Hemp Calming Chews for Dogs - 110 Count (8.54 oz) Beef Flavored Anxiety Relief Treats - Helps with Separation, Barking, Stress & Sleep Support - All Breeds & Sizes - Perfect for Travel, Vet Visits & Thunderstorms

The back story...Our roughly 13 year old rescue pup used to love his crate. It was his cozy den, and the only place where he would get an extra special treat of his big 'Kong' toy stuffed with some peanut butter & crunchy treats. As soon as he saw that Kong being prepped, he'd dash off to our bedroom and wait for the crate door to be opened so he could go inside. When we put the Kong in the crate and closed the door he would immediately lie down and set to work on it happily, and it felt like he couldn't care less about us at the time (which we were always amused and pleased about). He would often be snoozing on the thick comfy bedding when we got home, and was never in a rush to be let out. When the door was opened, he would get up and just step his front legs out before having a good back stretch, then step out fully, say hello with a lick & 'wiggle butt' and then stroll casually out to the back door, waiting to be let outside.However, all that changed after he spent a week at the vet's kennel at Christmas 2021. He had stayed there over a number of different holiday periods during the 12 years we've had him, and it always seemed to go well, with no noticeable ill effects afterwards. Sadly, all that had changed after he came home after his last stay. We don't know what happened, but he's had some separation anxiety ever since. He doesn't want to go into his crate anymore, and he's clearly unhappy to be in there.How things were before trying these Hemp Chews...After calmly, slowly and gently persuading him to go in, he would get his Kong toy and lots of praise, but he'd just stand in the crate looking out at us rather than setting to work on his Kong. He would start barking a minute or two after we left the bedroom and it got quite frantic when we closed the front door. Unfortunately it continued for as long as we were able to wait on the porch so we don't know how long it actually went on for. When we got home he would be standing on the crate's plastic floor tray in a puddle of drool from panting so much, with the bedding all jumbled & rucked up on one side of the crate. He would sometime whine or 'yip' if we didn't let him out of the crate as soon as we got home, and when the crate door was unlatched he would almost push the door open in his haste to get out and trot off to the back door.Our vet suggested trying CBD or hemp chews for dogs, so that's what we did.We picked these 'Hemp Calming Chews for Dogs' to try first, and chose the Duck ones.The instructions suggest to give them on a regular basis, like a maintenance dose. Perhaps that would be the most effective option, but we're not willing to do that. We work from home, and we only have to leave our pup alone in the house once or twice a month on average. He's normally calm when we're at home, so it seems inappropriate to dose him with something when he doesn't need it. No one knows exactly how a dog feels, and we wouldn't want him to feel slightly loopy or sleepy all the time.2023 - July: Our experience, so far...We have tried giving our pup some of these duck flavor 'Hemp Calming Chews' three times, so far.He's about 67 lbs, which is near the top of their stated weight range for a dose of four chews. We didn't want risk more in case of an adverse reaction (some reviews mention vomiting...)First impressions are that the duck chews must smell and taste good to our pup because he would happily eat them all, given the chance.Test #1 - We gave him four chews about an hour in advance of our departure, and watched him carefully to see if there was any kind of reaction. Nothing - There was no noticeable difference in his behavior.Test #2 - Five chews - Again, about one hour in advance. No difference.Test #3 - Six chews - About one hour in advance. The six chew dose did seem to help a little. He was still not very keen on going into his crate, did not settle down with his Kong, and we heard him start barking as soon as we closed the front door. However, we sat on the porch listening, and he stopped barking after a few minutes. When we got home some time later, his bedding was a little less rucked up and there was less drool on the plastic tray from his panting. He wasn't in such of a rush to get out.We'll try seven chews next time. Keep your fingers crossed...If seven doesn't make much of a difference, I doubt we'd want to give him eight or more... We'll try a different brand instead, and try some crate retraining as well.I'll try to come back with an update sometime soon, and hopefully I'll be able to improve the three star rating to four or even five.