Bach Flower Essences for Pets

Flower essences are one of the more natural herbal supplements available. During the past 20 years, numerous individuals and businesses have worked to establish their own “system” or line, of flower essence products. Some of these include the Australian Bush Flower Essences by Ian White and the Alaskan Flower Essences by Steve Johnson.

However, Bach Flower Essences continue to be the best-known and most widely available system of flower essences. They are also the most popular flower essence system used in the treatment of animals.

British physician Edward Bach first began developing flower essences in 1931. There are a total of 38 Bach Flower Essences.They include agrimony, aspen, beech, centaury, cerato, cherry plum, chestnut bud, chicory, clematis, crab apple, elm, gentian, gorse, heather, holly, honeysuckle, hornbeam, impatiens, larch, mimulus, mustard, oak, olive, pine, red chestnut, rock rose, rock water, scleranthus, star of Bethlehem, sweet chestnut, vervain, vine, walnut, water violet, white chestnut, wild oat, wild rose, and willow.

Selecting the correct essence or combination of essences for treatment depends largely on a careful observation of the animal’s behavior and the circumstances in which it occurs. It may be a good idea to consult with someone who has studied flower essences and understands their uses in animals before using them on your pet. Although choosing the wrong essence will not hurt your pet in any way, it’s not going to help him either.

The Bach Centre in England (http://www.bachcentre.com/) offers educational courses for anyone interested in learning more about treating animals with Bach Flower Essences. Many veterinarians and their support staff are self-taught in this discipline and are eager to help you choose the right combination of flower essences for your pet.

A good place to start looking for a veterinarian or practitioner in your area to help you with your pet is by searching through veterinary organizations that support homeopathic and alternative medicine. There are links to many of these organizations listed here: http://www.holisticmed.com/www/veterinary.htm

Another alternative is to simply pick up your local phone book and ask nearby veterinary hospitals if they know of anyone who works with pets and flower essences.

Recommended Reading:

Bach Flower Remedies for Animals by Helen Graham and Gregory Vlamis