Thundershirt?

[sam-b]

Has anyone tried these with an anxious barking dog? I'm at my wits end having tried crating, crating in the dark, anti bark muzzle , spray collars and valarian. The dog has the company of others , only left for a few hours a day and I don't know what to do. Im almost in tears writing this. We thought it was my bitch barking but a Web cam has shown otherwise. The dog is a very anxious, stressy collie. We were his 4 th home at 7 months old. I have had him a year. It seems to be the same sort of time every day, I have put a postbox on the house and glglued the letter box shut as the postman upsets him. I don't know what else to try and cant really see how a Thundershirt would work but I'm out of ideas. I can't have a walker go round as wouldn't trust him not to bite someone who is going into the house. ..

 

[henmother]

Has anyone tried these with an anxious barking dog? I'm at my wits end having tried crating, crating in the dark, anti bark muzzle , spray collars and valarian. The dog has the company of others , only left for a few hours a day and I don't know what to do. Im almost in tears writing this. We thought it was my bitch barking but a Web cam has shown otherwise. The dog is a very anxious, stressy collie. We were his 4 th home at 7 months old. I have had him a year. It seems to be the same sort of time every day, I have put a postbox on the house and glglued the letter box shut as the postman upsets him. I don't know what else to try and cant really see how a Thundershirt would work but I'm out of ideas. I can't have a walker go round as wouldn't trust him not to bite someone who is going into the house. ..

I would recommend trying a thunder shirt, we got one for our very nervous patterdale. We rescued her at 4, god only knows what kind of life she had previously. She has to be crated as she is epileptic and I don't know if our lakey would set about her if she had a fit. She knows when she gets the thunder shirt on its time for the cage. She seems to like it and it has certainly calmed her down, she doesn't cry/bark as much, so say my neighbours. Not sure about how it works, it's tight and close fitting, it's like a big tight dog cuddle, our vet suggested it, after we tried to plug in adaptil. We used adaptil, plugged in near cage , and thunder shirt.a I say give it a go, it worked for us. Good luck, it's not nice going out knowing you're leaving a distressed dog.

 

[twiggy2]

on the 29/9/13 you thought it was the bitch barking so between then and now you have discovered it is a dog-you have tried ALL of the above in 10 nights? I dont think throwing all these things at an already stressed and anxious dog is going to help him calm down and stop barking!

take a step back and try to discover WHAT is making him bark at that time of the day-deal with the cause not the symptom initially.

put 2 crates side by side in a quiet room at the back of the house, cover them both with one blanket-take the dogs for a very long energetic walk early then feed them about 30-40 mins after the walk, put the stressy dog in one crate and a dog the you know WITHOUT doubt will be quiet and calm whilst you are gone, when you come home ignore ALL the dogs till they are calm if you think they will be desperate for a wee when you get home just open the door no eye contact no talk and just let them out to wee-you coming home needs to be calm the same as you going out. Iwould also put and adaptil plug in in the room-it works wonders for my bitch who is stressy when in season (not spayed due to various reasons I wish she was)

give the dog some routine he must be so stressed out now wondering what will be coming next-personally I would never use a bark correction collar on a stressed dog-possibly they have a place for a dog that barks - waits for a response and barks again repeatedly, personally I don't like them punishing a dog for being stressed will NEVER work it just increases stress. Same with anti bark muzzles.

PM CAYLA for a crate training sheet I hear they are very informative and people on here have reported good success using the methods outlined on the sheets.

I have no experience with the thunder shirt but hope to be trying one out over guy fawkes-my concern would be the dog getting overheated if it is wearing it all day and it crated it cannot move to a cooler part of the house to cool off

 

[CorvusCorax]

Agree with Twiggy, it sound all very fast and rushed...also some of those things like the collar and the muzzle will have the potential to increase anxiety as mentioned, you've only had him a year, fixing this could take a long time and a lot of patience.

If you are, as you sound, also stressed and anxious and upset, he will feed off that and if the other dogs are active he could feed off them as well.

I had a serial screamer and fence runner and what calmed her down was being crated in a quiet, dark place away from stimulus/what stressed her. She could sense a lorry coming up the road from about half a mile away and start screaming until it passed.

