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A comfortable bed ensures that your dog sleeps soundly, but rest doesn’t come easy for every dog. From situational anxiety triggered by thunderstorms or unexpected houseguests to general nervousness or hyperactivity, some dogs need extra help to settle down enough for sleep.
Enter calming dog beds: typically donut-style beds with bolstered sides, soft materials, and heated or self-warming designs, purported to soothe anxious pups. There’s been a lot of hype—but do calming beds for dogs really work? How much can one cozy cuddler do?
To find out, we talked to Dr. Chyrle Bonk, DVM, a veterinarian at Senior Tail Waggers, about what makes a calming dog bed effective and how you can decide if it’s a worthwhile investment for your pup.
What Are Calming Dog Beds—and How Do They Work?
Calming dog beds are specifically designed to soothe symptoms of stress and anxiety in dogs. They’re typically made from soft materials with special features like supportive memory foam bases, bolstered sides, and cave-like shapes to help your dog feel safe and secure.
But some pet product manufacturers use the term “calming” loosely. Not all products marketed as calming beds for dogs are effective as such. Dr. Bonk stresses the importance of matching the bed to your dog’s individual needs.
“Calming dog beds are made as a way to reduce anxiety and stress in a dog by providing them with a safe and secure spot where they feel comfortable and protected,” she says. For some dogs, that means a bed that “gives them a place to hide. For others, that means that it’s warm and inviting, and for others that means it’s snuggly and confined.”
Types of calming dog beds
In many cases, identifying the trigger for your dog’s anxiety or nervousness is the key to choosing the best bed—and there are a range of features to choose from.
Features | Benefits | Example |
Light or small bolsters |
|
The PetFusion Ultimate Lounge Orthopedic Dog Bed was a popular pick among our testers. |
Overhead covering |
|
The Snoozer Orthopedic Cozy Cave Bed comes in a huge range of sizes, including options large enough for tester Big Boy. |
Faux-fur |
|
The Best Friends by Sheri Calming Dog Bed won big with our separation-anxious test pups. |
Self-warming donut design |
|
The Petmate Aspen Pet Self-Warming Round Bed is designed with a mylar interior to reflect warmth back inward. |
Orthopedic mattress |
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The Casper Dog Bed comes in three sizes with a removable, machine-washable cover that our testers appreciated. |
Beds with raised edges give your dog something to lean against, helping them feel safer as they snooze. Almost all “calming” beds feature them—but how high your bolsters should be depends on your dog’s sleeping style and needs.
Dog beds with low bolsters are particularly beneficial for senior dogs who like something to brace against as they sleep—but not something so high that they have trouble getting in and out of the bed. Low bolsters can also benefit brachycephalic breeds, who often appreciate a place to rest their head that keeps their airways open.
Other beds, as Dr. Bonk notes, “surround a dog with softness and padding that makes them feel like they’re sitting on your lap.” Plush, high-bolstered designs simulate the feel of a mother or littermates and provide plenty of padding and an indented center for burrowing. These are especially handy for dogs dealing with separation anxiety, since they simulate the feeling of safe company.
Covered or cave-like dog beds take it one step further, helping skittish dogs feel hidden and secure. These are especially popular among anxious smaller breeds and burrowers, whose instincts may drive them to seek cover when uneasy.
There are also self-warming calming beds that reflect your dog’s body heat to produce a warm and inviting place to rest. These are especially popular for senior, thin, and short-furred dogs who run cold, as well as pups who live in chilly climates.
For dogs whose anxiety is a side effect of a painful condition like arthritis, Dr. Bonk suggests a bed with a memory foam base that “helps to support and relieve painful joints and therefore reduce anxiety from pain.”
What the Experts Say About Calming Beds for Dogs
According to a 2020 study involving 13,700 Finnish pet dogs, over 70% of dogs experience some degree of anxiety. Dog parent survey responses indicated that about 32% of dogs studied had noise sensitivity, the most common trigger being the sound of fireworks. About 29% of dogs in the study displayed signs of general fearfulness.
Though there is little research to confirm the calming benefits of specific dog beds, veterinarians like Dr. Chyrle Bonk agree that they have potential. Dr. Bonk suggests these beds “can be put in a quiet, out of the way spot where your dog knows to go when they need a little break.” The design of the bed itself should be catered to your dog’s preferences.
Anecdotally, our test pups agreed—though it took time, all three pups who tried the Best Friends by Sheri Calming Dog Bed saw gradual changes in their behavior and a greater degree of comfort with separation from their humans.
But while our experts believe a calming dog bed can help soothe anxiety and nervousness, they acknowledge that they’re not a cure-all, especially in severe cases. The beds should be paired with training, veterinary care, and additional methods of treatment. “You should also take your pup to the vet to make sure they don’t have a health condition, like arthritis, that could be causing anxiety,” adds Dr. Bonk.
Even if your vet clears your dog of underlying health conditions, training is an important element in relieving stress and anxiety.
More solutions working together gives you a better chance of relieving an anxious dog’s stress. “If those together don’t work,” Dr. Bonk suggests, “look into weighted blankets or vests, Thundershirts, or pheromones.”
Final Verdict: Do Calming Beds for Dogs Work?
For Dr. Bonk, it’s a yes. If you have a dog who has trouble sleeping due to anxiety, pain, fear, or nervousness, then a calming dog bed might help create a soothing environment conducive to relaxation and rest.
But while calming beds for dogs can work to alleviate mild anxiety or nervousness, Dr. Bonk notes that “calming dog beds should not take the place of training or a vet visit.” Desensitization training may be particularly helpful for dogs with specific fears or phobias.
We think calming beds are a great option for any dog, but they may be particularly beneficial for:
- Dogs with mild to moderate anxiety
- Older and arthritic dogs whose pain affects sleep
- Hyper pups who need a calming space
- Dogs with noise phobias or situational anxiety
- Stressed dogs struggling to adjust to changes in the home
While all dogs deserve a comfortable bed, the features which characterize calming dog beds may impact their durability. That’s one reason a calming dog bed might not be the best choice for:
- Super chewers and shredders, who need more durable beds
- Dogs with severe separation anxiety
- Pups prone to accidents, who need easy washing and waterproofing
How We Chose
We selected the products featured here based on a combination of our own hands-on testing, comprehensive analysis of customer reviews across a wide variety of retail platforms, and interviews with veterinary experts.
We prioritized calming dog beds made with soft materials and other features that help dogs feel safe and secure. Our picks are also influenced by the experience of living and playing alongside our own much-loved and strongly opinionated pets, who are never stingy with their feedback.