Veterinary practitioners may encounter a wide variety of behaviorual problems such as aggresion, anxiety, compulsive behaviours, inappropriate elimination and cognitive dysfunction in daily practice. With the advance of scientific researches regarding usage of herbs and nutraceuticals in order to treat these behavioural problems, veterinarians and animal owners look for reliable sources to gain knowladge about that therapeutics. As elucidated by many published researches, neurotransmitters such as GABA, serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine act in pathology of many psychiatric disorders and most of the modern drugs show their mechanism of action by regulating these neurochemicals. There is increasing evidence that herbal extracts and nutraceuticals act in a similiar way with the conventional therapeutics however, lots of conventional medicines have remarkable side effect unlike herbal and nutraceutical therapeutics. Despite the increasing number of studies, the mechanism of action of these therapeutics has not been fully elucidated. This review aims to introduce recent scientific knowledge on herbal and nutraceutical remedies, that may be alternative treatment models in dog and cat behavioural problems.

Canine cognitive disorder (CDS) is a neurodegenerative, progressive, and irreversible disorder of senior dogs, generally over eight years old. CDS is characterized by a decrease in cognitive functions. Clinically significant changes in dog's behavior and daily routines including disorientation, decrease in social interactions, changes in sleep-wake cycles, loss of household habits, poor communication, increased anxiety, and changes in activity levels with the potential to create significant problems and discomfort in the lifestyle of the owners, deteriorating pet-owner attachment and generally be frustrating for the owner. The definite diagnosis depends on brain biopsies, and there is no confirmed clinical diagnosis method developed, meeting the whole criteria of CDS. The owner assessment using several scales available is the primary tool to rely on, which has a high potential to be subjective. Although it still has many dark sides, CDS is a disease with convenient diagnostic and therapeutic strategies available. Veterinarians need to consider this disease in geriatric patients and cooperate by increasing owner awareness, stopping or at least slowing down the disease in elderly dogs, and making the geriatric period more comfortable for both the dog and the owner. This review aims to introduce current information in the diagnosis and treatment of CDS.