Calming treats upset your Rottweiler's stomach?

Separation anxiety is one of the most distressing things for both dog and owner — and I want to be upfront that while products can genuinely help, they work best alongside a behavioural approach rather than as a standalone fix. That said, it sounds like you've already tried calming treats and hit a problem with your Rottweiler's digestion, so let's find something that actually agrees with him. Before I suggest anything, a couple of quick questions: how severe is the anxiety — are we talking whining and restlessness, destructive behaviour, or full-blown panic when you leave? And how long has this been going on?

That timeline makes a lot of sense — house moves are a genuine trigger, and moderate anxiety that shows up as vocalising and panting is very common in older, settled dogs who've had their routine disrupted. The digestive reaction to the treats is also really common with Rottweilers; a lot of those chews use ingredients like valerian root or high doses of L-tryptophan that can irritate sensitive guts, especially in larger dogs. Can I ask what treats you were using, and does he have any other known sensitivities — food allergies, a history of colitis, anything like that?

That's really useful. Given that his stomach is already on the sensitive side, I'd steer you away from any ingestible calming product for now — the risk of another flare-up isn't worth it when there's a non-ingestible option that works well for this kind of situational, moderate anxiety. My recommendation is the Adaptil Calm Home Diffuser. It releases a synthetic version of the pheromone mother dogs produce to reassure puppies, and it works on adult dogs too — particularly well for anxiety that's rooted in environmental change like a house move. You plug it in where he spends most of his time alone, and it runs continuously. No digestion risk whatsoever, no sedation, and there's decent evidence behind it for exactly the vocalising and panting pattern you're describing. It won't work overnight — give it two to four weeks — but for a dog whose anxiety has a clear environmental trigger, it's the most logical first step.

Good question — pheromone diffusers work by scent rather than body weight, so size doesn't affect how well they work. The pheromone disperses through the room regardless of whether your dog is 5kg or 55kg. What does matter is coverage area: one diffuser covers around 50–70 square metres, so if he has the run of a large open-plan space you might want two units, but for a normal-sized living room one is fine. The refills last about a month and are easy to find. One thing I'd add: pair it with some short, low-key departures to start retraining the leaving routine — even five-minute absences where you come back calmly. The diffuser lowers the baseline anxiety; the behavioural work is what changes the pattern long-term.

I think it's a solid choice for his situation. Give it a full month before you judge it — pheromone products tend to build gradually rather than produce an instant change. If you're seeing no improvement at all after four weeks, it's worth a vet conversation to rule out whether anything physical is contributing, but most dogs with post-move anxiety at his level do respond well. Good luck with him.