Best Dog Toys for Separation Anxiety 2024

The Snuggle Puppy is perfect for puppies with separation anxiety, providing comfort when they're home alone. With a "real feel" electronic heartbeat and heat pack, this plushie imitates your pooch's littermates, helping reduce anxiety and loneliness.

One of the downsides of the Snuggle Puppy is you'll need to replace its batteries and heat pack, and strong chewers could rip it apart. That said, if your dog isn't much of a chewer, the Snuggle Puppy is easily one of the best toys for settling your pup's nerves.

• Available colors: Brown, Brown & White, Golden, Light Brown

Keeping your pup entertained while alone is one of the best methods of lowering their stress levels. If your four-legged friend is food-motivated (whose pup isn't?), then a snuffle mat is a wonderful distraction. Simply hide a few treats in the snuffle mat and let your dog sniff out their tasty snacks.

The Pet Life Snuffle Mat is unique because it features several different puzzles for your pup to solve—perfect if your barking bud is a bit of a brainiac. Another useful feature is its anti-skid backing, which ensures the mat won't slide around while your pup hunts for treats.

• Available colors: Gray/Red/Blue, Blue/Pink/Orange

Check out Maxbone's Bonnie Bunny Plush Toy if you're looking for a durable, high-quality comfort toy for your pupper. Made from soft, silky fabric with solid stitching and detailed embroidery, it works as a cuddle buddy and a chew toy. 

If your pup loves noisy toys, you're in luck — Bonnie Bunny includes a robust squeaker to encourage play. The only real drawback of the Bonnie Bunny Plush Toy is it's on the small side, making it better suited to pint-sized pooches.

Kongs are classic for a reason — they're one of the most durable dog toys and can be filled with various tasty treats to keep your canine busy. You can even freeze Kongs with treats inside, providing a long-lasting treat for your mutt.

Wag! 's Head of Partnerships & CSR, Kaitie Edel, highly recommends Kong toys to your couch pup-tato:

"We love using Kong toys to stuff treats into, slather in natural (xylitol-free) peanut butter, and even freeze in a bowl of water/low-sodium broth mix as stimulation or as a high-value reward! They're basically indestructible so great for outdoors, too!"

• Available sizes: X-Small, Small, Medium, Large, X-Large, XX-Large

Nina Ottosson is the undisputed queen of puzzle toys, and her Dog Worker Puzzle Toy is ideal for keeping your pooch busy while they're on their lonesome. The puzzle is simple yet deceptively tricky — your pup must slide blocks, turn flippers, and spin the lily pad wheel in the correct order to reach their reward.

Able to hold a quarter cup of treats, the Dog Worker Puzzle Toy can keep your canine companion busy for hours. It's an advanced puzzle, so it'll take your doggo some time to figure out how to get their treats.

Chewing alleviates stress, so it's wise to provide your pup with a strong chew toy if they have separation anxiety. The Nylabone Power Chew Dog Toy is designed for aggressive chewers, so you can leave it with your pooch unsupervised, safe in the knowledge they're less likely to chew bits off their toy.

One of the best features of the Nylabone Power Chew Dog Toy is its two different textures with ridges and nubs to clean your dog's teeth. Plus, it's beef flavored, to encourage your dog to chomp down on this chew toy.

• Available sizes: Small, Large