Nose, eyes, ears…
Those things, in that order, are how dogs first perceive the world when they’re born. First they can smell. The slowly start to see shapes. Finally, noise! So a great way to bring a dog back into a balanced state (a state of calmness and clear-headedness) is to use scent as your helper!
Dogs who are reactive (agressive, fearful, introverted, hyper, etc…) are only seeing or only hearing the world. In other words, they’re not using their nose and being a „normal“, balanced dog. I’m using dogs as an example here because their nose is the key way they communicate, but this is relevant to animals – people included!
Scent can be an essential oil (research to see what effects different oils have), perhaps some meat to bring their focus back on you and away from something they’re obsessing about, or anything else your dog finds appealing. Lavender is a great example: it calms! Sometimes I like to put a drop on a dog’s collar. Even if they don’t have an extreme issue with anything, it’s a great way for them to calm down if we’re going to the city or another stressful situation.
This can be applied to a horses halter, hair or, depending on the oil (some are too harsh for skin), right in their nose. I have seen this work wonders with horses and highly recommend it! There are many tinctures and oils out there to choose from.
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