thundershirt?

[kimp5]

I was wondering if anyone has used them? My gal is a shaker and jumps at noises or anything. We got her at a year old and she lived with her show breeder that determined she was not aggressive enough to show..translation..shes a nervous dog! anyway has anyone tried the thundeshirt for just day to day anxiety?

[Maximo]

Based on previous threads and responses here, Thundershirts work for some dogs and not others, and in various situations.

Thundershirts do not automatically cure fear, but they can be helpful to some dogs in some situations.

A Thundershirt could be a helpful tool, but you definitely want to focus your efforts on training. Work with your girl like she is a new pup. Start exposing her to new things daily, or things that typically frighten her. Do it gently and use treat rewards and praise in your exercises.

Always maintain a confident, happy demeanor. Most trainers will say not to coddle or act reassuring, but I do a little with my guys. I trained them to understand, "It's okay" to tell them something is safe.

For example, both of my boys were scared of encountering unusual objects on our walks, like a new yard ornament in someone's yard, or a balloon attached to a mailbox, or an unusual piece of garbage waiting for pickup at the curb. I encouraged my boys to approach the object by saying, "Check it out! It's okay." If they got closer to the object, I praised them. If they touched the object with their nose, I gave them a little treat.

Exposure and positive experiences are key. The Thundershirt may be a helpful aid. It is almost like a warm jacket, so be careful using it when the weather starts warming up.

[Yorkiedaze]

We rarely get thunder and lightning in my area but a couple of years ago I did buy a little pink thunder shirt for my Razael who would shake to pieces when she heard loud noises, and every Wednesday when trash was picked up by those big noisy trucks. The Thunder shirt was such a blessing for her. It didn't stop her from jumping at the first loud bang, but she was able to shrug it off quite a bit and get on with whatever she was doing without shaking to bits. I put that shirt on her every Wed. after that for about 6 months. Now she's just fine with noises without the shirt. Anyway, it really did help her over that rough time.

[Patti]

Pixie developed a severe anxiety to thunder 2 years ago. She now is afraid of hearing rain against the house, a plane flying over. She's 7 so I don't know what started it. I got Pixie at 13 months also from a show breeder and she was very skittish of noises back then. The thunder shirt really helped with Pixie. I didn't think it would. Most times within 10 minutes she is laying down quietly. On the times when she is really bad, her vet gave me some natural calming medicine and the 2 really work. The thunder shirts are money back guaranteed so it's worth a try. I also think Maximo gave a lot of great advice. I am trying to get mine out more too. Good luck

[kimp5]

Originally Posted by Maximo

Based on previous threads and responses here, Thundershirts work for some dogs and not others, and in various situations.

Thundershirts do not automatically cure fear, but they can be helpful to some dogs in some situations.

A Thundershirt could be a helpful tool, but you definitely want to focus your efforts on training. Work with your girl like she is a new pup. Start exposing her to new things daily, or things that typically frighten her. Do it gently and use treat rewards and praise in your exercises.

Always maintain a confident, happy demeanor. Most trainers will say not to coddle or act reassuring, but I do a little with my guys. I trained them to understand, "It's okay" to tell them something is safe.

For example, both of my boys were scared of encountering unusual objects on our walks, like a new yard ornament in someone's yard, or a balloon attached to a mailbox, or an unusual piece of garbage waiting for pickup at the curb. I encouraged my boys to approach the object by saying, "Check it out! It's okay." If they got closer to the object, I praised them. If they touched the object with their nose, I gave them a little treat.

Exposure and positive experiences are key. The Thundershirt may be a helpful aid. It is almost like a warm jacket, so be careful using it when the weather starts warming up.

Thanks for the suggestions. It seems she is afraid of everything! She was bred for show so i guess she was isolated alot to keep her coat perfect. Now shes in a house with 4 kids and two adults and our house is pretty big so its alot to absorb. We first put her in the downstairs laundry room gated off at night but we have a second fridge and freezer in there and everytime it turned on she peed all over the floor. so now shes in the family room. When i go out I put soothing music on. I tell her its allright when she shakes and she usually calms down once we hold her....Ill try your methods too....http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by kimp5

Thanks for the suggestions. It seems she is afraid of everything! She was bred for show so i guess she was isolated alot to keep her coat perfect. Now shes in a house with 4 kids and two adults and our house is pretty big so its alot to absorb. We first put her in the downstairs laundry room gated off at night but we have a second fridge and freezer in there and everytime it turned on she peed all over the floor. so now shes in the family room. When i go out I put soothing music on. I tell her its allright when she shakes and she usually calms down once we hold her....Ill try your methods too....http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/images/icons/icon7.gif