 

[sam-b]

Its stressing me more because I have a neighbour complaining and saying she is going to the council, though the neighbour on the other side whose husband works nights says they are not a problem and dont disturb her or her husband. When he is barking it seems to be for around 20 mins a time, probably 2 maybe 3 times in a morning? He is very sensitive to noise, I just want to do the right thing by him and keep everyone happy, not be worrying about leaving the house incase it upsets the dog/neighbours

 

[sam-b]

I should add, as crating was not making a difference he now isn't being crated

 

[sam-b]

Just to also add before I had him he was being crated 24/7 as was too much for the woman who owned him.

 

[CorvusCorax]

But how long were you crating him, if you only found out a fortnight ago that it was him, it's not a matter of bunging him in a crate and expecting him not to bark, it has to be done gradually and in a positive way.

 

[twiggy2]

the dog needs the chance to adjust to a different routine and rules, re-introduce the crate as above-put it away from the side of the house the complaining neighbours are on and give the dog some time to adjust.

do the dogs get a decent walk before you go out.

what do you do if you are in the house when the doorbell/knocker goes-or the post arrives etc?

 

[sam-b]

He was being crated for around 3 hours with a kong toy with food in it. If we are in and the postman comes, he goes mad, but as soon as I tell him to be quiet he does.

 

[twiggy2]

the dog needs time to adjust nothing that can be used for barking is like waving a magic wand, you did not answer re the walking so I would imagine the dogs don't get a good long walk before you leave the house, a dog with pent up energy is going to find it harder to relax-personally I have no problem with dogs being left for a period of time each day although some can cope for longer than others with being left-I do however feel that it is unfair to leave a dog that is not coping unless the household are in the process of trying to find solutions to help the dog cope-plenty of excersise is the starting point for me with all behaviour issues-walking a dog is the biggest joy of owning one for me.

I would suggest if you feel you have tried all the mentioned ideas above that you invest in a good/sympathetic recommended dog handler/worker/trainer/behaviourist and discuss all the things that are happening but being there in person may help them show you how things work and explain how long things can take to correct

 

[sam-b]

He gets walked every day but not always before I go out as I have a year old baby so its not possible to always do it before I go to work in the mornings as I'm on on my own with her. Maybe a behaviorist is the way to go. How do I go about finding someone reputable? I'm in warks

 

[henmother]

Ahh, our dog is always walked before being put in crate. OH makes sure she is run ragged and ready for a nice treat then a sleep, think this helps her relax in crate with her big fluffy bed. She also has a coop cup incase she gets thirsty too.

 

[twiggy2]

put a post on here with title asking for recommendations in your area, also ask at vets and possibly local dog training centres-but I would hope that most will stress the need to wear the dog before you go out.

I honestly don't believe it is fair to keep a dog unless you fulfill its needs for physical and mental stimulation on a daily basis, if I got up in the morning and went to the toilet then someone shut me in the house for the best part of the day I would wreck the house after a few days-for me dog crating is not an option if the dog does not get enough excersize.

when my kids were babies and as they got older a baby and a toddler the dogs and the excersise they need it what got us all out of the house each morning and the dogs had more excersise then when the kids were young as chilled relaxed dogs are much safer around children.

I would say if you really cant walk the dogs before you go out a behavourist and a good dog walker are what you need, if you cannot provide the excersise then some one else must

 

[CorvusCorax]

I meant how long as in days, weeks, etc, not as in how many hours. It would need to be built up over days and weeks and small sessions, not just BAM, you're the one that's barking, three hours in a crate with a Kong, he won't understand. Like popping him in there when you are watching the telly and drinking a cuppa and letting him out again over a few days, feeding all his meals in there, popping him there after a walk for some downtime etc etc etc.

Could you pop baby in pram and go for a quick run with them all in the morning or park the baby and use a ball chucker to expend some energy while you stand still, just to take the edge off him.

 

[twiggy2]

has this become a problem since you moved in to your new house OP?

 

[samlf]

Sounds quite simple to me - your dog needs more exercise. take him out for a good hour long run and then try leaving him for the usual period of time.

It's all well and good trying bark collars/crating etc, but at the end of the day if the dog hasn't had enough exercise nothing will work.

if you aren't able to fulfil that mental and physical need then consider a dog walker, introduced while you are around so dog knows they are a good person and he will get a walk.

if you cant do that then you need to consider what is fair for the dog. I know with one of mine if she did not get 3 decent walks a day she would be bouncing off the walls.

