millions of scent molecules suspended in the air around us. Many of these molecules are from natural sources, such as the flowers and plants around us, our animals, the humans we live with and so on.

For most pets, a fearful state usually starts with a watchful phase where they will be unusually alert. If you spot your pet acting this way, it’s best to wait until they’ve started to calm down before you give them affection or distract them with a game. There’s the risk that you could be accidentally rewarding them for being scared if you step in too soon. Create a quiet and safe space It’s never nice to see your pet upset but thankfully there are some easy steps you can take – in advance and on the night – to help keep them relaxed. It’s also important for you, as an owner, to remain calm and to not soothe them too much as pets can sense any changes in our behaviour which can make them feel more anxious.” A water based version of the Pet Remedy solution that can be used in conjunction with the diffuser around your home, or taken with you when out and about for immediate relief. Made with a pH neutral formula, the spray is safe to be sprayed onto fabrics, carpets, and bedding, and can even be sprayed directly onto your pet’s fur and skin if needed. All pets are different and it’s important that you’re able to recognise what anxiety looks like for yours.

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The special Pet Remedy blend of essential oils works alongside these natural relaxation pathways to help calm the nerves of anxious or stressed pets. You can use recordings to gradually expose your cat or dog to very low levels of noise that scare them, slowly increasing the volume as they adjust. This allows you to create positive associations by using treats and games to reward them while the sounds are playing.

When out walking or training an anxious dog, spray a little on a bandana or spray a little on a damp` cloth or your fingers and gently rub around the muzzle and top of chest. Same applies for horses. Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is an aromatic herb with lush green leaves. The essential oil is extracted by steam distillation from the leaves and the flowering tops. Sweet Basil essential oil has various chemical compounds that include a-pinene, camphene, b-pinene, myrcene, limonene, cis-ocimene, camphor, linalool, methyl chavicol, y-terpineol, citronellol, geraniol, methyl cinnamate and eugenol. It is commonly used in aromatherapy for its calming effect. We source Sweet Basil from Europe and Egypt. Clary Sage Many Valerian preparations are too potent and can sedate rather than calm. Pet Remedy is low concentration and the diffuser delivers a constant slow release, which is very kind and gentle in its effect on the metabolism. Likewise for the calming sprays and wipes which are water based.Use the eco-friendly wipe in the same way as you would with the calming spray by gentle rubbing around muzzle, under chin and top of chest of your pet (including horses!). Suitable for all mammals showing signs of stress including cats, dogs, rabbits, rodents, ferrets, and horses It is extracted from the washed, chopped, dried and soaked roots and rootlets by steam distillation The aroma is very earthy. The main chemical components are benzoic acid, vetiverol, furfurol, a and b-vetivone, vetivene and vetivenyl vetivenate. We source Vetiver from Haiti and Java. Sweet Basil If you should accidentally swallow any of the liquid please get immediate medical advice and show the product label. The Pet Remedy All-in-One Kit contains everything you need to create a calm and relaxed environment for a stressed pet.

If your cat or dog is an anxious animal, there are plenty of calming products on the market that will ease their nerves so you can relax with them, too. Your pet will likely have a safe space that they will retreat to when under threat, normally their dog or cat bed, or even on the sofa, and every pet will have different things that make them nervous. Some may be frightened of loud noises and bangs, such as fireworks. Others may get stressed about being left on their own. You may even have a pet that gets worked up about travelling. Whatever their triggers, there are many pet products out there that are designed to lessen their symptoms. For pets who experience severe noise phobia and anxiety, there are different supplements or tablets which can help but it’s always best to seek advice from an expert – either by booking an appointment with your local vet or speaking to the pet care advisors in-store at Pets at Home. Start creating positive associations Unlike most other natural calming supplements, Pet Remedy is delivered indirectly as a fine aerosol. Our Plug-in diffuser periodically delivers small ‘puffs’ of the formula into the environment, where very small amountsare inhaled while the animal remains in that environment. To put this into perspective, we are all ‘bathed’ in a sea of millions of scent molecules suspended in the air around us. Many of these molecules are from natural sources, such as the flowers and plants around us, our animals, the humans we live with and so on. Create their haven in advance of firework season by using familiar toys and lots of bedding for them to burrow in, including pieces of clothing with your scent so that they’re comforted by the smell. You can then use treats and rewards to build positive associations with the area so it’s somewhere they feel happy and safe. It’s also best to leave some treats there for them to chew on. Pheromone diffusers for anxious pets have received positive testimonies from cat and dog owners. Some even say their pet is entirely different after using a calming plug-in. Studies have shown that pheromone diffusers help calm anxious dogs and cats in certain circumstances.This depends how old your puppy is. Puppies are sometimes released by breeders at a very young age (6-8 weeks old) and at this age they are very accepting of change and do not need any sort of calming product at all. As long as the new home is suitable then this, for most puppies, is absolutely the best age to get a puppy, despite what many breeders will say. (All puppies destined to be Guide Dogs for the blind are homed at this age and they develop the best temperament possible). However many breeders like to keep the puppies longer than this and indeed some puppies are, for whatever reason, homed at much greater ages. The older the puppy is (beyond about 7 weeks of age), the more of a stress it is when they move home. If your puppy is over the age of 8 weeks then I would recommend Zylkene as the most natural calming agent for a puppy. If by any chance your puppy is 12 weeks of age or older, then the move will certainly be a stress and Zylkene combined with the Pet Remedy Calming product would be my suggestion. Dogs are so precious, and as owners, we always want them to feel safe and loved, so if your dog is showing signs of being stressed and anxious, you might need a calming product for your pet, like a dog calming plug-in or a safe space with a dog bed to retreat to, to help them relax. Certain factors such as separation anxiety, Bonfire Night, loud noises, past trauma, phobias, illness or injuries can all be triggers for nervy dogs and are situations that may make your pet feel uncomfortable. Once plugged in the diffuser immediately starts to distribute the natural essential oils into the circulating air.