Thundershirts do they work? ??? They've been mentioned on a couple of threads and I was just wondering how good they were? This isn't for my dogs. It's for my cousins little rescue dog Harry. He is absolutely terrified of fireworks. Last year she'd left him in his pen saturday afternoon (can't be left inside trashes the place) and unfortunately was later back than she'd planned. It was a few weeks after bonfire so she thought it would be ok. Unbelievably loud fireworks started going off and at about 7 30 I got a panic phone call was Harry with me? Some how he'd got out of his pen. We were all out searching fields, barns etc but gave up about 10 pm He turned up at home at 1 30 am a bit grubby but fine. ;D Harry is a lovely dog so easy, gentle and obedient unless he gats a rabbit or pigeon then he's a terror of a terrier. : I had thought about trying a DAP collar but they aren't that much cheaper and only last 4 weeks I assume the thundershirt lasts a long time. Advice would be greatly appreciated Jen
Re: Thundershirts I have not used one, but we are considering getting one for our dog, he gets quite stressed in certain situations. The other thing you could consider is a Ttouch wrap, we have also looked into these for barley. We have some DAP spray but it does not work for our dog, and it is very expensive so i would not reccomed it
Re: Thundershirts I havent ever used one, but I did use the T Touch massage on one of my dogs who became very anxious when her long time companion dog died, it seemed to help her to relax . The other thing I found very useful , from Dorwest Herbs, was Skullcap and Valerian tablets , again they seemed to ease stress and anxiety , good luck
Re: Thundershirts There is an article that looks at the evidence for the efficacy of pressure wrapping as a treatment for anxiety in dogs It does discuss the thunder shirt This website is usually fairly thorough about researching their topics, but the article is a couple of years old, so, there may be more evidence that has come out since then . Pippa
Re: Thundershirts Thanks all. That article is very interesting Pippa thank you. I found a Caesar Milan video clip about Thundershirts. He suggests for them to have any chance of working the dog should get used to the feeling of them while it is in a calm state so hopefully when the shirt is put on in an anxious state it associates the feeling of it with calm. I will pass all this info onto Pat and see what she thinks. I think trying the Dorwest Herbs might be the best idea thanks Kate. The shirt and the DAP are expensive especially if they are not going to work. Thanks for the advice on the DAP annabelle. I'd thought about trying the spray in the car for my two don't think I'll bother now. Thanks again Jen
Re: Thundershirts I know a couple who very successfully used the Thundershirt for their Rottie who was persistently sick in the car - worked for them whilst other things didn't. As far as fireworks go, I think the CD de-sensitising is the best I heard. I think was it Julie who used it for Charlie? I know others who have used it too
Re: Thundershirts Yes, I used the CD with Charlie - although he didn't have a known problem, it was a sort of belt and braces preparation as we were in a house with a firework pitch outside (the harbour) and I was super keen he was ok with fireworks. We did the rest of the CD too - building noise, things falling on the roof, gunshot, trains etc. He definitely became accustomed to the noises. But he wasn't ever really nervous I don't think, more interested and excited. If he hears fireworks now, he immediately jumps up and demands chicken...as he got a lot of chicken for watching fireworks for the first few times :
Re: Thundershirts Ooh Julie what is the CD called please?, my two don't like the sound of fireworks and bark at the windows, but probably a bit too late now : Helen x
Re: Thundershirts [quote author=charlie link=topic=2886.msg30032#msg30032 date=1381771507] Ooh Julie what is the CD called please?, my two don't like the sound of fireworks and bark at the windows, but probably a bit too late now : Helen x [/quote] It's a clix CD, I think (it's in Cornwall, I forgot it when I came back from London) - the name was something like "noise and sounds". I bought 2 CDs, but can't for the life of me remember what the second one is called. There is a thread somewhere with Pippa or Karen giving me the reference, I'll see whether I can find that.
Re: Thundershirts I recommended the CD for fireworks on here , got mine from Amazon and it does work at treat . Sam couldnt care less about any noise , Millie is an unknown entity as yet but one of my dogs was terrifed and the CD was great x
Re: Thundershirts Will get Harry the CD thanks. So far (2 years) my 2 haven't batted an eye lid at fireworks even when they've seen them so fingers crossed it could still all go pear shaped knowing them. :
