Do you find a thunder shirt helps your nervous Ddog?

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I bought one a couple of days ago ready for fireworks. Some prats have saptarted setting them off a couple at a time around her and Ddog is more settled in the shirt.

She also isn't scratching as much which I think she does when she is nervous.

Can she wear a thunder shirt all day? Thinking about it she also didn't bark when someone knocked on the door this evening which she normally does but will stop when told "enough"

We bought a Thundershirt for our dog after reading about it on a thread on here. We have used it when we’ve had visitors as ddog gets over excited, jumping up, barking and licking. The Thundershirt just calms him a little so he will great and lick them a bit but calms down when you tell him.

We also had a problem when he was around 6-8 months old that he became destructive when left alone so we put the Thundercoat on him when we went out and he just went into his cage and slept/sulked. He seems to have outgrown his destructive period now so we no longer put it on when we go out, but I’d still use it for visitors, and may also use it if he starts barking at the fireworks. We haven’t had many round here yet this year, so I’m not sure how ddog will react. He wasn’t too bad as a puppy last year but as he now tries to defend us by barking at any noise outside our house, I suspect he’s likely to do that with the fireworks.

You can put a Thundershirt on all day, we’ve only used for a few hours when needed.

Yes we’ve used ours similar circumstances. It’s like a cuddle.

We have two dogs.
The one who had it on shut down when I put it on him.
OK, he wasn't barking or anything but was eerily quiet.
He stiffened up and was very wary.

The other dog sensed something and they had a fight when they got too close to each other.
So I took it off and everything was fine as if nothing happened.
I guess it depends on the dog.

We tried one on my very nervous last foster dog, and I couldn't say it made any difference to her at all. I also have an adaptil diffuser going in the hope that it will help ddog2 with the fireworks (and help new foster puppy who is arriving in an hour!), but can't say whether it is working now

Watching with interest as I've bought one after a recommendation on MN but haven't had to put it on DDog yet - he's not been bothered yet about the firework noises.

It's working well so far she is much more settled. I've also put a blanket over the coffee table and she hides in there.

She has it on most of the time at the minute.

My old dog used to wear a thunder shirt when travelling in the car as he was an anxious passenger. It really helped him settle and he would just sleep for most of the journey.

I wonder if one would help my dog with her fear of traffic noise and crossing the road. I’m a bit skeptical of them but willing to try it out I guess

Why are these not available for people?!

Apile, there are lots of things for humans based on the same principle - Squease is one, or hug shirts

It was nothing short of miraculous for my Jack Russel who has always been terrified of fireworks. We also use it for long drives in our motorhome as she refused to sit down without it and she relaxed so mush this year she actually fell asleep on the way to the Pyrenees

I use adaptil collars, rescue remedy for pets or Zyklene in the days leading up to fireworks night.

I have used thundershirts in the past which worked really well so my dog that hates fireworks the most will have it on.

1 of mine is still really nervous and the other 3 don’t care about fireworks.

I have a large crate that I leave out with heavy blankets over the top and sides so it’s a safe, dark space and my girl usually climbs in there.

Did nothing for my dog AT All. Nor did adaptil, zylkene and some other thing we had from the vet or desensitisation.

Mine doesn’t seem scared of fireworks though more angry. I can see how the thunder shirt would help a nervous / anxious dog more than my loon.

You can also tie bandages so they cover the main pressure points - have a google - which also didn’t work for mine but a friend has had success with.

Thank you so much for the links, Dibbler. Going to have a good look through. I really appreciate it.

One of the rave review threads on here was mine when we bought one for DDog3.
It was nothing short of miraculous initially, though I can certainly relate to the “eerie” comment from marco (though actually it could simply be that DDog3 had never been still up to that point )
AFAIK they shouldn’t wear the shirt for prolonged periods and it actually rubbed a raw patch on DDog3’s neck, though she has very thin, fine hair and skin.

So could it potentially work for a dog that’s scared of traffic noise? She’s not scared of loud noises or fireworks but she is when you add them into being out around traffic.

Mol, it could work as the vest gives a general feeling of security. Definitely worth a try.

She likes to hide under hedges and will only walk next to a wall/fence when on a pavement next to a road.

Oops sent too soon. Maybe it will help her feel safer.

I'd be willing to give it a try, but my anxious dog just freezes if you put anything "on" her - a coat when she was recovering from surgery and cold, a babygro to stop her getting at stitches etc. She only just about copes with her harness because it brings good things (i.e a walk), but she still goes rigid when it's first on and walks like a crab for the first 50 yards.

Maybe I'll try a second hand one, but I can foresee a rigid dog and a pained expression...

You can just get some stretchy bandage and try whether the compression helps without buying the coat.