Fun Toys Help Treat Separation Anxiety

If your dog has separation anxiety, these are my dog’s three favorite toys for easing that anxiety. You’ll notice all three toys involve food/treats. That tends to be the only thing that keeps his attention when he’s being left alone. Most dogs with separation anxiety can be pretty inconsolable when left alone and something yummy can definitely keep them a little more distracted.

Buster Cube
This is my least favorite of the three toys but I include it on the list because the dog loves it, it’s very durable, and you can make it harder (or easier) to get the food out. So, why is it my least favorite? It’s noisy on our hardwood floors and it bonks into doors and furniture really loudly. It also rattles in a most noisy way–all because it’s a very hard plastic. That being said, if you’re going to use it when you’re not home, the noise won’t be an issue :-).

Tricky Treat Ball
I love this one! It’s soft, so it’s really quiet. And if he happens to roll it over my foot, or into my ankle, it doesn’t make me wince. It’s also been very durable. It’s impossible to clean, so you’ll probably need to replace it at some point, but our Lab hasn’t yet managed to chew it to pieces.

Kong
If you have a dog with separation anxiety, you must get a Kong (at least one!). Fill it with peanut butter and stick it in the freezer and it’ll last longer. You can also stuff it with yogurt or liver paste or anything that’s healthy for your dog (cheese!) and stuffable. We like the medium size even though we have a big dog (he has a large one, too), because it’s a little harder for him to get everything out of the medium ones. They have smaller holes and they also hold less. So, we typically stuff three medium Kongs with a smear of peanut butter (we don’t fill them–the peanut butter’s a lot harder to get out of the far end, so that’s where we stick it) and then we freeze them over night. The next day, he’s got three challenging Kongs to unstuff and is more than happy for us to leave him to his work. We’ve found this lasts longer for him than stuffing one large Kong fully.

So, there you have it, our dog’s three favorite toys that really help to ease his separation anxiety. We use all three, but if your dog has a milder case of anxiety, I’d start with the Kongs and then add on from there.

That being said, the Buster Cube and Tricky Treat Ball both make a great way to feed your dog actual meals and let him get a workout while he eats–this can help him burn off some energy which makes them a nice option for those days when your walk wasn’t as long as it should have been. So, you really can’t go wrong buying any of the three (or all three).

I’d love to hear if you’ve found any durable toys that have helped with your dog’s separation anxiety!