Top 10 Best Dog Anxiety Coats, Vests and Shirts

Reviewed By Kim •  Updated: 10/27/19 •  11 min read
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Much like humans, dogs can suffer from anxiety, and it can often be for similar reasons. For example, some dogs might not like loud noises, being left alone, or other stressful situations. If left untreated, anxiety in dogs can lead to a range of more serious problems, much like it can in humans. So what can you do if you think your dog has anxiety? One solution is a dog anxiety coat, which isn’t dissimilar from the concept of weighted blankets for people. Essentially a dog anxiety coat is designed to fit tightly around the dog’s body, which is a soothing feeling and helps massively with stress.

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Many dog anxiety coats can be used while walking, but always make sure you still use a proper dog harness or collar too. The main features to look out for are size, fit, materials, and safety features like reflective trim if you’re going to be walking in the dark. To help you make a good choice in this saturated market, here are some of the best currently available.

1. Comfort Zone Calming Vest for Dogs

This vest from Comfort Zone is designed for small to medium dogs, but will fit up to a 29” chest, which will be fine for plenty of dogs. It’s fitted with special compression technology that’s comfortable, but still gives a feeling of support around the dog’s chest and back. The vest is made of soft but stretchy fabric, so it’s really easy to get a good fit on your dog.

To put the coat on your dog they need to step into the leg holes, and it then fastens shut across the back with velcro. The manufacturers claim this dog anxiety coat helps with problems like thunder and fireworks, but also for things like being left alone. The edge of the vest is hemmed with reflective tape so it’ll give your dog some level of visibility when walking, but the vest itself is gray, which might not help.

2. Mellow Shirt Dog Anxiety Wrap

This anxiety coat will be much easier to put on your dog, particularly if they’re wriggling because they’re scared or stressed. Rather than the dog stepping into it, it fastens around the neck and stomach with velcro. This makes it much easier to get on and off, which is always helpful. Having 2 velcro straps also means you’ve got much more adjustability over the sizing, allowing you to get a tighter fit if needed.

The anxiety coat is made from a lightweight fabric that still gives the soft feeling of pressure, but it’s also breathable and comfortable. This means that your dog won’t get too hot wearing it. The coat is machine washable, which is another helpful feature. It comes in several sizes, and will fit dogs weighing up to 110lbs. It also comes in a wide range of colors, so it won’t be difficult for you to find one you love.

3. AKC Anti Anxiety Calming Coat for Dogs

If you’re going to trust any company to produce a quality dog anxiety coat, it’s going to be the American Kennel Club. This coat is perfectly designed to swaddle your dog, and helps with problems like stress, anxiety, and separation issues. It has 2 hook-and-loop fastenings: one across the chest and one across the stomach, which gives you plenty of adjustability in size and fit. It comes in a range of sizes, so make sure you check the measurements first.

The coat is made from soft fabric that’s chemical free and machine washable. It also has a slit in the back so it can be worn over a harness and leash, but just be careful if you decide to walk your dog at night wearing it. Although it comes in several colors, none of them are particularly bright, and there’s no reflective edging. However, other than this small issue, this AKC anti anxiety coat is a great choice.

4. Furubaby Anxiety Dog Coat

Rather than doing up with velcro, this dog anxiety coat is a pullover design. It’s made with stretchy fabric that includes spandex, so it’s pretty easy to get on. However, this does mean that it doesn’t fit as tightly as some other models on this list, particularly after it’s been worn a few times. It also means you’ve got to be more careful with sizing when you buy, so be sure to check the chart provided.

One benefit of this coat is that it’s designed to cover much more of the dog’s body than others. This obviously helps with swaddling, and means it’ll be a good choice if you’ve tried a normal anxiety coat and it hasn’t worked. This dog coat can be worn easily under a harness, and has a reflective strip around the neck for extra visibility in low light conditions. The coat comes in a range of vibrant colors and several sizing options.

5. Thundershirt Classic Dog Anxiety Jacket

Thundershirt have an interesting design for their anxiety coat. Rather than being the same materials all over, it’s got a stretchy fastening strap across the stomach and then heavier material over the back. This helps create the weighted swaddling feeling that actually works to calm your dog down. This also means the coat has a much sturdier feel, which means it should last a lot longer too.

The fastening straps still use Velcro, but the stomach strap wraps round several times for a tighter and more secure fit. There’s also a strap around the neck for extra support and adjustability. This dog anxiety coat comes in a range of sizes, and will fit dogs as small as 15lbs and as large as 130lbs. It only comes in one color though, and this isn’t very bright, so just be careful if you decide to use this while walking at night.

6. Agon CozyVest Dog Anxiety Vest

This dog anxiety vest comes with a range of features that no others on this list have. The most notable of these include a lavender and chamomile pendant, a music player, and a compression band. While these features might sound impressive, their actual benefit remains to be seen. The pendant is definitely a helpful feature, although you might find you want to take it off after a while to give your dog a break. The music player can be helpful during fireworks or thunder, but your dog might not like it.

