Earth Heart "Travel Calm" Dog Spray #Review

Not all dogs are as comfortable as Venus while traveling. In fact, it was quite a saddening experience to hop in the car with both the girls after we first brought Ocean home and have her start whining and shaking during the ride. Travel anxiety was nothing I had thought about previously, but seeing Ocean's reaction and knowing that we needed to ease it was a real eye opener to me.

Venus sleeping in the semi

I came across Earth Heart when I first started looking at BarkBox so many months ago, and saw there was a past product of theirs include in the box before I had started subscribing. I had put off trying their products (due to forgetfulness) until a short time later when I also saw Earth Calm advertised in Dog Fancy's annual publication of Natural Dog. Here is an exerpt from their "About Me":

"Vicki Rae Thorne, certified aromatherapist and master herbalist, founded Earth Heart in 1996 to help others learn how to safely and effectively use herbs and essential oils as part of everyday life.

In 1999, Vicki was approached by a kennel owner who wanted help with calming her canine visitors. The dogs missed their families and felt anxious, agitated, angry or depressed. The formula now known as Canine Calm was developed to diffuse in the kennel, and it worked from day one! Kennel customers noticed that their dogs were calmer when they left the kennel, and didn’t fret so much when it was time to go back. And the kennel customers wanted to take that calm experience home with them.

Earth Heart mists are made in the USA, packaged in BPA free recyclable containers, easy to use, and can be sprayed directly onto cloth, skin or fur without staining or leaving a sticky residue. Feedback from dog lovers and professionals across the USA and Canada has shown that Earth Heart mists provide safe, easy, effective solutions for over 90% of dogs"

I was intrigued by their Canine Calm, as Venus struggling with new people and Ocean has mild separation anxiety, but they offered more than calming products! Earth Heart also offers a product called Buzz Guard which protects against bugs and other outdoor irritants, and Guard well which offers relief from hot spots, itching, swelling, and other bothersome skin issues. Earth Heart sent us a bottle of Travel Calm which is a solution for upset stomach, restlessness, drooling, panting, and whimpering associated with the stress of traveling.

As I mentioned earlier, Ocean suffered from whimpering/whining, would shake, but would also pant heavily as soon as we got into the car. I tried to not bring her with everywhere we went, but there are times when it was more convenient to bring her along for a ride, or when I was ignorant of the fact that she hated the car and just wanted to have her close to me (I know, very selfish, but I love being around my dogs!). This is one product I was anxiously awaiting to try out! 

photo courtesy of Earth Heart

The first time I sprayed Travel Calm on Ocean, she got really amped up. Like the scent really energized her. It was pretty hilarious watching her run around in circles with her bum in the air! Then she proceeded to wiggle all over the carpet on her back, trying to rub the spray off. We didn't actually travel the first time we used the spray, it was more of a test run. So I let her do whatever she wanted after I sprayed her, and after bouncing around the house like a loon for about 15 minutes or so, she settled down.

The next time was the real test. We followed the directions and sprayed the Travel Calm on my fingers so I could massage it into her fur behind her ears, about 30 minutes before we were going to leave. In that time, she did try to rub it off on the carpet again, but the next experience was simply amazing. We walked out the the car and she sat down in the seat! She let out a long whine as I backed out of the garage, then curled up into a ball. No panting, no more whining, just a little shaking. I stalled in the parking lot and just stared at her. We made our trip to pick up Jer from the semi and back home in roughly two hours, and the biggest reaction we got out of her was some light shaking. She was like a different dog! 

My overall opinion is that yes, the scent of Travel Calm is a little strong, but that's where the effectiveness comes from! It's not a bad smell, mostly citrus and spice, and it was even calming to me. Of course, seeing the "night and day" results with Ocean made Earth Heart's product a real winner!

You can give any of Earth Heart's products a try for yourself with a nifty $5 coupon! Just enter the code VENUS at the checkout on their website. This code will expire 12/31/2013.

You can more information about Earth Heart on their blog. You can also connect with them on Facebook, LinkedIN, and Google +.

Disclaimer: Baby and the Chi's received the product mentioned above for review purposes only. All views and opinions are 100% my own. No monetary compensation was received.