Thundershirts

Re: Thundershirts

annaschu — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 06:04:49 GMT

Tuli's thundershirt was a revelation - although there were the anxious looks and initial trembling (behavioural conditioning rather than actual fear?) she found it impossible to override the want to doze off to sleep and it genuinely did what it said it would do.

Away from fireworks I had a hyper CKCS in the hospital over the weekend, has been investigated for seizuring, nothing as yet has come to light. He's a belligerent little so and so, desperately attention seeking, food obsessed and completely lacking in manners and any form of training. Barked all night, even if out with me and in his kennel did his very best to dig for victory. No CNS or pre-seizure activity for the whole night until he was offered his breakfast and went immediately into a full on seizure. Could a thundershirt have calmed him enough overnight to avoid this?

Anyway, here's a chilled Tuli in her shirt:

Re: Thundershirts

les punton — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 09:28:32 GMT

aw wow he looks amazing!

Re: Thundershirts

Nicola Smith — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 08:03:50 GMT

Kendalls thundershirt didnt fit that well and he is a bit of a pin when wearing anything - coat , fleece etc and constantly rubs his back along things - your legs, the sofa, the cats radiator bed etc!! Silly habit he has got!! He has had kalmaid, scullcap and valerian and also a client has done bowen on him. Tonight he went in the kitchen to watch the flashes outside the window and didnt bat an eyelid about the bangs. Totally amazed. He has also been loads more confident round other dgs etc since the bowen too. Some people may scoff at shirts or alternatives such as bowen but I think its great we can use these instead of meds.

I have recommended a thundershirt to a few clients so will await their feedback!

Re: Thundershirts

Tracey Ison — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 21:28:57 GMT

Hi all.

Am sitting here writing this - my Thundershirt wearing whippet "Izzy" is sleeping next to me.There have been quite a lot of fireworks tonight despite the horrible weather and so far she hasnt batted an eyelid.

We plugged in an Adaptil diffuser a couple of weeks ago and she has also been wearing the shirt during the evenings for a couple of weeks,being a whippet, she loves coats of any description,she looks very comfy and relaxed.

Has anyone else used Thundershirts for different reasons ie dogs that pull on the lead?

I am really pleased with the results, big test will be tomorrow and sunday

They are not cheap but to me its worth its weight in gold!

Re: Thundershirts

annaschu — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 05:22:48 GMT

Jack - what a dude!!! Tuli's has arrived in the post £25.90 via Amazon - as it looks like there will be both thunder and fireworks in the next few days I'm excited to see how she takes to it.

Re Tellington Touch, I had a spanish equine vet as a lodger a few years back who was over here studying acupuncture - he put some needles in Duffy (my previous lab cross) mostly around her forehead one night of heavy thunder and it had an amazing effect, very much like the video of the dog on the thundershirt website she was still a little trembly but couldn't override the urge to fall asleep. Wonder if this is a similar principle?

Re: Thundershirts

Vicky RVN — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 21:00:21 GMT

Here is Jack showing off his!

Re: Thundershirts

Sally Howe — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 20:21:46 GMT

Hercules is getting on well with his.

Re: Thundershirts

Vicky RVN — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 18:49:06 GMT

I did a Tellington Touch weekend course. The body wraps used on the dogs there were really effective. I tried it on Jack, but he was unsure of what I was doing so I stopped. I should try it on him again and see if he is ok with it. I have got him a Thundershirt for this years fireworks, he's used it a couple of times and it has helped him to settle down. He doesn't mind wearing it, probably because he is used to wearing a coat in bad weather.

Re: Thundershirts

Emma Bartlett — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 08:45:38 GMT

You could also look at the Tellington Touch bodywraps.....they use ACE bandage (they work better than crepe bandages as they don't roll up, they stay flat) so you wouldn't need one of each size of the thundershirt. Some dogs react better to the wrap rather than the thundershirt and vise versa. A couple of friends use thundershirts at dog training class with amazing results, one completely crazy crossbreed is like a different dog when she has hers on, she is able to focus on the training rather than just standing and barking at everyone!

Re: Thundershirts

Jacquelyn Smith — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 06:26:01 GMT

I am not a thunder shirt user as I don't have a dog but I can vouch for the calming effects of applied pressure. I used to suffer anxiety but after reading one of temple grandins books, whenever I started feeling anxious or panicked I would squeeze myself in the mechanics of the sofa bed (one of those with the metal panels under the sofas seat cushions. I am not autistic or anywhere on the ASD scale, but anxiety is anxiety. Grandin supports the use and abilities of thunder shirts on their website so I would definitely give it a go. But then I worship the ground she walks on because her books really helped me, we are all animals afterall. Good look with tuli. X