The Best Calming Tools for Anxious Dogs 🐶
Trainer-Tested Picks for Soothing Stress Naturally
Whether it's thunderstorms, visitors at the door, or general nervous energy, anxiety in dogs is more common than most people realize. While training and structure are important, some pups need a little extra support — especially during tough transitions like travel, vet visits, or changes at home.
As a professional dog trainer and intuitive animal communicator, I’ve worked with many sensitive souls. Below are my go-to calming tools, used in tandem with personalized training plans to help dogs feel safe, grounded, and emotionally supported.
🐾 1. ThunderShirts and Calming Wraps
These snug-fitting garments apply gentle, constant pressure (like a hug) to help reduce overstimulation and promote calm during high-stress events.
The ThunderShirt works by engaging your dog’s parasympathetic nervous system — the system responsible for "rest and digest" responses. The steady, even pressure it provides is similar to swaddling a baby or using a weighted blanket. It triggers a physiological response that lowers heart rate and reduces cortisol (the stress hormone), helping anxious dogs feel more secure.
This pressure can be especially helpful during:
Thunderstorms
Fireworks
Travel or car rides
Separation anxiety
Vet visits
For dogs who are sensitive to environmental changes, the ThunderShirt can provide a sense of containment and reassurance when their world feels overwhelming. It doesn’t sedate your dog, but rather gives them a gentle, physical cue that says, "you’re safe."
Top Pick:
💡 Pro Tip: Introduce these during calm times, not just during scary events, so your dog doesn’t associate them only with fear.
🌬️ 2. Pheromone Diffusers & Sprays
Synthetic dog-appeasing pheromones (DAP) are modeled after the calming pheromones that mother dogs release while nursing their puppies. These chemical signals help convey a sense of safety and security, and dogs of all ages can respond to them.
When used in diffusers or sprays, DAP can help dogs feel more at ease in new environments, around unfamiliar people, or during stressful events like storms, fireworks, or car rides. They can be especially helpful in multi-dog households where energy and emotions tend to bounce off each other.
How it works: The pheromones are detected through the Jacobson's organ (also called the vomeronasal organ), located between the nose and mouth. Once processed, they send messages to the limbic system — the brain's emotional center — helping reduce fear-based responses and promote calm.
These products don’t sedate your dog. Instead, they help your dog feel like the environment is more familiar and less threatening.
Top Picks:
Use them preventatively before stressors like guests arriving or thunderstorms.
💊 3. Calming Treats & Supplements
For situational stress like car rides, grooming, fireworks, or unfamiliar guests, calming treats can help take the edge off. Some formulas are fast-acting, while others work best when used consistently. Many include natural ingredients like L-theanine, chamomile, melatonin, and colostrum to promote calm without sedation.
Top picks I recommend:
VetriScience Composure PRO Chews – My #1 choice. These are fast-acting, non-drowsy, and especially effective when paired with Rescue Remedy. They’re great before or after a stressful event.
Rescue Remedy Pet Drops – A flower essence that supports emotional calm. Works beautifully paired with VetriScience Composure Pro Chews to address both physical tension and energetic overwhelm.
Zesty Paws Calming Bites – A treat-style option that’s tasty and great for daily maintenance or dogs with mild anxiety. Not as targeted, but an easy low-level starting point. This could be your first line of defense if you wanted to start at the lower level first.
Purina Pro Plan Calming Care – Ideal for dogs who get GI upset from anxiety (loose stool, gurgling belly, etc). This probiotic formula works over time to balance the gut-brain connection.
⏳ Some work best before the trigger. Others, like Composure, help support recovery afterward.
⚠️ Always consult your vet before starting supplements, especially if your dog is on medication.
🎶 4. Music, Crate Covers & White Noise
Sound masking helps soothe dogs sensitive to neighborhood noise, thunder, or busy households.
Calming music and white noise provide a consistent auditory background that helps prevent sudden noises from triggering startle responses. This can be especially helpful for dogs who react to doorbells, street sounds, or thunder. Music designed specifically for dogs often includes tempos that mimic a relaxed heartbeat, promoting calm and lowering arousal levels.
