Finding the Best Calming Treats for Pets
There are tons of dog treats for separation anxiety on the market, and navigating the endless options is overwhelming. To help you get through some of the products, we’ve compiled a list of our top dog treats for separation anxiety that your pup will love.
Our guide is an excellent place to start and will hopefully help you narrow down a few options to find the right dog treat for your pup.
How We Chose Our Top 8 Dog Treats for Separation Anxiety
Pet parents know that their dogs are more than just pets; they’re members of the family. And picking out the best calming treats to help them should be taken as seriously as choosing supplements for any human living under their roof.
Several considerations go into picking our favorite healthy dog treats, from the presence and quality of natural ingredients to the manufacturing process to the brand's ethos.
Quality Sourcing and Processing
For hemp, growing roots is particularly hungry work. When it comes to making a home in the soil, the plant will happily suck up any substances it finds there, whether healthy nutrients or noxious chemicals.
That’s why finding farms pledged to organic growing practices is particularly important when investigating CBD or any hemp-based product.
When we look for brands to promote, we look for those using hemp grown domestically, without pesticides, and preferably under organic farming practices.
Processing can be an equally tricky area for CBD products, thanks to a number of extraction processes that also involve less-than-appealing chemicals. But CO2, cold-press, and ethanol methods are generally cleaner and preferred, particularly when performed in accredited facilities by qualified personnel.
Test Results
Unfortunately, there are currently no regulations in place to ensure that CBD- and hemp-based products are tested for safety and quality. As a result, companies can essentially sell whatever they want and market it as CBD oil.
Yet, many brands will take it upon themselves to ensure what they’re selling is legitimate and safe. The businesses that go the extra mile are the ones that stand out in the field.
We search for third-party lab test results in our top 8 companies and pay particular attention to ensuring the results are updated and accurately describe what’s inside the product and state that whatever’s being sold is free from pesticides, herbicides, solvents, and chemical fertilizers.
Efficiency
Efficiency can also be a tricky thing to judge in the world of CBD. Even if the product includes the ingredients it claims, it may work differently on different animals, depending on their physiology and how frequently they use CBD products.
Still, most people don’t like spending money on something that doesn’t work, which is why we take efficiency into account when creating our lists.
To help determine a product’s efficiency, we look at things like current test results and the inclusion of any specific supporting cannabinoids, terpenes, or other compounds. For example, compounds like chamomile, valerian root, and L-Theanine are all good signs when considering products well-suited to manage pet anxiety.
We also comb through verified online reviews to ensure that customers seemed happy with their results overall.
Ingredient Integrity
There’s hardly any point in taking herbal supplements when those natural ingredients are mixed with manufactured chemicals. To help ensure pet parents their animal is well taken care of, we ensure each product on our list utilizes only the highest quality healthy botanicals and that their CBD only receives a boost from Mother Nature.
Brand Reputation
While the CBD market has only grown in popularity over the years, it’s still widely unregulated overall, which unfortunately leaves it wide-open to CBD schemers and get-rich-quick brands hoping to cash in on a trend. This makes brand reputation a critical aspect of choosing our top 8 list.
Our research found that the best calming treats for pets usually come from mission-driven brands. These people aren’t just out to make money but want to do something helpful and give back to their pets and even the earth itself.
Types of Dog Treats and How to Choose
Researching dog treats means researching the best treats for every dog. While most dogs will respond in specific ways to certain treats, every animal is different.
Generally, there are several types of treats on the market, which all carry their benefits, including:
- Crunchy dog treats: Crunchy as they sound, and easy to break into pieces for smaller rewards, but potentially crumbly and messy, plus harder for dogs to chew.
- Soft and chewy: Easier for dogs of all ages and health conditions to chew and easy to break into smaller pieces, but generally more strongly scented than other types of dog treats.
- Dehydrated/freeze-dried: Typically free from additives, made from real meat, fruits, or vegetables, and sporting fewer calories per treat, but potentially tricky for some dogs to chew.
- Long-lasting chews: Similar to bones but softer, generally safer and easy to digest, and sometimes even plant-based. Still, these can be hard for older dogs or those with more sensitive pallets.
Aside from their different textures and consistencies, dog treats offer several other potential benefits. When deciding what makes the best treat for your dog—or cat, or another fluffy friend—you should also consider whether you want to use the treat for:
- Training
- Bonding
- Cleaning teeth
- Occupying time
- Supplementing health
Start researching companies that excel in those categories once you’ve figured out why you want the treats and your preferred texture. For example, training treats usually don't contain CBD but are usually packed full of flavor.
Other Products to Help Calm Your Anxious Pup
It’s not just the best calming or training treats that can help an anxious dog relax.
CBD Oils for Dogs
CBD oil is a valuable tool for helping relieve stress and promote relaxation, working in many of the same ways as CBD-based calming dog treats. Cannabidiol is picked up by specific receptors in the pup’s body and brain, activating something called the endocannabinoid system, a bodily system capable of bringing balance to any out-of-whack areas.
This is what helps bring about those feelings of calm. Oil does use a different delivery method, however, and may kick in more quickly for most dogs than CBD treats.
Weighted Shirts
Some animals also respond well to weighted shirts, which function almost in the same way as a snuggly weighted blanket. Calming collars are also available, which are sprayed with certain scents — including soothing lavender or even the pheromones of a nursing mother dog. And things like “licking mats” or rubber treat dispensers can help most dogs learn to slow down.
High-Tech Options
If you’re away a lot and your pet suffers from separation anxiety, there are a few higher-tech solutions, as well. Heartbeat pads are pet beds or blankets that are not only fuzzy like your puppy’s dog mom but have a ticking sound meant to mimic a mama dog’s heart. Electric diffusers can also work to spray certain soothing scents into the air at particular intervals.
Exercise
Not every great solution has to be bought from the store. Exercise has long been one of the best and most consistent channels for stress in both dogs and humans.
If your animal is showing signs of anxiety, physical activities like walking, running, or even playing a game of fetch can help them get rid of the excess energy that otherwise has them stressing out.
