Diet And Your Dogs Behavior: tea

Have you ever considered giving tea a try ~ for your dog?!  

In my book, "My No Diet Revolution...", I explain how a diet loaded with chemicals and preservatives lowers our bodies sensitivity to herbal, natural foods.  So, unless your dog is eating your cheerios, drinking your sodas, and downing junk foods regularly, chances are your dogs system will be highly receptive to the wonders of herbs and herbs can be very beneficial to their health as well as behavior.

Ever have a cup of chamomile tea?  Were you able to relax and then go to sleep more easily?  Could your dog use such a benefit?  Absolutely!

Here's my two favorite teas that I fix regularly for the dog in my life and how to do it:

Chamomile
This is a very mild and gentle herb, safe for use with puppies and kittens (and I have).  This is what the actual plant looks like:

Fresh is always, always best for flavor and potency;  after that, loose-leaf tea.  Last on the potency list is bagged tea.  I fondly refer to bagged tea as "floor sweepings"; if you ever tear open an unused bag and compare it to loose leaf, you'll know why.  That said, even I have to resort to bagged tea on occasion.

Chamomile has stellar sedative qualities but is also an effective wormer, anti-microbial, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, and pain reliever.  It also is wonderful for relieving anxiety and insomnia.   It is also useful for gas, vomiting, and indigestion.   A calming tummy tamer.

Have I used it and did I see a difference?  Uh.....YEAH!  Give it about 3 days, using daily.



Ginger
Pretty sure we've been here already in an earlier blog post.  Ginger is better and safer than naproxim sodium at reducing inflammation and relieving the associated pain.  I'm not saying in any way shape or form that naproxen sodium is safe for dogs (it's not!), but I am saying that I am living proof of that and I go into great depth on the benefits of ginger root in my book.  But!  Ginger root is safe and beneficial for  dogs!  And being similar to us, of course this reduces inflammation for them and the associated pain.  Reducing pain and inflammation can certainly improve behavior!  I act better when I'm not in constant pain.....a dog will too.

Ginger root can be added to the dogs food in several ways.  I grate about 1/4 tsp of fresh ginger directly into my dogs food bowl and add boiling water to steep it (and melt his coconut oil).  When I add his dog food (from the refrigerator) it cools down the 'tea'.


How To Prepare Tea For Dogs
This literally could not be easier!

To make a tea, add several tea bags (or about 1/2 a tablespoon of tea leaves) to a mason jar.

This is 3 chamomile tea bags and fresh ginger root slices.  The ginger will turn the water cloudy as it steeps.

Add boiling water & close with a proper canning lid and band.

Set your jar aside and let it fully steep till cool.







Once you've opened your jar, refrigerate till it's used up.
Add to your dogs food once daily.
I use about 1/4 cup for a mini Dachshund.

Here's the finished tea.  Chamomile doesn't get very dark, so this is a fairly strong tea.  I chose to leave the tea bags & ginger in there....it won't hurt!  I just don't include the ginger slices in the tea I use because they're a bit large and ginger has some serious "bite" to it that way.








I'll be honest and say that I've used chamomile tea with my dogs on an infrequent basis but after being reminded of the benefits for this post, I'm giving it a go ~ again!   My little Dachshund has been sick most of this year with an obscure condition that has him on copious amounts of medication.   He is swollen, uncomfortable and drinks tons of water (side effect of one of his meds)...so, he has to pee a LOT.  This means that he has not had a full nights sleep since early spring.  Which means I have not slept well since early spring!

So, I made this tea and I've been giving it to him every morning.  This tea has his ginger in it already (which he's been taking since the spring), the only addition to his diet being the chamomile.   At this present date, he has had the chamomile for two days and for two nights in a row he has slept through the night in his favorite place on the bed, by my head.  Nestle is also "running" after toys and showing more energy ~ another first since last spring.   Huge, noticeable change.

I am not going to say that the chamomile is making all the difference, but I'm certainly going to continue monitoring this!  We might be on to something here.



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