Studies have shown that classical music and species-specific tones can reduce barking, pacing, and other signs of anxiety. White noise machines work by creating a neutral sound environment, reducing the contrast between ambient silence and abrupt, alarming sounds.
Pair these tools with a crate cover to block visual stimuli and create a cozy, den-like retreat for your dog.
Top Picks:
🤸♂️ 5. Lick Mats, Snuffle Mats & Chews
Licking and sniffing are natural calming behaviors that stimulate serotonin and help dogs self-soothe.
Lick mats encourage repetitive licking, which has been shown to lower heart rate and promote relaxation in dogs. The act of licking activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping your dog shift into a "rest and digest" state. These tools are especially helpful for decompression after stressful events or for keeping a dog calm during grooming, crate time, or thunderstorms.
You can spread calming ingredients like plain yogurt, canned pumpkin, or natural peanut butter on a lick mat — and freezing it can make the experience last longer. This gives your dog a soothing outlet for anxious energy and can help create positive associations with previously stressful routines.
Snuffle mats work by engaging a dog's foraging instinct. Hiding dry treats or kibble inside the fabric layers encourages sniffing, which is both mentally enriching and neurologically calming. This activity promotes focus and reduces cortisol through scent stimulation.
Chews like bully sticks, collagen chews, or yak milk chews help satisfy your dog’s natural urge to chew. Chewing is not just physically calming — it also helps dogs process emotions and self-regulate when overstimulated or anxious.
Top Picks:
Use before, during, or after stressful events as a decompression tool.
❌ Affection Doesn’t Reinforce Fear
Many people worry that offering affection to an anxious dog will "reward" the anxiety. Here’s the truth:
If your dog is over threshold (panicking, trembling, unable to take food), they are not capable of learning.
Comfort at this stage isn’t reinforcement — it’s co-regulation. Your calm presence helps their nervous system settle.
Once they begin to recover and shift into attention-seeking behaviors, then you can get more strategic about how/when to engage.
Compassion is not weakness. It’s part of effective support.
🧠 Let’s Talk About Medications
For dogs with chronic, intense anxiety that doesn’t improve through training or natural tools, SSRIs may help. It is important to be working with a certified dog trainer, veterinarian and/or veterinarian behaviorist who can determine if this is the best course of action for your dog.
SSRIs (like fluoxetine) are prescribed by a vet for long-term regulation of anxiety.
They do not sedate your dog. They create mental space for learning.
There's no shame in using them. For some dogs, it's the only path to relief.
Compare this to event-based meds (like trazodone or gabapentin), which are used occasionally and work quickly but temporarily.
These tools don’t cure the root issue — but they can make the work possible.
🤝 Holistic Success Needs a Team
None of these products are one-size-fits-all. No tool is magic on its own.
True, lasting change comes when calming aids are used in conjunction with:
A solid, compassionate training plan
Guidance from a professional trainer
Medical support from a vet or vet behaviorist
An environment that helps your dog feel safe and seen
⚠️ Disclaimer
I am not a veterinarian. Please consult your vet before using any supplement, medication, or major lifestyle change for your dog. This article is intended for educational purposes only.
📆 Need Support?
If you’re overwhelmed or unsure where to start, I offer in-person dog training in Alpharetta, GA, and virtual sessions for clients nationwide. If your dog struggles with anxiety, reactivity, or nervous energy, know this: you don’t have to do it alone. Together, we can create a plan tailored to your dog’s emotional and behavioral needs.
I specialize in helping sensitive, high-strung dogs regain calm through a holistic blend of:
Positive reinforcement-based training
Personalized behavior support
Energetic and intuitive insight (when helpful)
I work with clients both locally in the Alpharetta area and virtually around the world. Whether you're dealing with mild nervousness or severe stress responses, we can craft a plan that supports your dog emotionally, physically, and energetically.
👉 Reach out today and let’s build a calm, joyful life for your dog — and for you.
💬 What Has Helped Your Dog the Most?
Have you tried any of these calming tools? Do you have a story or question to share?
Drop a comment below — I’d love to hear your experience!
Jackie Audette, CPDT-KA, GDMI
Owner/Head Trainer
Channeled Canine Coaching
channeledcaninecoaching.com
