Has anyone had success with the Thunder Shirts?

It worked really well for my small dog with seperation anxiety. It was not a cure all, but it kept her from feeling so anxious that she would pace and whine/howl like she used to. I believe it works better for smaller dogs, and it shouldnt be relied on solely. It's like it's a training tool and you have to accompany it with the correct training for the problem. Then of course all dogs are different so what works for some might not work for others.

First of all - no, I have no reason to think a shirt is going to do anything beyond making a dog warm. While I have never purchased a thunder shirt - I'm not aware of it being special in any way.

Second, my last GSD was a barker at thunder - it was almost in defiance. But as he aged and (I think) dementia set in, he began to whine and was visibly stressed when there was a storm.

I ended up sleeping on the couch to keep him company when there was a storm - and this kept him happy and calm. I looked at it that the dog was a good dog for many years and since old age makes people cranky, I could bend the rules.

Things we do for dogs.

it helps my girl, it desnt make a huge diffrence but it takes the edge off for her.

she is afriad of strangers and when i took her to town to ger her use to being around people she would compleatly panic and would run back and forth trying to drag me away and nothing i said or did could snap her out of it. I brought the shirt and when she was wareing it it town she still wasnt relaxed and was pulling but was not draging me and freaking out and i could get her attention.

so a small improvment but im glad for even the smallest of help for her.

as with anything else it will work for some dogs but not others, i also started using valerium drops when going somewhere she will find extra stressfull and that takes the edge off a bit, not a lot but others sware be it.

to chix the idea behind the thunder shirt is its a comersial pressure wrap, its tight fitting to put gentel pressure on the body, the idea has been around for ages and you can get bands and wraps as well, the idea came about first with autistic people as preasure can relaeve there stress, its just been applyed to dogs.