thundershirts

[daisy]

hi not sure i have posted this in the right area! i have been told about thundfer shirts they are coats that put pressure on the nervous system and are meant to comfort dogs who are scared of thunder. i am thinking of getting one as i have been told sedating my grey with acp deos not help her problem as it leaves them aware of the problem. i have also been told to use valium as this ibetter for them. can anyone help? we had a bad storm last week and i work in basildon and live in southend. i got home to a blood splattered home with her limping around torn carpet. and in such a state of collapse i thought i was going to loose her. shes also got a heart murmer only mild but i am desprate to help her. i am also looking at t touch therepy? anyone heard of these or recommend anything other then dap diffusers and clonicalm?

[suethejam]

Now, it's well worth talking to the vet about this and getting a plan together for how to manage her fears. We own scaredy boy Ty who was terrified of thunder/fireworks so we've benn working on his fears - he's much better with loud noises at home but he's still a scaredy jelly boy away from home - we'a work in progress!

Here's what we've done:

- we made sure he had a safe place or den that he could go to - he likes our small bedroom with a high sided soft bed and a desk under whihc he can hide his head, Some people find an open cage or wardrobe/broom cupboard works
- we got a desentitising 'noises' CD to get him used to loud noises - this really helped with fireworks night
- if we're expecting loud noises e.g. thunder forecast we leave the radio on and close the curtains in his den room - sometime they anticipate the bang if they see the flash
- we've got him on regular zyklene - an alternative therapy for dog anxiety - we're not sure whether this is working but it's worth a try. Our plan is to try this first then swap to DAP in a few months time if we don't think that the Zyklene is working
- for fireworks night we had a programme of medication, starting a fortnight before the event - he had propranolol and phenobarbitone which calmed his anxiety bfore the bangs started - he coped very well...
- we do have a supply of valium which we use when he's really scared on our boat (long story) - we have to be careful with dose and give him just enough to keep him from panicking but not so much that he's drowsy or wobbly on his feet.
- we're careful not to make too much a fuss of him when he's anxious - we'll give him a fuss if he's comes up to us for a cuddle but if he's in his den mainly we leave him alone - making a fuss of them when they're showing an excessively fearful reaction can reinforce the behaviour and make things worse.

I've not tried the thundershirts but some people try just wrapping their dogs in a T-shirt - a cheaper thing to try first!

I hope that helps - we found it tremendously helfpul to talk things throught with the vet and
have a plan. Ty's is very much a work in progress but I do feel that wee've got the fear of loud noises under control at home.

Good luck with it all and so post again if you want advice/reassurance or pm me for infor ont he vetinary medicines we've used.

[yvonned]

I'm having a problem with Cass and I'm not sure if it isn't air pressure that is effecting her. There can be no sign of a storm or rain and she trembles, salivates and is unable to settle as she does in a storm. This goes on for hours. I've tried Bach Rescue remedy on her and it doesn't touch her, nothing I do helps, I don't fuss her but I don't know what else to do. I thought of the thundershirt but if there is a storm she wants to keep going outside in the rain which i let her do. She was scared of fireworks when I got her but we overcame that with Rescue Remedy. Any ideas?

[angela]

I got one of these thundershirts for Ruby as she started weeing when we left her again. Ruby had really bad SA when she first came to live with us, we have it under control now, but my work hours changed and that upset her, so we thought we would try the thundershirt. As it turned out Ruby ended up being incontinent so the thundershirt would not of made any difference, I have not tried it on Charlie yet as we have not had any thunder storms, it is a lot of money for what it is, but I have heard good reports about it.

Angela

[yvonned]

I've been trawling round the web to try and find answers to the air pressure/thunderstorm thing and I'm almost sure on one of the sites I visited it said you shouldn't leave a thundershirt on a dog if you aren't there with it. There do seem dogs that are affected by low air pressure, Cass certainly is, I used to get migraines when the weather was heavy. The search goes on, I found quite an interesting site (still can't do links) www.theotherendoftheleash.com dealing with air pressure and storms.

[yvonned]

Honestly I never put that link in

[leefizz]

www.ehow.com/about_6133833_storm-anxiety-dogs.html


Hi Yvonned, found this. Fizz used to get a bit restless before a storm when I first got her but luckily grew out of it. Hope this helps.


Lee

[yvonned]

Thanks Lee, I'm sure it's air pressure with Cass. The link that came up on my previous post didn't link into a sort of forum where people posted about their dogs with similar/same problems. I googled migraines and low air pressure, and some people use an ionizer or humidifier and say they help. So I'm going to go to our local hospice electrical charity shop to see if they have any ionizers in and have stuck bowls of water around the house to see if that helps.
Yvonne

[yvonned]

Thought I'd revive this thread. Is anybody else having problems with their dog at the moment. Cass has been bad since the middle of last week, I've noticed it 's when those low dark clouds are hanging under the white clouds in a nice blue sky. It definately isn't the noise of the thunder, there was one isolated clap last week and she didn't flinch, it's got to be either static or low pressure. She lies on a rubber backed cotton mat trembling. panting excessively and salivating when the episodes are going on, they can last from 30 mins to 21/2 hrs and it's awful to watch. She doesn't normally lie on this mat, so I guess she must be getting some comfort from it. Because air pressure is low at the moment this has been happening every day since Thursday sometimes 2 or 3 times a day. Any thoughts or experience. Thanks Yvonne

[sueb]

Sorry to hear about Cassie, Yvonne.
I've not come across this, although my oldest daughter reported Bren was quite bad this afternoon, even though there was no actual thunder around. Not sure whether it would then work with Cassie if it's a pressure thing, but Bren really takes some comfort from going in a den- we make a kind of tent with chairs, blankets and his sheepskin rug, so its quite dark in there- it seems to calm him quite a lot- with a bit of rescue remedy, too.

I've just consulted my bible (retired greyhounds for dummies) they say the usual things re thunderstorms, but also says " rub his coat with a fabric softener dryer sheet to decrease static- a common result of thunderstorms & one that dogs learn to associate with storms." The author's American, but I'm assuming she means those sheet things you bung in the tumble dryer, ( but not having one, I'm not really familiar with). Might that be the reason she's going to a rubber mat to lesson the static?
I feel for her as over here (Wanstead) there's some really grim, dark clouds rolling in....

[yvonned]

Thanks for coming back to me Sue. I've tried a den and she won't go into it, it's happening every day at the moment and feel so stressed watching her. I bought some tumble dryer sheets but there was a warning on the back about possible skin irritation so didn't use them. The search goes on.

[leefizz]

Hi Yvonne, I remember ages ago on the one show there was a dog expert on there and she recommended an ace bandage. I think you wrap it around the dog in a figure eight. She was using it for fireworks, but might be worth a try. Similar to thundershirts but cheaper. Hope Cass is okay.


Lee