A lot of trainers' books I have read saying "it's alright" or "you're okay", plus other soothing things to a shaking, fearful dog only reinforces to them that that reaction and their present state is approved of by you and they associate it with your praise as the right thing to do. I know - it goes against human nature not to do that but the dog trainers all seem to agree it's not good to soothe a scared dog that way. The trainers I read say it is better not to soothe a dog in the same way you would a fearful person but rather try to boost their confidence during that time by getting them up and active, playing tugowar, chasing their ball or giving them a treat-stuffed kong toy, asking them to do a little agility jumping - anything to redirect their energy off the fear and onto something they like to do. My Tibbe loves his obedience and agility training and when he acts fearfully, I get him busy jumping his little jump about 4" off the floor, or playing or chasing him which he loves. And I am saying very positive things to him, words that bring confidence and kind of positive associations with me, which kind of build me up and make me confident and he picks up on that. So we play and race around and jump, etc., while I am saying things like "Touchdown!", "Go get 'em, Tough Guy", "You're the Best!", calling him "hero", "champ", those kinds of positive words that I kind of say with gusto. It gets him pumped up and full of himself and he goes into a different state. I don't know if that will work for your baby but it sure does with my Tibbe. He was kept in a cage outdoors for the first 9 mos. of his life so he was a very fearful, especially of sounds, anxious, biting, screaming dog when I got him, totally unsocialized and everybody was his enemy. Now he loves people to death, is so well-behaved and 99% less fearful than he was. Sounds like an odd way to train a fearful, shaking dog but it has worked for Tibbe and all other fearful dogs I've ever worked with.

[kimp5]

Good advice..I cant do the playing thing right now as she is confined to a crate for a leg injury for 5 more weeks. I have tried the treat thing and maybe a chewy treat will get her mind off the nervousness..

[Maximo]

I'm sorry to hear she has a leg injury and I can imagine it is difficult having to limit her activity and keep her entertained.

How old are your kids? If your dog didn't have exposure to kids in her first year, that might be part of the problem. My dogs don't have much experience with kids and they are terrified of them. Children move quickly, play differently, and speak differently and this can be very scary to a little dog.

Max recently showed extreme fear of a group of a young teens who got off a bus and wanted to pet him. He never acts this way around adults. Younger children are even scarier to him.

[Yorkiesatwork]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

A lot of trainers' books I have read saying "it's alright" or "you're okay", plus other soothing things to a shaking, fearful dog only reinforces to them that that reaction and their present state is approved of by you and they associate it with your praise as the right thing to do. I know - it goes against human nature not to do that but the dog trainers all seem to agree it's not good to soothe a scared dog that way. The trainers I read say it is better not to soothe a dog in the same way you would a fearful person but rather try to boost their confidence during that time by getting them up and active, playing tugowar, chasing their ball or giving them a treat-stuffed kong toy, asking them to do a little agility jumping - anything to redirect their energy off the fear and onto something they like to do. My Tibbe loves his obedience and agility training and when he acts fearfully, I get him busy jumping his little jump about 4" off the floor, or playing or chasing him which he loves. And I am saying very positive things to him, words that bring confidence and kind of positive associations with me, which kind of build me up and make me confident and he picks up on that. So we play and race around and jump, etc., while I am saying things like "Touchdown!", "Go get 'em, Tough Guy", "You're the Best!", calling him "hero", "champ", those kinds of positive words that I kind of say with gusto. It gets him pumped up and full of himself and he goes into a different state. I don't know if that will work for your baby but it sure does with my Tibbe. He was kept in a cage outdoors for the first 9 mos. of his life so he was a very fearful, especially of sounds, anxious, biting, screaming dog when I got him, totally unsocialized and everybody was his enemy. Now he loves people to death, is so well-behaved and 99% less fearful than he was. Sounds like an odd way to train a fearful, shaking dog but it has worked for Tibbe and all other fearful dogs I've ever worked with.

Just today, I had to take little Maxie to the Vet to refill a prescription and for initial weight monitoring (he has severe collapsing trachea) and he began to shake and cough and honk til I was frightened that he might not catch his breath... I had read, too, that using their name, and trying to be soothing could actually make the situation worse. Out of desperation, I started rubbing his back and singing an old Girl Scout Camp Song pretty loud (my God, they would have put me away if anyone could have seen/heard inside my car) and he quit shaking and coughing. I sang loud, and cheerfully until we got home, and then he settled down on his own.
It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. Max has a Thundershirt, too. But with his condition, I'm reluctant to put anything around his neck or chest.

[yorkietalkjilly]

Originally Posted by Yorkiesatwork

Just today, I had to take little Maxie to the Vet to refill a prescription and for initial weight monitoring (he has severe collapsing trachea) and he began to shake and cough and honk til I was frightened that he might not catch his breath... I had read, too, that using their name, and trying to be soothing could actually make the situation worse. Out of desperation, I started rubbing his back and singing an old Girl Scout Camp Song pretty loud (my God, they would have put me away if anyone could have seen/heard inside my car) and he quit shaking and coughing. I sang loud, and cheerfully until we got home, and then he settled down on his own.
It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. Max has a Thundershirt, too. But with his condition, I'm reluctant to put anything around his neck or chest.

I am so glad that you found something that works for her! It is so wonderful to help them through those bad times.

