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Trainers what do you think of a thundershirt for a puppy?

6K views 73 replies 26 participants last post by  shepherdmom 
#1 ·
What do you all think of using a thunder shirt on a scared puppy? Do you think it might help?
 
#11 ·
First one I tried does pass the puppy and socialization like the horror story in the other thread.

Second one I tried, I had to bail her dog out of the pound after he went roaming, also does the group socialization.

I have also talked to the petsmart trainer who seems like she knows what she is talking about but you guys say stay away from petsmart.

The thundershirt recommendation comes from another trainer I'm talking with.

Dude is not completely untrained and neither am I or my husband novices. Dude sits, downs, touches, drop it, bring the ball etc. he is also fully crate trained.

Where else do you suggest I look? I do have an email out to a friend of Baliff who might know of someone in the area. (crossing fingers)

Money and trainers don't grow on trees.

Spent a fortune on a neuter today. A drugged Dude has been the most puppy like he has ever been. Jumped into the car, sat up (rather than low scared) the entire trip home looking around and nose up to the window. This evening has been sitting in the living room all night taking treats from hubby rather than running scared. The drugs seemed to help the anxiety. Maybe I should be talking to the vet about Prozac for puppy.
 
#9 ·
No coddling, thundershirts or whatever else. Get the dog out there and expose it to everything. Every day take him somewhere new. Do not let him runaway or shut down. Whether its stairs or walking through a city he has no choice unless you give him one.
If after that he still does not get better PTS and next time buy from a breeder that knows what they are doing and offers a temperment / health guarentee. If by 1 year he is still afraid of the world you got what you got.
 
#12 ·
I don't buy from breeders anymore. All of my dogs are messed up rescue/pound pups. I'm not giving up as long as my husband hangs in there.

I'm no expert but exposing a fearful puppy to everything, is I imagine a great way to make him shut down and turn aggressive.

I don't need or expect Dude to be a social butterfly. I do want to stop the bark growling at members of the family. (his pack)
 
#13 ·
They been known to help a lot of dogs with anxiety issues.. WE have quiet a few people that come to our class and have used them with success.. Now granted they don't use them in class.. But outside of class they do..

It doesn't work for all dogs just like anything else out there..

I wouldn't discredit a trainer because they suggest you try one..
 
#14 ·
I've heard mixed reviews on them. Never used one myself but I have considered trying them out. Nothing's ever worked better for me with situations like that than putting the scared pup with a bunch of stable confident dogs and introducing new people, events, and stimuli while they're there to give the puppy a read on how to act.

The tendency for a lot of people is to see a fearful pup and immediately shelter it and put it in a bubble. Sometimes you just have to let them get through it and try to help them see the situation in a more positive light with the introduction of food or something like that. If the thunder shirt helps your dog at all as far as being a wedge to help you get your dog past something then great, but it won't be a magic bullet or anything. Medication won't be a solution either. Then you'll just have a spaced out nervy puppy.

If you want your dog to stop barking at family members mark him with a no at the start of the behavior and punish him till he stops. Simple was that. Then after he stops being an idiot make friends.
 
#17 ·
If you want your dog to stop barking at family members mark him with a no at the start of the behavior and punish him till he stops. Simple was that. Then after he stops being an idiot make friends.
What is appropriate punishment? I do not want to make him more fearful.

I wish I had a roomful of appropriate puppies to help him. I'm sure some of his fearfulness came from being raised with the ferals and other not normal dogs at Safe Haven. I don't think we have a normal one of the bunch. Even my pack at home has issues. Tasha we think was abused before we rescued her at 7. It took us months of good treats for Ivan to not run and hide if my husband got even the hint of a growl in his deep voice. When we got him from the shelter he had huge sores around his neck. ACO thinks it was from an inappropriately used shock collar. He is a very soft dog. Wiggles rolls and flops every-time she approaches anyone, she came that way when we got her. Buddy was the only normal one of the bunch and he passed away 3 weeks ago which isn't helping the situation at all and dudes fearfulness has increased.
 
