Is your dog stressed out by thunderstorms, fireworks, or even just being left alone for a few hours? You’re not alone. Many pet owners (including myself) struggle with anxious dogs and finding effective ways to soothe their nerves can feel like a daunting task. One popular solution is dog chews, which not only keep your pup occupied but also provide a calming effect.
In this post, we’ll dive into how the right dog chews can help relieve anxiety and recommend some of the best options available, including Yak Cheese chews by Pawstruck, lamb ears, and more. If you’re in a rush, here’s a peek at my top recommendations:
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Best Meatless Chew  |
Best Bully Sticks  |
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Made exclusively of all natural lamb ears, these dog treats are free of any weird sounding chemicals, artificial flavors or preservatives. They’re just ears. Lamb ears, that is. They are perfect for pups on the smaller end of the spectrum, those with dietary restrictions, or those looking to watch their weight. |
These Himalayan dog chews are 100 percent natural, containing no artificial ingredients, no preservatives, no gluten or grain, and no odor. |
Only one ingredient goes into these tasty treats, all-natural beef from high quality cattle. Each one is braided with 3 separate sticks. They contain no smelly odors and are easy to digest., so your best bud’s sensitive stomach can rejoice. |
Best Ears Chews
Made exclusively of all natural lamb ears, these dog treats are free of any weird sounding chemicals, artificial flavors or preservatives. They’re just ears. Lamb ears, that is. They are perfect for pups on the smaller end of the spectrum, those with dietary restrictions, or those looking to watch their weight.
Best Meatless Chew
These Himalayan dog chews are 100 percent natural, containing no artificial ingredients, no preservatives, no gluten or grain, and no odor.
Best Bully Sticks
Only one ingredient goes into these tasty treats, all-natural beef from high quality cattle. Each one is braided with 3 separate sticks. They contain no smelly odors and are easy to digest., so your best bud’s sensitive stomach can rejoice.
FYI, this post includes affiliate links. If you buy anything through these links, DogVills earns a commission at no extra cost to you. We also received products from Pawstruck to try out. However, we only recommend products that we use with our own dogs.
How Can Dog Chews Help Relieve Anxiety?
Before answering that question, let me just give you a little background info on what inspired this post in the first place. As many of our regular readers know, I have a Pharaoh Hound named Freya (that’s her pictured below). Like most sighthounds (or at least most that I’ve encountered), Pharaoh Hounds are prone to anxiety and nervousness, especially when it comes to loud noises.
For a long time, we lucked out and managed to avoid anxiety related to fireworks and thunderstorms. Freya went 7 years without doing much more than “trash-talking” the loud booms outside. Then, a few months ago, thunder cracked right outside our window. It was so loud that it shook that house. It also scared the you-know-what out of Freya (thankfully not literally, as she sleeps with my mom). Since then, she’s been terrified of thunder and fireworks.
Fast-forward to 4th of July week this year. For some inexplicable reason, people in my area feel the need to set off firecrackers and fireworks not just on the 4th, but throughout all of July and even into August and beyond.
Freya has been a complete nervous wreck since it started. She knows that they usually begin around 7 PM, so it’s gotten to the point that she won’t even leave the deck after that time, just in case. I have to lie to her and tell her I saw Mr. Chippy Chipper race by just to get her to come out into the yard to go potty. The only thing she hates more than fireworks is that darn chipmunk that keeps getting away from her.
She’s also having a really hard time settling even inside the house because she’s constantly waiting for the next BOOM to go off. As someone with major anxiety disorder myself, I know exactly how she feels. Imagine that you’re about to collide head-on with another car. You see it coming but know you can’t avoid it, so you brace for impact. Your body tenses up, every nerve on edge waiting for the crash. THAT is what anxiety feels like, except you’re bracing for impact every hour of every day. THAT is also what our dogs are going through when people set off fireworks all summer long.
Back to the topic of how chews can help. Let’s go over that quickly with a few bullet-points. Then, I’ll share my recommendations that have been working well for me so far this summer.
- Occupation and Distraction: Giving your dog a chew during stressful times acts as distraction, keeping them occupied and diverting their attention from the source of anxiety.
- Natural Calming Effects: Chewing is a natural behavior for dogs that helps them relieve stress. The repetitive action of chewing can release endorphins in their brain, which have a calming effect.
- Positive Association: Providing chews during anxiety-inducing situations can help your dog form positive associations. Over time, they may start to associate these stressful events with something enjoyable (chewing), which can help reduce their overall anxiety.
How to Choose the Best Anti-Anxiety Dog Chews
Not all chews are created equal, especially when it comes to relieving anxiety. Before I share my favorites, let’s go over a few things to keep in mind. I’ll try to keep this part short (I’m a wordy person, I know).
Choose high-value chews.
By high-value, I don’t mean in terms of price or quality (although quality definitely matters). I mean chews that your dogs love but that they rarely get. For Freya, we usually give her low-calorie dental sticks as her everyday chew and save those with more than 20ish calories for special occasions.
Go with something long-lasting
Aside from the fact that she gets them every day and doesn’t consider them particularly special, the other reason we don’t use Freya’s low-cal chews for anxiety is because they just don’t last long enough. It takes her roughly 10 seconds to go through a small dental stick, then she’s back to pacing.
Use Common Sense
Of course, it also goes without saying that you should go with safe, digestible, and age-appropriate chews. It also goes without saying that you should read ingredient labels carefully to avoid anything your dog might be allergic to.
