How to Help an Anxious Dog Settle at Home

Many dogs feel anxious at times — during storms, when visitors arrive, or when they're left alone. Here are practical ways to help them relax. Severe or sudden anxiety deserves a vet check first, since pain and illness can show up as behaviour changes.

Keep a predictable routine

Dogs feel safer when they know what's coming. Feed, walk and play at similar times each day, and keep departures and arrivals low-key.

Use calm, absorbing activities

Licking and chewing are naturally soothing for dogs. A lick mat spread with wet food or plain yoghurt can turn a stressful moment — a storm, a nail trim, you leaving — into a calm one.

A stuffed, frozen KONG works the same way and keeps many dogs busy for a long time.

For dogs that need to chew hard, a durable nylon chew gives a safe outlet.

Give them a safe space

A cosy bed in a quiet corner, or a covered crate the dog already likes, gives an anxious dog somewhere to retreat. Many nervous dogs love beds with raised sides they can curl into.

Exercise and sniffing

A tired dog is a calmer dog. Walks with plenty of sniffing time are mentally tiring in a good way. Puzzle toys at home do the same.

Practise short absences

If your dog struggles when you leave, practise very short departures — a minute, then a few minutes — and build up slowly, giving a lick mat or KONG as you go.

What not to do

• Don't punish anxious behaviour; it adds fear.
• Don't make big emotional goodbyes and greetings.

When to get help

If your dog is destructive, injures itself, or can't settle at all, talk to your vet. They may refer you to a qualified behaviourist, and some dogs benefit from medication alongside training.