#19 ·
Maybe saying "no" firmly then the second the dogs stops reward with a treat. Crazy? I did that with shiggs when she barked at other dogs walking by, I said no and then the minute she stopped or diverted her attention I would reward her, now when other dogs walk by she is up my ass looking for treats which is a whole different issue lol but it actually worked, that was wgen I was at my most inexperienced but hey it actually worked.

Sent from Petguide.com Free App
 
#20 ·
What issues are you having, exactly? I seem to be missing some back story.

There is nothing wrong with a thunder shirt, I am a trainer, I have recommended them and used them for some situations. They don't work for every dog, but they can't mess the dog up and there's nothing wrong with a trainer suggesting holistic methods to help BAT.

I use a thunder shirt on my 4 y/o GSD who is afraid of thunderstorms. He does very well with them now - I can't give all credit to the shirt, but it did help bring down his panic so that he could be trained to work through the sounds and learn to behave properly, that is for sure.

I would say, based on reading what I have here alone, it is worth a shot. I'd be interested in talking to you more about his issues, and I agree that if he is dog-friendly, getting him around another dog or two (that are friendly and confident) could be a great thing for him, training-wise. I would not be giving corrections to a dog that is fearful/aggressive/reactive and anxious in this regard- it is obvious he does not have the strong nerves to handle a correction well and understand what it means- you will likely silence a bark or growl and end communication until he is pushed further over threshold without realization and he will go straight for a bite. Understand why he's doing what he's doing and use positive reinforcement to change his perceptions and manage the situations to prevent him from needing to be on edge to the best of his ability.

My 4 year old Shepherd was, once upon a time, very growly and aggressive towards strangers that would try to touch him or linger over him - Still not 100% sure WHY - but we were able to figure out his triggers, change diet, environment, add some holistic medication like DAP, Thundershirt, and Stress-Free calmplex, and use BAT to fix the problems- Now, it's been about a year and a half since he has growled at anyone, including vets doing thorough exams/vaccines/draws, and strangers measuring him for SAR harnesses. I never once corrected his growling or posturing because I didn't want him to stop communicating and potentially go for a bite at some point. I wanted him to think differently- to learn other, safe and appropriate ways of communication to get himself out of those situations and/or to think differently about the stimuli and triggers in general and not view them as a threat, for whatever reason. It worked well, and I have a dog with no bite history on my hands that is all but bombproof now and a demo dog for my training classes.
 
#23 ·
I got pup at 12 weeks from rescue. He is very scared with anyone but me. Daughter came home for a visit and although he made friends every time she got up to go into kitchen or somewhere he would bark/growl and run away. Would run from husband but recently has started the bark/growl with him as well. Husband has been trying since week 12 to make friends with puppy. Puppy will take treats, but when he gets up to go somewhere puppy will bark growl. Not normal puppy loves at all.

Husband is frustrated and starting to lose his patience. Which makes puppy more fearful.

Pup is not always fearful which is part of the frustration I think. We don't know which way he will act.

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?
v=745427312155561&set=vb.100000648976997&type=3


Pup is ok with other dogs. We have 4. I have also taking him to several socialization classes with other dogs. He hangs close to me but will relax and play with other dogs for a short time. It is more the people he is afraid of.

He will also do the bark growl fun with my other daughter and her boyfriend. He did it over at their place so it is not just on his home turf.
 
#22 ·
The Thundershirt is not a "gimmick". It actually does help some dogs. I had a dog who was afraid of thunder and loud noises. Putting the Thundershirt on him calmed him down enough that he would just lie there and pant instead of racing around trying to find a place to hide.