 

[Crazy Friesian]

He gets walked every day but not always before I go out as I have a year old baby so its not possible to always do it before I go to work in the mornings as I'm on on my own with her. Maybe a behaviorist is the way to go. How do I go about finding someone reputable? I'm in warks

Marie Miller is your way. She is fab, will visit and also runs Paws n Learn. I have major issues with my dog and she has been helping me with him to great effect. She is a totally force free trainer and reputable behaviourist.

http://www.pawsnlearn.com

 

[splashgirl45]

if he is noise sensitive could you leave a radio on low so it makes the outside noises less obvious....

 

[CorvusCorax]

In fairness to the OP and I know that every dog is different, but my screamer was as fit as a fiddle. She would evade work and try and run home but even after two hours hill walking on a lead, when I put her back in our large run, she would start her running and screaming again.

 

[twiggy2]

In fairness to the OP and I know that every dog is different, but my screamer was as fit as a fiddle. She would evade work and try and run home but even after two hours hill walking on a lead, when I put her back in our large run, she would start her running and screaming again.

I believe providing enough mental and physical stimulation is the starting point for dealing with all behavioural issue regardless of if it is a dog a horse a kid or anything else, although I do get your point and agree it will not fix all behaviour problems it does help get things on a bit more of an even keel to start working from. I also don't believe you can expect a high energy/highly strung dog to be calm and relaxed if its physical/mental needs are not met

 

[sam-b]

The radio is always left on low, and it is something that has got worse after we have moved. He is just a very unsettled dog I think in general. I will keep going with him because I love him and atter his rough start want him to have a secure safe home

 

[Arizahn]

Little Blind Dog loves his Thundershirt...on his bad days, it is the only thing that calms him down tbh On his really bad days, I just give up and take him with us. Never found overheating to be an issue, and he has a fairly thick coat (lab cross collie).

Have you tried leaving him with a bone to work on? Or something similar? Maybe gate off a room for him in the quietest part of your home and set it up as a safe space, as opposed to crating. You could pop a DAP in there, and give him a comfy bed and lots of toys, etc.

 

[splashgirl45]

rather than plug in a dap why not use a dap collar? ive just got a couple ready for guy fawkes as my lurcher is very nervous of thunderstorms, fireworks etc....they are not cheap but i got mine from petplanet for £41.98 for the 2. much cheaper than getting them from pets at home or the vet.

 

[mynutmeg]

I believe providing enough mental and physical stimulation is the starting point for dealing with all behavioural issue regardless of if it is a dog a horse a kid or anything else, although I do get your point and agree it will not fix all behaviour problems it does help get things on a bit more of an even keel to start working from. I also don't believe you can expect a high energy/highly strung dog to be calm and relaxed if its physical/mental needs are not met

With a collie it's the mental stimulation they need. If you're not already you need to start working him someway - basic obediance classes would be a good place to start. Look on the kennel club website to find decent classes near you and maybe visit without the dog to talk to the trainer before hand.
I have a border collie who was unmanageable at around a year old and we started training classes and working her everyday for 10-15 minutes and it made such a difference to how happy and settled she was. Now she's older (10), full of energy but unable to be walked for long because of severe arthritis. As long as she's worked for a little bit everyday she's happy even if she can't be walked.
Also second proper crate training, place crate in a quiet, dark space where he can feel safe. Thundershirts can be good so worth a try and adaptil/dap is good as well.

 

[henmother]

Just got an email from Pah, they have 20% off thundershirts, might help.

 

[cremedemonthe]

Anxiety Wrap is the original wrap and encloses the hindquarters where a lot of nervous energy is stored, the thindershirt hasn't got this and is a knock off of the anxiety wrap.The anxiety wrap manufacturers also sell the the calming face wrap which helps with rscessive barking.

 

[henmother]

Haven't heard of the anxiety wrap? Thundershirt was recommended,and stocked by my vet, i'll let them know.

 

[cremedemonthe]

I sold all my stock but these people sell them

http://www.petsperfect.co.uk/products/anxiety-wrap

and here's the manufacturer, nice helpful people

https://anxietywrap.com/default.aspx

Oz

 

[Teaselmeg]

Anxiety Wrap is the original wrap and encloses the hindquarters where a lot of nervous energy is stored, the thindershirt hasn't got this and is a knock off of the anxiety wrap.The anxiety wrap manufacturers also sell the the calming face wrap which helps with rscessive barking.

Sorry, but I have both and the thundershirt is much easier to put on and had much more of an effect on my dog than the anxiety wrap.