Before I began recommending calming collars to my clients, I wanted real proof that they were effective.
One of the most reliable studies I found was published in The Veterinary Record and is available on the U.S. National Library of Medicine (PubMed Central).
The research is titled “Efficacy of dog appeasing pheromone (DAP) for improving the behaviour of hospitalized dogs showing signs of stress.”
In this study, veterinarians observed forty-three dogs that were hospitalized for more than four days.
Half of the dogs were exposed to a diffuser that released a synthetic copy of the pheromones produced by mother dogs.
The other half were given a regular diffuser with no pheromones.
The staff and owners did not know which dogs were in which group so the results would be accurate and unbiased.
Each day, the researchers carefully recorded how the dogs behaved.
They looked for signs of anxiety such as pacing, barking, trembling, licking, refusing food, hiding, and peeing inside their cages.
After only thirty minutes, dogs that were exposed to the pheromone started to appear calmer.
They barked less, moved around less, and were able to rest more easily.
Two of the biggest improvements were in pacing and excessive licking, which almost disappeared in many of the dogs.
Over the following days, their behavior continued to improve while the dogs in the placebo group remained tense and unsettled.
The researchers concluded that the pheromone helped reduce separation-related and hospital-related anxiety in dogs without any side effects.
What impressed me most was that these changes happened in one of the most stressful environments possible, a veterinary hospital.
If pheromones could help dogs relax there, they could certainly help dogs at home during separation from their owners.
This study and several others since then confirm that pheromone therapy is a safe, natural, and effective way to help dogs feel calm and secure again.
It does not sedate them or make them dependent.
It simply reminds their brain of the feeling of safety they once knew beside their mother.
My Recommendation for Every Loving Dog Owner