I run a grooming salon, and have used Thundershirts with some success. I have a 30 lb. Pug that comes in to have his nails done; he hates it and it is like wrestling a wild boar. With the Thundershirt, he simply stands there and screams bloody murder., rather than spinning, biting, and fighting me tooth and claw. I have a couple other dogs that it seems to help, and yet others that don't respond to it at all. So I'd say, it's worth a try. I think Thundershirt offers a money-back guarantee, so there's nothing to lose really.
 
#25 ·
Thundershirt is being offered as a loan for free from rescue.

My worry is I'm going to make things worse. Is that possible?

I know my emotions are playing a big part of the problem now. We lost my 12 year old Shepherd 3 weeks ago and I'm starting to be afraid hubby and puppy will never get along.
 
#28 ·
Here is a photo of Grim trying out his thunder shirt. If you decide on Prozac and it helps your dog, as it helps many, you have my support. As soon as we have our new fence up we are taking Skadi off of it. Another thing to consider is lactium and l theanine. You can order them in human grade supplements from Swanson's. There are dosing charts for a dog's weight and needed dose on line. I learned about these supplements at a Nicole Wilde conference. Lactium is in Women's Stress Formula by Swanson's. It works within a few days.
 

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#34 · (Edited)
You should know well that sometimes management tools are needed in order to get dogs in the right mindset so that training can be accomplished

Eta- thank you magwart!
 
#35 ·
I have the supplements, but we decided to use them for Skadi only while we were waiting for the Prozac to take effect, and then stop.
I know Nicole recommends them for her fearful clients. I may try them on Grim as I do think some calming aids might help his reactivity.
 
#41 ·
When I first got the dog I fostered back from my dad he was very anxious. I got the thundershirt and he got it off and ate it. We did much better without it.
 
#43 ·
I've seen a big ankle rap used for the same effect as a thundershirt. Rap it firmly around just enough to apply pressure so the dog feels comforted.

It didn't really have any visible affect on the dog's behavior(which was just whiny because he didn't like car rides). I'm sure it varies from dog to dog as well though
 
#44 ·
I have adopted two fearful dogs and re-trained a few others. A thundershirt absolutely cannot hurt. One shy dog that I trained got a great deal of comfort from wearing a t-shirt, pulled up at the back with a rubber band (so that it was tight around her body). I would also look into t-touch.

When I adopted Basu at age 4.5 he was terrified of everything and everyone. He was an 80lb. WGSL gsd. He barked so ferociously at people that people who didn't know him were terrified of him. That worked well to keep them away from him so he kept doing it. He had been kept in a cage for most of his life and was strongly "corrected" (=hit repeatedly) for barking and anything else he did that his owner didn't like. When I adopted this dog and looked into his eyes, he was not there. He had checked out.

If I would have given him a physical correction he would have shut down immediately. In fact, the method of training I used at that time was much like what Bailiff is suggesting. It worked great for my first gsd, who was a very hard and confident dog, but not so well for my rottie mix and not at all for Basu.

What worked for Basu was a lot of counter-conditioning, strict NILIF, rewards for the tiniest steps in the right direction, learning to control my own reactions and 100% consistency. I learned to read him very well and managed him very carefully.

Even though everything was a new experience for him, I did not keep him locked in my house or yard but instead we did a lot of walking, hiking and travelling. Chama was confident around people and that helped Basu. I kept things low key for him (did not let strangers approach him) but made sure he got to do fun things (play, etc.) in different places. Eventually he would approach people with dogs (looking for treats!) and then finally he allow strangers to approach him but that was always on my terms and he had a strict protocol he had to go through first.

Management was key with him: he lived for 6.5 years after I adopted him and although he greatly improved (people who met him when I first adopted him couldn't believe he was the same dog), I had to manage him carefully all of his life.

I did many levels of training with Basu. I also exercised him a lot, every day and made sure he got play time with other dogs. I also read every book out there on shy and fearful dogs.

The other thing I would recommend, if you haven't already done so, is to join the shy dogs yahoo group.

And trust your instincts: do not do anything you think may cause further harm.
 
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