Did you know that over 70% of dogs experience anxiety? We want our pups to be healthy and happy, not anxious.

If, like many dog owners (including us.), you’d rather use natural treatments to help alleviate your pet’s anxiety, it’s worth looking into aromatherapy.

It’s not uncommon to use essential oils for dog anxiety; we’ll discuss the best ones to use and other natural remedies to help calm your pup when they aren’t at their best.

Wondering if there are alternative treatments for your dog’s anxiety? Our calming and wellness CBD chews might be exactly what they need.

Related: How to Calm Dogs During a Storm

20 Essential Oils for Dog Anxiety

The Animal Desk Reference, written by certified aromatherapist and veterinarian Melissa Shelton, discusses various essential oils for dog anxiety and different ways to use them to help your pup relax. 

Now, let’s explore 20 essential oils for dog anxiety recommended by the expert:

Ylang Ylang essential oil can help calm doggy anxiety due to nervousness and insecurities with its relaxing, sedating scent.

Valerian essential oil is ideal for dogs who are skittish and get anxious from noise, new environments, and separation. It’s fantastic for relaxing and managing anxiety levels.

Tangerine essential oil is another favorite of ours; it smells amazing and works well for insomnia, anxiety, and depression. This essential oil benefits us as much as our pups.

Spikenard essential oil is a calming, grounding aromatherapy option that helps with emotional healing, making it useful for dogs and humans suffering from conditions like PTSD.

Sandalwood essential oil offers calming stress relief that can also curb aggressiveness and help your pup get to sleep more easily.

Sage essential oil, particularly Clary Sage, has various benefits for us and our dogs, including producing a calming, sedating aroma. It’s one of our favorites when we need to relieve some stress for the whole household.

Rose essential oil is stabilizing and calming, useful for reducing fear, panic, nervousness, and anxiety. The rose scent promotes relaxation; however, it’s one of the most expensive essential oils.

Patchouli essential oil promotes calmness. Remember, with this oil, less is more — a couple of drops in a diffuser will do the trick.

Orange essential oil is an extremely popular calming fragrance, perfect for reducing anxiety and uplifting your pup’s mood. It’s also great to use as a fabric freshener for your dog’s bed.

Myrrh essential oil has a comforting, earthy aroma that can help ease anxiety due to pain. It also promotes an overall relaxed mindset to create a calming, warming environment.

Marjoram essential oil can help ground and relax your dog by soothing excess energy and aiding with digestive issues.

Mandarin essential oil has a sweet, relaxing scent that helps dogs feel less fear, stress, and panic — all stressors that can lead to anxiety. It’s also great if you have restless dogs and can’t seem to sleep; the Mandarin aroma creates a soothing environment for everyone at home.

Lemon Balm essential oil is usually a bit more expensive than other options, but it works amazingly to help relieve stress and anxiety.

Lavender essential oil can reduce stress, shock, fear, and agitation in dogs. However, many lavender essential oils are synthetic, so it’s best to use it with a diffuser rather than using it on your dog directly.

Geranium Bourbon essential oil is fantastic for balancing moods, minimizing feelings of fear, and releasing nervous tension, all of which can lead to doggy anxiety.

Frankincense essential oil can help reduce feelings of depression and promote a calm mentality. Plus, you can blend it with other essential oils to amplify their effects.

Citronella essential oil has many uses, including repelling those pesky mosquitoes, which is what this scent is most known for; however, the refreshing smell can also help relax your pup.

Chamomile essential oil is great for calming aromatherapy to soothe anxiety. You can also use chamomile herbs (not the essential oil) as a dog food additive to help your pup relax after dinner.

Cedarwood essential oil is one of our favorites; it naturally repels pests and also has relaxing effects that can help alleviate your dog’s anxiety and stress.

Bergamot essential oil helps soothe irritability, frustration, and feelings of panic. It can also reduce loneliness and insecurity, making it especially useful for dogs with separation anxiety.

There are various ways to use these essential oils for dog anxiety, including:

• Water diffusion
• Petting your dog after putting diluted essential oil on your palms
• Diluting essential oil in a spray bottle and spritzing your dog
• Adding the essential oil to their paw balm, shampoo, etc.

Related: How to Calm Down Hyper Dogs

3 Other Ways to Promote Canine Calmness Naturally

If aromatherapy doesn’t work for your pup, or you want to try some other options, these three natural supplements can help relieve their anxiety:

Natural Herbal Remedies

Various herbs can help soothe your pup’s anxiety:

• Valerian is one of the most widely used and recognized herb for relaxation. It’s safe, gentle, and great for calming nerves. Valerian is great when your dog gets anxious from too much excitement.
• St. John’s Wort is a natural, effective antidepressant alternative for people. It’s also safe to use for dogs that suffer from separation anxiety or anxiety due to noises like fireworks and thunder.
• Chamomile, as we mentioned earlier, can help your dog relax and soothe their nervous stomach when anxiety hits, thanks to its gentle sedative effect.

Bach Flower Essences

The essences of specific flowers can help restore emotional balance, making them ideal for calming down an anxious dog and reducing their stress.

We recommend a well-known blend called Rescue Remedy that you can find at most health stores; it contains:

• Star of Bethlehem
• Rock Rose
• Impatiens
• Clematis
• Cherry Plum

CBD Chews for Dog Anxiety

Many pet owners have turned to CBD over the past few years as a natural way to help their pets with various health issues. But does it work?

A ground-breaking study from earlier this year found that a single dose of CBD can help relieve stress and anxiety in dogs.

CBD treats and chews are fantastic for dogs with situational anxiety. They start working quickly, so you can give them one before a storm hits, before you leave the house, or prior to a long car ride.

Curious if CBD chews can help your dog with their anxiety problems? Find out today.

Related: Hemp vs. CBD for Dogs