Guest english.ivy Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 I'm asking for my Mum. She has a 6 year old English Pointer who has all of a sudden got a storm phobia, it hasn't rained much in Perth in recent years, until this year. Even when it rains and no thunder, she associates rain with thunder and she's gone. Shivering mess. She's been seen by a vet and they suggested medication, Mum doesn't want to medicate. So I told her about thundershirts but I don't know if they really work? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldenGirl85 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 They do, but you need to do the work before hand and introduce it right. Its definitely worth a shot before medicating Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkhe Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 My mum bought one for her incredibly anxious dog and it works wonders for him. She didn’t do any preparatory work at all – just bought it on a whim while in America, and was completely shocked and amazed at how much calmer her dog is. I didn’t believe it until I saw it.. I'm sure their value and impact varies on a case by case basis, but they get a thumbs up from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dju Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 It puts Hugo in a coma when I put it on him. All dogs are different, maybe you should try a tight t-shirt first, it's essentially the same thing. I didn't do any prep work with it either, just gave him a treat and slapped it on him. The effects were instant--immediate snugglepuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dancinbcs Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 They definitely work but you can try a small kids t-shirt first which will work just as well before investing in a thundershirt. Just gather up the the shirt at the back to make sure it is snug against her chest. With a sudden phobia with no obvious cause (like having been outside in a severe storm), her general health should be investigated. My girl, I lost to cancer in June developed a sudden fireworks phobia last year at nine. She was still fine with storms but became very frightened of fireworks. I used a t-shirt on her last New Years Eve with success but the cause of a the phobia turned out to be a brain tumour, secondary to her cancer in the chest. Sudden onset of noise phobias can have a neurological cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darlingdog Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I have a 7 year old highly storm phobic pointer....thundershirt did not work for him and I have gone the medication route...xanax a couple of hours before the storm...fine in theory for obvious reasons LOL!! When I get the timing right it works great...now if I could just predict the exact time the storms will hit..... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Ok, I know nothing about thundershirts, what are they? How do they actually work?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest english.ivy Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 She's always been a timid dog, Pointers are, but this is the first real winter/spring storms Perth has had. Mum is one to rush her to the vets so she has a clean bill of health. The vet did suggest Xanax, which is what I take myself but Mum wants to try and not medicate her. But she will if nothing else helps. Thanks, I'll tell Mum to put a tight t-shirt on her and see if that does anything. There is a storm hitting tonight so I'll make sure Mum puts a t-shirt on Jaffa as soon as she gets home today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raffikki Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Ok, I know nothing about thundershirts, what are they? How do they actually work?? How it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lavendergirl Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Oh if only it worked every time! Did nothing for my boy's SA but apparently works better for storm phobia. You won't know until you try it As others have suggested try a snug t-shirt first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerJack Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I have two thundershirts for two of my littlest dogs. THey do not eliminate anxiety but do downgrade it I find. The first girl, a rescue mini foxie is terrified of storms. She shakes badly, starts to drool and tries to get into cupboards or small spaces. With the shirt on, I then place her in a crate and she settles down and copes fine. She still shivers occasionally but doesn't have the look of sheer terror on her face. She will also manage to just sit near me on the couch with the shirt on but prefers her little crate hidey hole. Considering that I used to sit and hug her to me really tightly to settle her, the thundershirt works on a similar principle. The second boy is a tiny little maltese rescue boy. I think he must have been locked in a cage and had bad experiences as he is a shocker for anxiety and sort of like separation anxiety when I crate him if he comes along with my other dogs to trials. He squeals like he is in a panic, digs at the door, licks the door, and shakes madly. He has rolled the crate doing this. With the thundershirt on it downgrades to just licking the door. She noise and the frantic digging at the door stops. Until he sees me come back anyway, then it is just an indignant smack at the door to say 'oi, get me out of here right now.' No more panic though. I have tried easing him into crating, I use them with my other dogs alot but this little one is determined never to