It is so hard to know, because you so want to soothe and love them and coo to them but I guess I do buy into the so-called experts' advice not to coddle them but to keep them encouraged and strengthened when they get weak and scared. It breaks my heart when Tibbe has a panic attack when he hears a funny TV surround sound noise - those are his bogey's still - and I want to gather him up and just caress and talk sweetly to him - instead I have to start cheerleading him and acting like I'm his own personal ego coach. So goes against human nature to not but a wise old trainer once said "but they aren't humans and we must respect the ways of mother nature" and keep them from thinking it is okay to be frightened by loving on them or saying that it is "okay" and such when they are scared. He said that in the wild and in feral packs, there are no nervous or anxious dogs, just pack members and curs, who get culled from the pack and that the dogs don't react fearfully in that setting. He should know from all his work with them so I guess it is so. But Tibbe has sure come along way using the "experts'" advice. And I've seen it work with rescues, too. Hard, though.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by Yorkiesatwork

Just today, I had to take little Maxie to the Vet to refill a prescription and for initial weight monitoring (he has severe collapsing trachea) and he began to shake and cough and honk til I was frightened that he might not catch his breath... I had read, too, that using their name, and trying to be soothing could actually make the situation worse. Out of desperation, I started rubbing his back and singing an old Girl Scout Camp Song pretty loud (my God, they would have put me away if anyone could have seen/heard inside my car) and he quit shaking and coughing. I sang loud, and cheerfully until we got home, and then he settled down on his own.
It's so hard to know what the right thing to do is. Max has a Thundershirt, too. But with his condition, I'm reluctant to put anything around his neck or chest.

I think you did the right thing for your Maxie.

I too would be reluctant to use a Thundershirt on a dog with CT.

[Charlies Mamma]

We use thundershirt with Charlie. I have used it for the last couple years or so and there are times now that he doesnt need to wear it. Now it is usually if it is a storm with hail something loud continuously, there is no consoling him with words when he is upset about a storm but the thindershirt works well for him, Now I can tell you that it is NOT like the commercial you see on tv where the dog just lays down like theres nothing going on, but it does calm him allot compared to if he wasnt wearing it at all. and you need to make sure to get the right size its important that it fit snuggly around the girth of the chest.

[kimp5]

My kids are in the 9=11 range. She seems less scared of them than adults...she goes bananas when they come home on the bus...happy jumping, (which is a nono right now) tailwagging....Ill pick her up and take her upstairs and she will start shaking...It stops but I think she was just so used to the little laundry room she was kept in its tough. I had a behavior trainer come and she said "the transition would be equivilent to you moving from an 800 s ft condo into giant stadium and living in the center of it". We a good visual. I get it now..so we dont take her out of the family room much..even in her bigger cage she is shaky..Im looking for a cat igloo to le her crawl into in her larger cage while she recuperates. She is never so happy as when you tuck her in all snug in her fur bed.I cant fit that into her crate so she desnt get to use it unless she is supervised. I got up at 4 (she had the hiccups lol) and i let her pee then tucked her in. she was out like a light in two seconds..

[Dbqdogtrainer]

Yes! I'm a professional dog trainer and have knowledge of and experience with pressure wraps. I use them frequently in my work with fearful dogs.

It is important to understand that the Thundershirt is a later introduction, a knockoff if you will of the the original Anxiety Wrap that came out in 2001, eight years prior to the marketing of the Thundershirt.

The Anxiety Wrap is a much better made and more effective product. It has been shown in clinical studies to be highly effective in reducing anxiety. In my own practice I have never seen it not work.

In addition to being a professional dog trainer, I am a registered nurse and have worked with people with autism in one of my most recent positions. We know that pressure works to calm people with autism, much like it does animals, based on the work of Dr. Temple Grandin. The Anxiety Wrap is unique in a number of ways, but one way is that it works both through acupressure and maintained pressure.

It is important to use it as directed by the manufacturer, however. Usually I recommend that people consult a veterinarian and qualified professional trainer, preferably one who is familiar with the product rather than just getting the Anxiety Wrap and hoping it will be a solution to whatever ails their dog, but in your case I think you will see an improvement with just the wrap. I would still recommend consulting a qualified trainer or behaviorist to assist you with any anxiety issues your dog is having.

Read this article I wrote for information on how the Thundershirt compares to the original Anxiety Wrap. While the Thundershirt, that fits pretty much just like a snug fitting dog jacket, undoubtedly has some effect, it has not got near the therapeutic effect of the original Anxiety Wrap.

[Maximo]

Originally Posted by kimp5

My kids are in the 9=11 range. She seems less scared of them than adults...she goes bananas when they come home on the bus...happy jumping, (which is a nono right now) tailwagging....Ill pick her up and take her upstairs and she will start shaking...It stops but I think she was just so used to the little laundry room she was kept in its tough. I had a behavior trainer come and she said "the transition would be equivilent to you moving from an 800 s ft condo into giant stadium and living in the center of it". We a good visual. I get it now..so we dont take her out of the family room much..even in her bigger cage she is shaky..Im looking for a cat igloo to le her crawl into in her larger cage while she recuperates. She is never so happy as when you tuck her in all snug in her fur bed.I cant fit that into her crate so she desnt get to use it unless she is supervised. I got up at 4 (she had the hiccups lol) and i let her pee then tucked her in. she was out like a light in two seconds..

I'm glad to hear she loves your kids, and that you have discovered what makes her happy.