Storm Defender Cape for storm anxiety (vet, training, rescue, chew) - Dogs - - City-Data Forum

ready2move · 07-17-2008, 08:39 AM

My almost 9 year old mixed male has severe storm anxiety. So severe that when we were not home and there was a mild thunderstorm, he ripped the door jam off trying to get out.

I have tried the calm down, all remedies by Bach, benadryl, and sedation by vet presribed tranqualizers. Crating doesn't work, because he tries to chew through the door.

It is so bad that this normally docile dog goes goes into an out of body experience at just the slightest feel of a storm. He is in every nook and cranny of my body. Now I love him, but this is getting old. We are basically prisoners in our home when a storm is threating for fear he will rip apart our house.

So anybody use this with success on their anxiety ridden storm dogs?

Dashdog · 07-17-2008, 09:42 AM

Are you talking about the anxiety wrap? I have used it on Jazz for other issues as she had major fear isssues as a puppy. I did not find that it cured the fears but it did help her as she would not go AS crazy. She also got rescue remedy when she would wear the wrap. I put the rescue remedy in the drinking water so she would have constant supply of it when ever she took a drink.

She too is afraid of storms but living in California we do not have to deal with too many (thank God) and most get bad at night when I am often at work. She opens the linen closet door and digs everything out . Since I am not home I do not know if she then gets in it or what. If I am home she just hangs close to me or paces near by me and when I have put the wrap on for that she is more relaxed.

While we did not see great results with it we did see some results and when dealing with fear every little bit helps.

A side note to that our agility club has jackets with the dogs names on them that they wear when we do demos around town. Once that Jacket is on both of my dogs calm down and focus better. Don't know if it is the effect like an anxiety wrap or if it is the same thing working dogs experience. Guide dogs know when that harness is on they are working , even the puppies in training know that jacket means work and they change when it is on. The K-9 cop told me with the dogs in the department it is a different collar then they wear at home that signals to them they are at work. It is interesting how this works.

ready2move · 07-18-2008, 10:12 AM

This is the link to what I was looking atReduce dog anxiety! Wrap our cape around your dog.

kelly3120 · 07-18-2008, 10:47 AM

play in the rain w/ him and give him treats when it thunders? works w/ Cody. We have to do it consistently. If you make storms positive he will love them.
I have a friend who plays frisbee w/ her dog in storms to get him over is fear and now he hears thunder and grabs his frisbee.

Also Cody is scared of storms when in the house but outside he's ok. ..he could just be strange though.

zoran · 07-18-2008, 07:17 PM

My cousin has a cape like this for her dog and the change has been dramatic. The dog used to go ballistic at the smell of rain, and when a storm hit, he was out to lunch and trying to dig holes in the wall. Now when a storm starts, or before if she sees it coming, she puts the cape on and in less than 15 minutes the dog is calm no matter what the storm is like.

ready2move · 07-19-2008, 06:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoran

My cousin has a cape like this for her dog and the change has been dramatic. The dog used to go ballistic at the smell of rain, and when a storm hit, he was out to lunch and trying to dig holes in the wall. Now when a storm starts, or before if she sees it coming, she puts the cape on and in less than 15 minutes the dog is calm no matter what the storm is like.

thank you!