The actual dog vest itself is a pretty standard design, and has hook-and-loop straps around the chest and stomach. This helps you get a good fit on your dog, and also give them the swaddling sensation that calms them down. It comes in several colors, some of which are nice and vibrant, and a wide range of sizes. This anxiety coat goes all the way up to XXL, which fits dogs heavier than 110lbs, so there’s plenty of choice. As always, make sure you check the sizing chart before ordering.

7. Eagloo Dog Anxiety Jacket

Eagloo have made their dog anxiety jacket out of a neoprene style material, meaning it has a stretch and also helps massively with the compression sensation you’re looking for. This makes it really helpful at calming anxiety, and is also a great choice for over excited and hyperactive dogs. One downside is that it doesn’t have any reflecting details, so isn’t suitable for use at night, or on walks in general because you can’t put a harness underneath. It’ll be fine with collars though.

This anxiety vest has been made really simple to use, as it fastens shut around the neck and stomach, but opens up really wide. The stomach strap has 6 individual hook-and-loop fastenings, which make it really secure. This also helps gets a really good fit on your dog, and means you can apply the right amount of pressure to calm them down. This dog anxiety jacket comes in a range of sizes, fitting dogs from 18” chest to 35” chest. However, if you have a smaller dog you’ll obviously have to look elsewhere.

8. Furubaby Anxiety Coat for Dogs

One of the best features of this dog anxiety coat from Furubaby is that it comes in extra small, which is suitable for dogs as small as 5lbs. Considering it’s surprisingly difficult to get dog anxiety coats that go this small, that makes it a good choice for those with small dogs that suffer from anxiety. The coat is made primarily from viscose, but also has spandex, so it’s breathable and has plenty of stretch. Not only does this help with fitting, it also helps with putting the coat on.

Like most other models, this dog anxiety jacket has hook-and-loop fastenings around the chest and stomach for security. However, unlike some other models, the fastenings aren’t as secure because they only use a single piece of Velcro. While this won’t be a problem with small dogs, it will be with larger ones. It comes in a range of colors, some of which are very bright. This anxiety coat can’t be worn over a harness, but will be fine to be worn with a collar and leash. Considering options are generally more limited for small dog owners, this is a fair choice overall.

9. Urijk Dog Thunder Shirt and Anxiety Relief

This anxiety coat from Urijk is designed to fit snugly, rather than having any stretch in the material like some other models. This means it does a pretty goo job of applying pressure, but also means you have to be more careful with the sizing when you buy. Like most other models it’s got hook-and-loop fastening straps around the chest and stomach. The stomach strap has three Velcro strips, which means it’ll stay nice and secure once fitted.

One of the benefits of this less stretchy material is that it’s got plenty of breathability. It’s also incredibly lightweight, making this a good choice for wearing in the summer. It’ll also be a good choice for wearing in the house and car, and allowing your dog to stay cool is useful when you’re trying to keep them calm. This anxiety jacket comes in 5 different sizes, so you’ll have plenty of choices. Similarly, it comes in 4 different colors, some of which are nice and bright.

10. Thundershirt Anxiety Dog Jacket

Thundershirt have designed this dog anxiety jacket to perfectly apply pressure to your dog’s back and stomach, which does a great job of calming them down. In fact, the manufacturer claims to have an 80% success rate in calming dogs down, which is higher than many competitors. Another great feature is the fact that it can be used on its own with a leash, meaning its ideal for use when walking. To make this better, it’s also got plenty of reflective badges for added visibility.

This anxiety vest comes in several different sizes, with plenty for small dogs. This makes it a great choice for those who are struggling for the right fit. It has hook-and-loop fastenings around the chest and stomach to help get a good fit, and the material itself also has a bit of stretch in it. Overall, this is a great anxiety coat for most dogs, but particularly for small ones.

11. Kingswell Dog Jacket for Anxiety

This anxiety jacket, unlike others, isn’t designed to fit tight around the dog’s body. However, it’s still able to provide them with the swaddling sensation they need to calm down. It’s also got plenty of reflective straps for extra visibility while outside. The coat also comes fitted with a secure pocket that you can use for storing treats or poop bags, which saves you having to carry them.

This jacket comes in several different sizes, and is bright orange for extra visibility. However, while this jacket is nice and lightweight, it does nowhere near as good a job as the heavier and more compressing ones. This is realistically little more than a coat, but will still probably be fine for dogs who just want the feeling of something on their backs.

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Kim

Kim is a talented author, who loves animals especially dogs. She engaged in writing books and articles relating to animals a decade ago. Kim resides in Chicago with her husband and son. The family is the proud owner of a dog and a parrot (Jack and Lily). Kim wanted more than these two pets, but her husband put his foot down... She often visits elementary schools to talk to the kids about what she learned about pets and how they could learn from them.

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