Quote:
Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly  Distraction and keeping things business as usual are very useful tools for helping dogs learn early to cope with things we anticipate they might fear. As an older dog, if noise anxiety and panic develop, it can be a tougher campaign to deal with it without drugs or tools such as the Thundershirt and one has to remain very calm oneself. You really have to work to keep them fully engaged and distracted throughout the coming and ongoing event and it's a long slough to keep and rivet an older dog's attention for that long or be able to teach them to self-calm, whichever works best for the dog. Playing loud, upbeat music and dancing around with the dog, chasing it playfully, works for others - anything that keeps you and the dog otherwise engaged and of course, good old boiled chicken if they will take a treat during the storm can work wonders, too. Just like with Wallee, we can sometimes train them to keep busy and ignore the background storm and after a few times of that, they stop fearing it. |
That's just it... I thought I was being calm, lol! I've tried all the tricks, from loud TV and music, trying to keep them occupied with play, toys and treats, to ignoring them and just going about my day. I even put us all to bed to see if that would help. Even bought storm CDs to desensitize them. I really don't have outright fear of storms, more like respect though.
I've been around animals all my life, owned dogs and cats, broke baby horses to saddle and the Starting Gate, exercised race horses, worked mainly with problem horses, and Vet tecked for years handling mostly cats and small dogs, some problem big dogs, snakes and other reptiles. And birds.
Also true I did not have any of my current pups as puppies, all came as adults.
Then Sapphire, who initially was good with storms, started to pick up on Tink's craziness and Finny's nervous fear and become a wreck herself, I felt I had to do more.
I bought one Thundershirt, being a skeptic, that would fit two dogs, just in case it didn't work with one dog, I'd have it for the other.
Tink wants to go out and attack the noise, she does this with airplanes flying by and fireworks. Finny becomes a shaking, panting, inconsolable bundle of nerves and climbs her way onto my lap, where she continues to shake and pant, or onto DH's head.
The storm this morning was bad enough that they would have started their normal storm behaviors. I looked down at my feet and there's Finny snuggled in, not even panting! Tink did bark on and off, but an alert bark, not her constant beying to get out. Sapphire, I think, picked up on their calm, and mostly just followed me around, a little more than normal, and only slightly fearful. I think she was also confused by the others' lack of reaction. Hopefully this trend will continue, if not I'll buy Sapphire her own TS.
Can I say Thundershirts also work on dogs who have never worn one? Lol!