Bach remedies and animals

Bach remedies can help your animals in exactly the same way they help you and the rest of your family.

The key is to try to see the situation from your pet’s point of view. How would your pet live if it had the choice? Has anything changed in the home that might have scared or unsettled it?

For most simple situations you can select remedies yourself, safe in the knowledge that this is a gentle system and at worse you will do no harm.

The amount to take is the same as for humans. It’s safest to dilute the remedies to minimise the alcohol content to trace levels, especially when giving to birds and other small animals. We recommend making up a personal mix and giving the drops from that on a treat.

How to mix and take Bach remedies

The Centre stocks alcohol-free remedies, which can be a good option for animals and anyone who wants to avoid alcohol. But ordinary remedies bottled in alcohol are perfectly safe as long as they are diluted.

Recommended books

Reading one of the recommended books can help you choose remedies for an everyday problem:

  • Bach Flower Remedies for Animals by Stefan Ball and Judy Ramsell Howard
  • Emotional Healing for Cats by Stefan Ball and Judy Ramsell Howard
  • Emotional Healing for Horses and Ponies by Stefan Ball, Heather Simpson and Judy Ramsell Howard

These books draw on insights from animal behaviourists and include real-life case studies showing the remedies in use.

Bach remedies should always and only be selected for emotional states. Veterinary care may be necessary where there are medical conditions or injuries that need diagnosis and treatment. Be cautious about books that wrongly associate flower remedies with specific physical disorders. They may lead you to give inappropriate help and delay necessary veterinary intervention.

Further help

Bach Foundation Registered Animal Practitioners (BFRAPs) are practitioners who have specialist training in animal behaviour. If you need help selecting remedies for your pet look at the list of BFRAPs to see if there is somebody near you.

BFRAPs will want to ensure an animal client has been checked for any undiagnosed veterinary condition before attempting to select remedies for its emotions. This may include contacting your vet.