The Best Dog Chews for Anxious Dogs
Here are some of the best options, all of which I’ve used with Freya.
1. Yak Cheese Chews
Yak cheese chews are a fantastic option for dogs with anxiety. Made from all-natural ingredients, these chews are long-lasting, keeping your dog occupied for a good chunk of time. The act of gnawing on a hard chew can also provide significant stress relief.
Pawstruck’s Yak Cheese Crackers are particularly great because they’re free from additives and preservatives, making them a healthy choice for your pet. Plus, they’re not quite as hard as some other yak cheese treats we’ve tried.
They’re lighter and airier (literally, as they’re not solid all of the way through), yet they still take a good 10 minutes for Freya to finish. If you do want something even longer lasting, though, Pawstruck has thicker Yak Cheese Chews as well.
Pawstruck Yak Cheese Crackers
These Himalayan dog chews are 100 percent natural, containing no artificial ingredients, no preservatives, no gluten or grain, and no odor.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
2. Lamb Ears
Lamb ears are a great alternative to the more commonly used pig ears, especially for dogs with sensitive stomachs. They are significantly easier to digest and still offer a satisfying chew.
Lamb ears are also lower in fat (which is great for dogs on a diet, like Freya) and have a more delicate texture, making them suitable for dogs of all ages and sizes. Freya doesn’t do well with pigs’ ears, but she hasn’t had a single issue with her Pawstruck Lamb Ears.
Pawstruck Lamb Ears Dog Treats
Made exclusively of all natural lamb ears, these dog treats are free of any weird sounding chemicals, artificial flavors or preservatives. They’re just ears. Lamb ears, that is. They are perfect for pups on the smaller end of the spectrum, those with dietary restrictions, or those looking to watch their weight.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
3. Bully Sticks
Bully sticks are a classic favorite among dog owners, and for a good reason! They are highly digestible and provide a satisfying chew that can help calm your dog during periods of anxiety.
Pawstruck has several different types of bully sticks. I mean, they all have the same single ingredient (bull “pizzle,” and I think we all know by now what “pizzle” means, right?), but they come in different “shapes.”
For dogs with anxiety, I like the braided ones because they tend to last longer. Plus, they’re harder to break small pieces off of. With long straight bully sticks, we had issues with Freya swallowing huge pieces of them when she got to the end.
Pawstruck Braided Bully Sticks
Only one ingredient goes into these tasty treats, all-natural beef from high quality cattle. Each one is braided with 3 separate sticks. They contain no smelly odors and are easy to digest., so your best bud’s sensitive stomach can rejoice.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
4. Antler Chews
Antler chews are another excellent option, especially for hardcore chewers. They are incredibly durable and can last for a long time, providing an ongoing source of distraction and stress relief. Antlers are also rich in minerals like calcium and phosphorus, adding a nutritional boost to your dog’s chew time.
One of the things I really love about antlers is that they’re fairly humane types of chews. Most antler-bearing animals shed them yearly (except for reindeer and caribou). If you live in deer country like I do, you may be able to find antlers laying on the ground. We lucked out one day and found a huge one laying right in our front yard. We didn’t give that one to Freya though because my son thought it was cool and wanted to keep it.
You can also buy them online on Redbarn in three varieties (Deer, Elk, and Moose). For aggressive chewers, the moose antlers give you the most bang for your buck compared to deer antlers (buck pun totally not intended).
Moose Antler by Redbarn
Redbarn’s naturally shed Antlers come in three varieties — Deer, Elk, and Moose. They only source wild antlers, which grow at a slow and natural rate, eliminating odor and mold without the use of chemicals.
We earn a commission if you make a purchase, at no additional cost to you.
5. Sweet Potato “Jerky”
For a softer, more digestible option, sweet potato chews are a great choice. They are packed with vitamins and fiber, making them a healthy treat. The chewing action helps reduce anxiety, while the natural sweetness makes them an appealing snack for most dogs.
The best part about these is that you can make them yourself. Oh, you can also buy them, of course, but I’ve found that they’re kind of pricey for what they are. We have a food dehydrator, so we just buy a few sweet potatoes, slice them up, and dehydrate them until they have the consistency of jerky. Check out our sweet potato dog chews recipe for tips on how to make them.
BONUS: CBD Chews
I’m calling these a “bonus” because they’re really “sit and chomp on for a while” chews, but they’re still great for helping get your dog through noise-related anxiety. I give Freya Vet Naturals Hemp & Hips Plus CBD as her daily supplement. She can have up to 4 for her size, but I usually give her two a day on most days.
On nights where she’s having a really hard time settling down, though, I give her an extra one. That combined with the distraction of chomping on her Yak Cheese or other chews has really helped keep her calmer during noisy nights.
Hemp & Hips Plus CBD
Best CBD Oil Supplement for Dogs
Vet Naturals Hemp & Hips quickly delivers a CBD richer in joint-supporting cannabinoids and terpenes, easing joint pain and anxiety in as little as 10 minutes. The 100{83d5ae5893d4cc2381f1688c49d7c9d88858c8d0f47c18be8cfe1b1e840bf463} naturally organic blend is formulated by vets and Made in the USA.
Conclusion
When it comes to the best dog chews for pups with anxiety, there are a lot of great options available these days. Whether you go with a meatless choice like Yak Cheese, a traditional bully stick, or something heartier like antlers, just remember what I said above. Choose something that your dog doesn’t get every day, opt for high-quality brands, and go with something that will last Fido a long time.
Have you used any of these dog chews to help with your pup’s anxiety? Share your thoughts below.
