I brought home Max Sr as an 8-week old puppy and placed him in his crate the first night. He howled and whined the entire night. After speaking to my vet the following day, I was given the recommendation of placing a small desk clock or analog clock with a towel wrapped around it to mimic a mama dog’s heartbeat. He also advised playing soothing music. This worked.
Nowadays, with everything digital, it’s hard to find a small analog anything. This concerned me as we were preparing for our newest addition, Mollie. We knew she would be an anxious dog on the day we brought her home.
Eventually, I settled on the Smart pet Love Snuggle Puppy. It’s a dog toy with a heartbeat. It’s billed as an anxiety solution for dogs. And the pricing is reasonable.
Buy the Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy at these websites:
This is a furry, dog-shaped stuffed animal with a little pocket to insert the provided “heart” which is battery operated (with an on/off switch). The heart has 2 options: continuous and timed. I only used the timed method but apparently, the batteries will last 2 weeks if left on continuously. I have yet to need to replace the batteries. That’s pretty outstanding if you need to leave your puppy alone for longer periods throughout the day.
The Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy also came with a heat source that lasts about 8 hours (similar to a Hot Hands hand warmer) to emit heat as a mama dog would.
I did not regret purchasing this snuggle pet. It’s the best puppy anti-anxiety toy I’ve found yet. After the first 3 weeks, we no longer turned the heartbeat on. Now it’s just something to snuggle with. However, there have been a few puppy outbursts where Mollie grabbed her “mama” and tugged on it like a chew toy. Speaking of chew toys check out our latest review on the toughest dog toys.
The Snuggle Puppy is also machine washable in case there are any accidents. Just make sure to take out the heart before washing.
After 2 months of owning the Smart Pet Love Snuggle Puppy, when it’s time for bed I tell Mollie to “Go lay with mama” and she scurries to her crate for the night.