Is Ashwagandha Safe For Dogs?

I was fast asleep in bed last weekend and woke up at 2.45 am with a huge start with the word ‘Ashwagandha’ on my lips.

Okay, okay, I know it’s not exactly the word you’d think of muttering at ANY time of day, let alone at 2.45 am.....to be honest, what is normally on my mind at that time is forbidden fruit. 

By forbidden fruit, I mean Carrot cake, red velvet cake, Belgian buns (Jesus, you just need to try one with a cup of strong British tea even ONCE before you die.....) and chocolate ganache.

Those things are always on my mind in the wee hours. I can’t eat sugar because I am a fat bitch who gets heart palpitations if I eat too much of it, but I can dream, can’t I?

Anyway, back to Ashwagandha (I really am the segue queen, aren’t I?)....... I have no bloody clue why it popped into my head but I don’t question the universe that popped it in there, so I started thinking about it, realized why it probably came into my head and now I need to share it with you.

You may find this helpful. You may find it a big useless pile of shit, but I’m going to tell you about it anyway, because I’m a bossy, know-it-all bitch and a bit of a closet Hitler.

(Meh, maybe not so closet.....)

Ashwagandha is a herb (please remember, before you email me and tell me that my grammar is shit, that I am English, and where I come from, the letter ‘H’ is aspirate) used prolifically in Ayurvedic medicine for thousands of years. 

It’s quite the powerhouse when working on the human body, and just as much so on your dog.

The great thing about it?

Safe as houses! 

In the same way that the ‘wonder bark’ slippery elm is a little gem of an aid in diarrhea and vomiting, but has zero side effects, this incredible herb is one that you can safely give to your dog, as long as he doesn’t take thyroid medications or barbituates for seizures.

’Ahhh, Most Exalted Grand Shaman on high, Knower of all Things.... what else is great about this stuff?’ You ask.

Well, the number one problem that I deal with as a behaviorist is stress and anxiety. 

It’s kind of like me with ‘Mama’s Little helper‘ (large glass of red wine.....eh, maybe two) when you sometimes just want something to ‘take the edge off’ of your dog but don’t want to go down the rocky road of pharmaceuticals with all of the possible side effects.

While I’m probably a prime candidate for Zanax, with my roller coaster personality and ability to jump straight from Jesus in a dress to ‘You wanna piece of me, Mofo?’ I don’t want to be a zombie, I just want to be normal enough to make good decisions.

And maybe not want to kill quite so many people: I’m guessing you’d like your dog to feel the same?

Ashwagandha is pretty useful in this regard.

I’ve been taking it for about two weeks and have found it to be very effective. I honestly do try every single thing I recommend to you guys on myself first....well, apart from Primal Freeze dried nuggets.

They must taste like shit, don’t want to go there.

It’s a mood balancer, promotes a nice feeling of well-being (but not enough for me to discontinue ‘Dick of the Week’ don’t worry), and is great at sharpening your memory and alertness, your dogs’ too.

If your dog is a senior, it may really help when canine cognitive disfunction rears it’s ugly head. This particular disorder brings with it it’s very own kind of stress for your animal; we see it all the time at the cabin, so anything that helps with that stress relief is useful too.

If you have a dog with heart issues, then this will help to regulate blood pressure. 

Immune boosting in the extreme too, this little herb packs a big punch in lots of areas.

It’s not expensive, but do pick a product that has no fillers or xylitol or gums in.

Our own veterinarians, Gwinnett Animal Hospital, have been a very useful resource for us with dosage, as each dog is different.

I recommend speaking to your vets about Ashwagandha as part of your mature dogs’ overall wellness plan, although if you do not have a progressive vet clinic like we do, be aware that they will either tell you there’s no science behind it, or that they’ve never heard of it.

I’ll take 2500 years of practice and success over a bunch of mice being injected in a lab so Big Pharma can boast at their shareholders meetings. 

I’m not against pharmaceuticals, but as you know, I’m always looking for something natural to do the job.

This is one of those things that does the job. Well.