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My dog has anxiety and barks. How can I calm him without meds?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Australian Shepherd | Male | unneutered | 2 years and 5 months old | 65 lbs

My dog has terrible anxiety but my vet won't prescribe anxiety medication for him. We live in a small mobile home community with very close neighbors. His barking is resulting in noise complaints. If the wind blows, there's a loud noise or he hears kids playing outside, he will start pacing the floor, barking, running around like crazy, his eyes get super dialated and bloodshot, and we can't get him to calm down unless we can catch him and hold on as tight as we can. What can I do for him?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 8th, 2017

Poor Capo! It does sounds like he has terrible anxiety. I can give you a few things you can do at home for him. Loud noises can be very scary for dogs. One important thing to do to when your dog acts scared is not to reassure him. We think we are comforting him when we do that, but it's actually reinforcing the behavior and telling him it's ok to be scared. I recommend getting him a thundershirt to wear when he starts to appear anxious. These have been reported to help dogs with anxiety. You can put him in a dark quiet room by himself to self-soothe. You can also turn on the TV or music to block out the sound. Finally, you can consider get a pheromone diffuser called DAP that helps dogs with anxiety. If these things do not work, then I would have Capo seen by your vet again (or another vet for a second opinion) to get him some anti-anxiety meds.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Poor Capo! I'm sorry hear that he's having this problem - anxiety issues like this can be very frustrating to deal with. It does sound like anti-anxiety medication might be helpful for Capo, but only a veterinarian who has examined him in person can make this determination and prescribe meds. If you disagree with your current vet's opinion, you can seek a second opinion from another veterinarian in your area, or request referral to a veterinary behaviorist for a more complete evaluation and a comprehensive treatment plan, which would include medication if the behaviorist feels that it's appropriate. You can search for a board-certified veterinary behaviorist in your area here: www.dacvb.org In the meantime, you could try a DAP pheromone collar along with a natural calming supplement like Zylkene or Composure to see if this helps - these will likely not be as effective as prescription medication, but may take the edge off of his anxiety a bit for now.

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