Targhee Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 (edited) Has anyone used these anxiety coats with success????? So we have a wonderful dog -she's obedient, respects boundaries, protects our home with warning barks (that's about it, but I like that), is a dream on a leash, gets along with just about everybody, is smart, travels well, I could go on. She is however, extremely anxious about atmospheric pressure changes (not necessarily thunder or lightening itself, but all weather fronts even if they bring only wind). She shakes (my youngest says "the dog is viber-ating"), salivates excessively, breaks the house rules (goes into bedrooms), and nothing seems to soothe her. It continues until the front has passed. We moved a while ago to a high altitude valley through which lots of fronts move, and I am guessing on average once a week she's experiencing this anxiety. The vet suggested either sedative type meds - no thank you, this happens too often and that is a lot of heavy meds for the dog - or mommy dog pheromones - these are very expensive and even the vet said the results are mixed. I have not tried the anxiety coats (brand name Thundercoat) and am hoping for feedback. She does NOT like to be crated (which is weird, all my other dogs have loved their crates) and the only other place she shows some anxiety is the vet (mild compared to storms) - not fireworks, separation, new dogs, etc. TIA Edited May 10, 2017 by Targhee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 it's worth trying. I will say, my storm phobic dog did great with xanax. Dogs metabolize it differently, so it seems like a huge dose but doesn't knock them out or anything, just takes the edge off. (except the time I gave it with some prilosec due to a separate issue she was having, and we discovered that prilosec potentiates xanax. That time she was high as a kite, lol. But happy!) Only mishap/negative we had was the time I had her xanax in one hand and my prenatal vitamin in another and accidentally took her pill instead of mine. Right before thanksgiving dinner. :svengo: I still don't remember anything about that dinner, lol. (I had a very large dog and they take a much higher dose per pound than people do...it was a HECK of a dose. Thankfully, quick phone calls made it clear I didn't need my stomach pumped or whatever and it was safe, although not advised, during pregnancy.) 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arctic Bunny Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I shouldn't be laughing. Really, I shouldn't! Between my usual brain, mommy brain, and pregnancy brain, I can totally see me doing that, though. I'm so glad it turned out to not be dangerous! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 We have a lab/golden cross that use to be the same way with storms. We used the ThunderShirt and would give him Rescue Remedy (OTC) as soon as we noticed he was getting anxious. Of course he knew the storm was heading our way before we did. The combination really helped and calmed him down. I think it is important to not coddle them when it is happening, just try to pretend like nothing special is happening. After a couple of years we no longer need to use either for him. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pawz4me Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I use a ThunderShirt on the pupster because he gets a wee bit too excited when we have company or there is someone here doing some work (plumber, HVAC, etc.). It's not a miracle but it does help a noticeable amount. I believe ThunderShirt offers a money back guarantee. If you buy it at Petsmart they also have a very good no questions asked refund policy. FWIW, many canine behaviorists now believe that you can't reinforce fear in a dog. Would I over-the-top coddle one during a storm? No. But neither would I withhold comfort and reassurance or ignore the dog's fear and anxiety. This won't be a popular opinion, but I believe people do a massive disservice to deny anti-anxiety medications to dogs suffering from thunder phobia (or other phobias). There are quite a few medications that can be given to dogs all summer long that if dosed appropriately will simply take the edge off of the dog's fear, not cause the dog to be heavily sedated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 We live in a part of FL that has lots of thunderstorms and our poor dog is petrified (we moved here from VA and he keeps looking for the basement but there are no basements here in FL). We have used a thundershirt with him but honestly it didn't help much. Our dog is on daily seizure medication so according to our vet he cannot take Xanax or any of the other antianxiety drugs. Oddly enough, what really seems to help is a youtube channel called Relax My Dog. There is an 8 hour music video there of different soothing sounds and it really does calm him down. It takes about 20 minutes but then he goes to sleep. I'm not sure how it works because there are some loud noises (like loud sirens) incorporated into the soothing music but whatever it is, it works. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsheresomewhere Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I used a knock off one from Amazon for our rescue pup. It worked very well and he loves it. He hated the official Thundershirt for some reason (he has issues). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zimom Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 My friend swears by that Relax my Dog YouTube channel too. