thunder terrors... I have it, but she has yet to need it, while my last beloved surely could have used it her whole life, but they weren't available or I hadn't yet heard about them... Ironic, I guess, as I hear they work quite well.


I think it is well worth the $$ to give it a try.

My 100lb dobie mix is terrified of storms, fireworks, any loud noise. Cowers, pants, etc. Put on his shirt, he is much more calm. A friend's doxie had back surgery and had to be created for weeks while he recovered, and having never been crated it stressed him out completely. I told her about the shirts, she ordered one, and it settled him right down. It's amazing how something so simple can bring such relief to some dogs. They work so well, my vet now sells them in his office.

works well
but I had wanted to check out thunder shirts, so glad you asked.

To add:
Here are reviews of them on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Thundershirt-Anxiety-Treatment-Large-Heather/dp/B0028QK6EY

She's never been afraid of storms, but she can be extremely hyper. When we first got her she was totally nuts, very frenetic, especially at night. I think she'd been a reservation dog and really didn't know how to be a house pet/still thought every noise was coyote danger/thought the kitties were handy, enclosed, huntable snacks!

We got her a thundershirt and it worked like a charm. When we put it on, she would kind of pace around a little and then curl up on the couch, nicely settled down. Now we call the Thundershirt her Magic PJs. When she's too hyped up as the household is settling down for the night, we wrap her up. Some nights we don't even have to wrap her, we just pull out the shirt and she's all like, "Oh! Right! It's time to settle down now!" And she does.

I'd totally recommend it for any one dealing with dog anxiety problems.

...Oh, and she doesn't think the kitties a snacks any more. Now she wants to play with them and totally can't understand why they want nothing to do with her.

when out for our walks (plus it has the advantage of keeping them warm during winter walks). They were very skittish about noises, movement, etc.. These helped a great deal, and I imagine the Thundershirts would work as well.

sorry about the image quality:

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if it'd help during thunderstorm or if it just makes her feel weird and doesn't want to move? Still anxious but doesn't want to move, if that makes sense. I'll have to try, thanks for the idea.

but I have seen on DU somewhere that you can make your own but just modifying a regular tee shirt to fit the dog snugly. It seems that they work by giving the dog a feeling of being held or touched, and any snug shirt would work. You might want to save some money by trying this first.

I care for lots of little dogs and for some the Thunder Shirt works like a charm. It works the way a full body hug works for someone who is Autistic. Calms them right down. But for some dogs the fear of thunder is more behavior based and they need to be desensitized to the noise and trained to be less reactive. It's worth a try to see how it works for your dog.

He is a Border Collie/Brittany mix rescue (had been abandoned on the freeway at 6-9 months!) who has been with us for a year and a half now. He was terrified of a LOT of things at first, but he is much better about most things. He is still a very anxious dog, though, and when he is either 1) afraid, or 2) excited, he pees. It's weird, but cooing over him in a sweet voice (women especially) scares him and makes him pee. If you use a normal tone, he's fine. Makes me wonder if some sweet-talking woman abused him when he was a little one. Weird.

He is also fearful of other people when they come over to visit, which is worrisome because he exhibits fear-based aggression and I don't trust him, so we have to confine him away from our guests (which sucks!). We can't take him to the dog park any more either (which also sucks!), because he is afraid of other dogs there and growls at them. Our other dog, Fionna, is a Border Collie who grew up in our home. She's the same age as Seamus they're both 2 1/2 years old now), but she was here first. She has none of these problems, and is very well socialized, both with humans and other animals. He loves her to pieces (they get along great) and us as well, but any other people or animals make him anxious and sometimes aggressive.

Someone mentioned it helped with pulling on the leash. He does that, too, and none of the usual fixes for that behavior have worked with him. For instance, if you turn around and go the other way, he just thinks we're going somewhere else now. Stop completely and he just is confused and anxious. He doesn't ever seem to understand any of this (he did not inherit Border Collie smarts, poor baby) at any working level. The special no-pull harnesses don't work on him, either.

So... do you guys think this might help him? I'd try anything to get him to stop being so anxious.

Meds + gradual socialization can work wonders for fear aggression.

but hate to do that to him if there might be another way.

valium?

Everything that applies to people taking this drug applies to dogs as well. The first week or so you might see an increase in anxiety before it gets better so you would want to be extra careful. I had a dog who's life was completely changed by Prozac and a fun agility class. He went from a "rebel without a cause" to the mayor of the neighborhood. After about three years we decided to gradually take him off (these meds only work for a few years) and he transitioned perfectly.

I would be afraid to mess with meds like Valium and a dominant aggressive dog but a dog suffering from anxiety treated with Prozac is common. Check with your Vet if you decide to look into it.

Because there are many generic forms of Prozac, you can get your dog his own pharmacy card and the pill only cost 3.99 a month.

our dog Ruby is terrified of thunderstorms, she's a pointer/pit mix so she's got a bit of size to her but will try to squeeze herself into any corner or small space she can, shaking like a leaf the whole time

and Rescue Remedy. Five drops on a piece of bread, and he is calm and relaxed. We buy it at our local "supplement/health food" store.

http://www.bachrescueremedypet.com/

Both have been great investments! Good luck with Rudy.

We'll get the Thundershirt for Rudy.

If it works, fine. If not, it's not a huge investment.

I just want him to be unafraid of lightning and thunder.

storms. Stink has never been outside; she was dumped on us when she was way too young (she is 13 now)...she has always thought of "outdoor world" kind of like a fascinating TV. We have to put her in a closet or gitmo the few times it has been unsafe for her to sit and stare out a window...one time during a tornado, she frankly had to be shut in a linen closet to keep her from going to the large windows to stare out.

Scout was a stray...I guess because of the cat, she is not only bored with storms, she considers thunder the herald of Nap Time, and it just knocks her right out.

So, the whole household falls asleep during storms. I have no clue...none...how this happened, or why storms don't impress my critters in the least...other than to put them to sleep.

which works just as well: a roll of Ace bandage.