settle down in there. For my two, it doesn't eliminate the stress but it helps make it a little more bearable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzzy82 Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I would try to the ttouch wrap as well. It's done with a bandage, so it's a lot cheaper than the thundershirt, and it's supposed to do the same thing. I have used it on my dog who's terrified of going in the car, but the thing is he keeps trying to rip it off and to stop him doing that and to calm him down, I end up just rubbing him for about 10 minutes anyway, and I know from past experience that that alone calms him down enough that he doesn't vomit in the car. So not sure about the actual effect of the wraps and shirts etc, if simply calming them down will do the same job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodbyne Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Soory for my dog did nothing total waste of money. Gave it to a friend to use on her belgian shep same result did nothing. We thought it was worth a try but total waste of money in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roova Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I have to say I didn't get a result from mine either. They look quite uncomfortable with how tight they are but my girl didn't seem to mind wearing it, just no noticeable difference in anxiousness Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 It really depends on how anxious they are, I think, and quite possibly has something to do with what's going on with their chemical balances as well. Who knows? Ours puts Erik into a coma instantly just like Hugo. It's gold for times when Erik has got himself worked up barking at things and is having trouble settling. Put it on and he goes to sleep. It doesn't work if he's REALLY worked up and upset, or if the stimulus he is reacting to is ongoing and keeps getting him aroused again. He barks during storms, and the Thundershirt does help take the edge off and he can be more relaxed, but because he's getting excited every time there's a clap of thunder, it kind of undoes most of the good work. If it was more of a case of him getting worked up anticipating a storm and the actual storm was made a whole lot worse by the anticipation, I think it would work much better, because it would bring him down in that anticipatory phase when the thunder is still distant. But he doesn't even react when the storm is distant. He barks when it's loud. Different problem to most thunderphobes, I think. I'm really impressed with the Thundershirt. It's not a miracle cure for all anxiety related problems, but for some things, it's just what Erik needs. Massage does much the same thing, but obviously takes a bigger commitment, and it takes longer to work. If the thundershirt didn't work for a specific problem, I wouldn't throw it away or ditch it completely. It can be used for over-arousal in general, and you never know when you're going to have something happening around you that your dog turns out to be upset by. I've considered getting one for Kivi just to have on hand, even though he's about the most chilled dog I've ever met. You just never know when it might come in handy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 Ok, I know nothing about thundershirts, what are they? How do they actually work?? How it works Wow. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sllebasi Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 I love mine and it works fantastic on my dog, best money I have spent Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staff'n'Toller Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 She's always been a timid dog, Pointers are, but this is the first real winter/spring storms Perth has had. Mum is one to rush her to the vets so she has a clean bill of health. The vet did suggest Xanax, which is what I take myself but Mum wants to try and not medicate her. But she will if nothing else helps. Thanks, I'll tell Mum to put a tight t-shirt on her and see if that does anything. There is a storm hitting tonight so I'll make sure Mum puts a t-shirt on Jaffa as soon as she gets home today. Surely if the valium works, and is only given during rain periods, and the dog is calm rather than being a mess for hours and not understanding why.... I'm not for medicating without trying other things first and I think there is plenty of positive anecdotal evidence for T-touch wrapping. But your Mum has to consider the dog's well-being rather than her own thoughts on medicating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sheena Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 Clean Run have thundershirts on Free Shipping at the moment http://www.cleanrun.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=product.display&Product_ID=2510&ParentCat=449 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dxenion Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 We have one for our thunderphobic 11 year old GSD girl. No prepatory work, just put it on her and shook our head in amazement at the difference it made. Used it about 4am this morning. Java woke me up trying to get on the bed, wide eyed and panting rapidly due to the thunder. I got up, grabbed the shirt, put it on her tightly (looks like an overstuffed sausage) and then went to the kitchen for a drink. I was only gone about 30 seconds but in that time she had completely calmed down, had put herself back to bed and was nearly asleep. Worth it's weight in gold for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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