Pet Naturals Calming Chews Review

I am, by no means,a dog expert. My brother, sister, and I grew up with family pets (fish, hamsters, birds, a dog) but never found closeness with our family pets until we got our second family dog, Lucy. She is a Yorkie and Scottish Terrier mix, just like my Pugsley. When she was a pup, she was very Yorkie-esque. As she grew older, she lost the dark brown tones in her coat and ended up a 20 lbs sandy coated mutt and we love her.

Pugsley, her nephew and my first dog (that I am raising outside of our family home), is all black with patches of white on his paws and chest. He’s more of a Scottie. I was convinced I wanted Pugsley because by then, we have had Lucy for almost three years and she was an angel – still is – but an occasional garbage digger, but still an angel. She knew how to show you she cared, she was loving, and most of all, she listened.

Pugsley taught me so much,  and really crushed all my fantasies of having an obedient smaller version of Lucy. No all dogs are made the same. Naive to believe so, I know. I learned everything as he developed, from vet visits to outdoor adventures.  Pugley hates the outdoors. He barks incessantly when we take him outside, and continues to do so until he’s got it all out of his system. This goes on for about 10 minutes. People stare or look around for that dog who is just a nuisance. Other things throw him off, too – visitors (he can tell when someone other than the house regulars are entering the house), children (he’s a jumper), etc. Pugsley feels most comfortable in his kennel and in our room. He could stay here forever, if he wanted.

I decided to stop in at Cornerstone Pets during my lunch break to inquire about ways I can keep my dog calm. At this point, I was almost desperate enough to consider buying the Thunder Vest. This really knowledgeable woman in the store suggested Pet Naturals of Vermont Calming Chews for small dogs. Again, I’m no expert on dogs or dog food/treats, so I take this huge risk by inquiring at trusted local stores.

I was excited to try these treats, but was disappointed to find that the main ingredient wasn’t a chicken liver base, but rather, was a chicken liver flavored chew. Twenty-one came in a pack,and I’m guessing that these chews are something akin to vitamins (active ingredients: B1, L-Theanine, and Colostrum Calming Complex) combined into one pill and should promote/support stress reduction. I don’t give it to Pugsley often, as I don’t want his calmness to be solely based off of a vitamin chew, but I do give it to him when it comes time to groom or bathe him. I would say that in general, it works, but I can’t see a huge difference. In general, Pugsley is a pretty chill dog when we’re home. He likes to sleep and cuddle by our feet. Like most pets, though, they get worn out after a tiring or stressful event such as grooming (for my dog at least) and tend to chill out, relax, and knock out. So is this the dog chew working? I’m not sure. I’ve given it to him before an outing, and still, he goes bizerk.

Final Rating: 3/5 – It seems to mellow him out (especially at home during grooming), but not enough for Pugsley’s bigger agitations, such as the great outdoors.