Is giving my dog rawhide a good way to release energy?

My Pit is aggressive and barks at people who walk by my house. He has made a lot of progress but still barks. If he ever got out it would be the end of him. I got him some rawhide to calm him down and it works very well. My question is: Is it a temporary release of tension or will it lead to him being calmer without the rawhide? Will he learn from the rawhide along with other techniques I use?