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 I shouldn't be laughing. Really, I shouldn't! Between my usual brain, mommy brain, and pregnancy brain, I can totally see me doing that, though. I'm so glad it turned out to not be dangerous! Laugh away, I did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheres Toto Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 We have a dog with anxiety whenever he is left home alone. He actually starts trembling as soon as he can tell we are getting ready to leave. Our trainer recommended we try Melatonin. It worked better than the prescription the vet gave us. He doesn't like a crate either. He actually bent the bars and hurt himself when we tried a crate when he was younger. It also didn't help at all with housebreaking. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 We have a lab/golden cross that use to be the same way with storms. We used the ThunderShirt and would give him Rescue Remedy (OTC) as soon as we noticed he was getting anxious. Of course he knew the storm was heading our way before we did. The combination really helped and calmed him down. I think it is important to not coddle them when it is happening, just try to pretend like nothing special is happening. After a couple of years we no longer need to use either for him.Good to hear. Yes, we don't coddle (aka exacerbate) her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 I use a ThunderShirt on the pupster because he gets a wee bit too excited when we have company or there is someone here doing some work (plumber, HVAC, etc.). It's not a miracle but it does help a noticeable amount. I believe ThunderShirt offers a money back guarantee. If you buy it at Petsmart they also have a very good no questions asked refund policy. FWIW, many canine behaviorists now believe that you can't reinforce fear in a dog. Would I over-the-top coddle one during a storm? No. But neither would I withhold comfort and reassurance or ignore the dog's fear and anxiety. This won't be a popular opinion, but I believe people do a massive disservice to deny anti-anxiety medications to dogs suffering from thunder phobia (or other phobias). There are quite a few medications that can be given to dogs all summer long that if dosed appropriately will simply take the edge off of the dog's fear, not cause the dog to be heavily sedated. Thank you, I appreciate all input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 it's worth trying. I will say, my storm phobic dog did great with xanax. Dogs metabolize it differently, so it seems like a huge dose but doesn't knock them out or anything, just takes the edge off. (except the time I gave it with some prilosec due to a separate issue she was having, and we discovered that prilosec potentiates xanax. That time she was high as a kite, lol. But happy!) Only mishap/negative we had was the time I had her xanax in one hand and my prenatal vitamin in another and accidentally took her pill instead of mine. Right before thanksgiving dinner. :svengo: I still don't remember anything about that dinner, lol. (I had a very large dog and they take a much higher dose per pound than people do...it was a HECK of a dose. Thankfully, quick phone calls made it clear I didn't need my stomach pumped or whatever and it was safe, although not advised, during pregnancy.) Oh my! Sounds like preggo brain to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 We live in a part of FL that has lots of thunderstorms and our poor dog is petrified (we moved here from VA and he keeps looking for the basement but there are no basements here in FL). We have used a thundershirt with him but honestly it didn't help much. Our dog is on daily seizure medication so according to our vet he cannot take Xanax or any of the other antianxiety drugs. Oddly enough, what really seems to help is a youtube channel called Relax My Dog. There is an 8 hour music video there of different soothing sounds and it really does calm him down. It takes about 20 minutes but then he goes to sleep. I'm not sure how it works because there are some loud noises (like loud sirens) incorporated into the soothing music but whatever it is, it works. Wow! Never heard of this but that's an easy one to try! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 We have a dog with anxiety whenever he is left home alone. He actually starts trembling as soon as he can tell we are getting ready to leave. Our trainer recommended we try Melatonin. It worked better than the prescription the vet gave us. He doesn't like a crate either. He actually bent the bars and hurt himself when we tried a crate when he was younger. It also didn't help at all with housebreaking. Hadn't heard about using melatonin- I will look into, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Can I just say I love The Hive! Sometimes I feel isolated from real tribal wisdom even though I'm in a smaller town with some family and strong church community. But the Hive is such a great collective experience and wisdom, even on dog anxiety - thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWillSoar Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 Our dog gets really nervous over lightning and thunder. DH found that it really helps to put a blanket on him during those times. Maybe you could give that a try first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Targhee Posted May 11, 2017 Author Share Posted May 11, 2017 Our dog gets really nervous over lightning and thunder. DH found that it really helps to put a blanket on him during those times. Maybe you could give that a try first.Thanks, we have tried the blanket. We've also tried covering her eyes, wrapping her tight, and various combos. It does help her but only a little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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