I just adopted a puppy beagle mix and we are in the separation anxiety phase where he cries at night, cries when crated, cries when ignored, etc. He is getting used to being with just me or alone and not surrounded by his litter mates anymore. Also, being a beagle mix, his bark is like an air horn. PIERCING. He is super smart and adjusting quickly, but I thought this might help with crate training, anxiety, and separation barking. Normally this is the type of thing I would think is snake oil, and while they aren't prohibitively expensive, they aren't cheap for something that is questionable... But because of the overwhelmingly positive reviews and the fact that they are made in the USA, I decided to give them a try.
REACTION:
I gave him one the first night just to see how he would react. He wasn't stressed or misbehaving, just normal puppy hyper, but it was getting late and I didn't really think this was going to work so I decided to just give him one. He is still a puppy, only about 8.5 lbs or so and just barely old enough to meet the recommended age listed on the packaging, so per the instructions I only gave him one. He seemed so-so on the taste and I don't think he cared for how soft and almost gummy they were, I could tell he was trying to get it out of his teeth for quite a while afterward. But he still ate it and has eaten them with no problem since, other than sticking to his teeth a little. They also don't have a strong smell, so not stinky duck breath.
The video was before taking the chew and about 20 minutes after taking the chew he was laying around, about another half hour and he was fast asleep. He was so sleepy that it startled me a little, he seemed like I seriously drugged him. I had to give a dog a sedative once many years ago before flying and it reminded me of that a bit. But like I said, he is a little guy and the recommended dosage is for anything under 25lbs, and he is like 34% of that weight limit so it probably hit him harder than other dogs closer to 25lbs. Next time I will only give him half before we start crate training and separation training.
I probably wouldn't recommend giving this to your dog unless they have serious anxiety issues or you know you are about to embark on something stressful. Even when he isn't on the chews, he is taking better to crate and separation training. Like he knows he has done it before and it wasn't that bad (when he was on the chews) so he isn't so stressed about it now. I also think these would work great if they are having minor and temporary pain, trouble sleeping, trouble travelling/flying, trouble adjusting to a new pet, etc. I wouldn't give them to a dog everyday as a supplement unless they really needed it, because it does seem to "calm" by making them very tired, and I want him to have a personality, play, run around, burn off that puppy energy, get his exercise, etc. but this has been a huge help during his transition and a great product to have on hand as part of a first aid or just-in-case kit!
It says to give 1 every 24 hours for his size and the sleepiness seems to wear off after 8-10 hours or so, and he is a bit calmer but back to playing and running around after that. So this has been great for keeping him accident free through the night, but he seems bit groggier in the morning and less focused on potty time outside, so he'll pee outside then come upstairs and poop within a few minutes after he's a bit more awake. He is super young and we're working on house training so it isn't a huge deal or totally unexpected.
SHOULD YOU BUY IT?:
Honestly, if you are looking for something like this to help calm a nervous or stressed pet and not just to drug them so you don't have to deal with the challenging aspects of pet ownership, then yes I would definitely recommend these chews! This could also be an affordable and tasty alternative to prescription medication if they are in that middle ground of not doing well on their own but not so bad that they need to be on prescription meds from the vet.
I've seen other made in USA ducks chews on Amazon listing the exact same ingredients and MGs for a good $5 cheaper, they also have great reviews just not nearly as many. I'm going to try those after he is done with these because I'm guessing it might be a private label situation, I just wanted to go with these because they seemed like more of a sure thing. Even when he calms down as he gets older, I think these would be a great thing to have on hand just in case!