Calming Care by Purina ProPlan Review
This post is sponsored by Calming Care by Purina ProPlan. All opinions are my own
What a whirlwind of a summer it’s been over here. We started it off by moving at the beginning of May, followed by our annual Jeep trip to Moab. The following weeks included a family cruise to Mexico, family visiting us in Utah, a surgery, and a weekend trip to Idaho. It’s been go-go-go, and our sweet pups have been doing their best to get their bearings amidst the chaos.
Thankfully, Teddy is pretty easy going and mostly oblivious to the constant changes that were going on. He also loves all of his aunts and uncles and thinks it’s the best thing ever when they come to puppy/house sit. Our queen bee, however, is the exact opposite of Ted. Rosie is pretty mellow and easy going when her life follows the same routine, but the second something changes, she becomes a ball of anxious feelings. It’s something we’ve dealt with her whole life, especially when it’s centered around us packing suitcases or even walking out the door with keys. She sometimes gets herself so worked up that she’ll hour for literal hours, bite the doorknob and leave teeth marks in it, and knock the trash over (something she NEVER does if we’re home.)
Not only does it make us feel awful for leaving, but her anxious behavior has also really affected our lives. When we were living in an apartment, we would often skip out on plans or run errands separately, making sure someone was always home with her. We didn’t want her howling to make our neighbors mad and we didn’t want her to cause any damage to the apartment we were renting.
Turns out, we weren’t the only ones who’s lives were being run by their anxious doggos! In a recent study conducted by our friends at Purina, they found that 25 percent of dog owners surveyed said that these behaviors have impacted their lifestyle or caused a change in their routine. 11 percent of the survey respondents have taken fewer social outings to avoid their dog being home alone and 8 percent avoid traveling because it upsets their dog when they are away.
We thought it would be a little better when we moved into our first house because we wouldn’t have to worry about bothering the neighbors since we wouldn’t be sharing any walls. It was a bit better for a while until one day Rosie got so desperate to go with me to work that she broke out the screen out of the window of our master bedroom and got onto the roof! Talk about absolutely terrifying!
We’ve tried a LOT of things to help her control her anxious behaviors, including weighted vests, music, kennels, treats, and essential oils. NOTHING seemed to truly help and we figured it was something we would just have to try to manage as best as we could.
As we approached our move earlier this year, my friends at Purina reached out and asked if we would be interested in trying the Purina Pro Plan Veterinary Supplements Calming Care. Since we knew we were about to really shake Rosie’s life up, we decided to give it a go (after consulting with our veterinarian, of course.) We had nothing to lose and everything to gain!
What is Calming Care?
Calming Care is a probiotic supplement that contains a strain of beneficial bacteria shown to help dogs maintain calm behavior. Calming Care helps dogs cope with external stressors like separation, unfamiliar visitors, novel sounds, or changes in routine and location. It also helps dogs maintain positive cardiac activity during stressful events, promoting a positive emotional state, and supports a healthy immune system.
How does it work?
Calming Care comes in a powder form, which is sprinkled on top of your pup’s food once a day. Rosie gets hers in the morning with her breakfast and she absolutely loves it. She’s actually kind of a slow eater but gobbles up her breakfast when she sees the powder is added to it.
Note: It does take 4-6 weeks of consistent use of the Calming Care probiotic to see results, so don’t give up if you don’t see improvements right away. Stay consistent and positive and trust the process!
How has it worked for Roo?
Rosie has been taking the Calming Care supplements for three months now and we have noticed a significant reduction in her anxious behaviors. It did take about five weeks for us to start seeing any signs of improvement, but after that, it was easy to see improvements every week.
Rosie would always try to sneak out of the door with us when we were leaving or she would lay right by the front door if she noticed us putting our shoes on or getting our keys. 90% of the time now, she calmly lays down in the hallway so that she can still see what we’re doing without getting in the way. She hasn’t tried to bolt out the front door in weeks!
Another significant improvement in Rosie’s behavior has been the amount of noise she makes when she’s left alone. In May, when we left, she would be sitting right at the door, barking and howling. This could go on from 20 minutes up to an hour (we would watch her on our security cameras.) Now, worst-case scenario, Rosie will whine softly at the door for 3-5 minutes before going downstairs to eat her kibble and lay down next to Teddy’s kennel. And that’s on a “bad day!” Most days, she doesn’t make a sound!
Honestly, though, I think the best sign of success for us was when my sister and brother-in-law were visiting a few weeks ago. They both said they could see a change in Rosie immediately, especially when it was time for us to leave to go get lunch together. Instead of her trying to bolt out the door, she calmly laid down in the hallway as we walked out. As we stood in the driveway, deciding where to go, my brother-in-law said he was surprised he didn’t hear Rosie howling! The fact that our family noticed a difference in Roo without us saying anything about it spoke volumes to the success we’ve seen while using the Calming Care supplements.
If you want to see actual before/after footage of Rosie’s behavior, check out my Instagram highlights reel titled “Calming Care!”
So, does it work?
Based on our experience, I can whole-heartedly say yes! While Calming Care isn’t a cure for anxious behaviors, it definitely has helped and improved Rosie’s anxious feelings tenfold. Not only does she seem to be happier and more relaxed, but we’re not so tightly wound about leaving or altering our plans to make sure she’s okay.
If you have an anxious doggo and want to give Calming Care a try, my friends at Purina gave me a discount code to share with you! Use the code “CHELSIE20” for 20% off your first order (not an affiliate code, just a save-you-money code!)
