Storms, dryer sheets, and a vest...

[NormanPride]

All three things have one thing in common: my dog.

Simon is a great dog that gets scared in storms, and it's gotten very disturbing. He weighs about 60 pounds and just tried to jump in my lap because there was thunder outside. Not pleasant! So, my first remedy was to rub a dryer sheet on him. It's calmed him a bit, and that kind of amazes me... I guess it's the static that storms build up? Of course, I don't know how much of it is that, and how much of it is the fact that the storm has died down a bit.

The next step, because I don't think the dog likes smelling like a spring breeze (or Downy's facsimile thereof), is to get a Thunder Shirt. No, not the basketball team, I'm a Spurs fan. This (http://www.thundershirt.com).

Has anyone tried these on their pooches? Do they work? Will I need to invest heavily in dryer sheets? Do dogs think in barks?

[JohnnyMack]

Give the dog a Xanax.

[NormanPride]

You know a place I can get it? And no, those emails don't work. Though I have high hopes for that pleasant Nigerian prince. He was very cordial.

[goingoneight]

My dog gets a sedative when it storms or else she could panic herself into a heart attack.

Benadryl works the same.

[NormanPride]

I know benadryl works for allergies and scratching, but does it work for anxiety as well? I've thought about getting melatonin...

[OUMallen]

Any antihistamine should make the pupperdoo a little drowsy. You might try the benadryl.

[NormanPride]

I've heard it can make them hyper as well, though.

[ouleaf]

Very interesting product. Got me thinking about something similar I experience when I go to the dentist. You know, when you lie down in the chair and they take the X Rays of your teeth and they put on that slightly heavy protective vest on top of you. There is something about having that weighted vest on me that makes me very relaxed and sleepy almost. I wonder if this Thunder Shirt is similar to that on a dog level.

Fortunately my two girls don't have a problem with bad weather. I would be more interested to see how effective it is at calming their nerves when it comes to separation anxiety. My beagles are sisters from the same litter and are almost never apart from each other. They don't even like it when the other one gets taken back into the back room of the vets office for 2 or 3 minutes. So it would be interesting to see how the they would react if they had one of these Thundershirts.

I would also be interested to see if it helped with anxiety around larger dogs. One of my girls tends to be more submissive and she doesn't do terribly well around really big dogs. She gets defensive and doesn't realize the bigger dog just wants to play. I wonder if a vest like this would help with that also. They actually don't look to be that expensive. Seems like this would be something you could easily charge over $60 for considering how crazy we all are about our pets.

[JohnnyMack]

Give him some weed.

[yermom]

i can't imagine static electricity is really an issue with dogs during storms... granted i haven't studied the voltage of a dog in a storm too closely, but loud noises would seem to be the real problem

[Crucifax Autumn]

So earplugs?

[NormanPride]

It was weird with the dryer sheet. He calmed down pretty quickly, but was still nervous. I imagine it helped, but the noises were too much. Earplugs or earmuffs for dogs would be hilarious.

[GottaHavePride]

It was weird with the dryer sheet. He calmed down pretty quickly, but was still nervous. I imagine it helped, but the noises were too much. Earplugs or earmuffs for dogs would be hilarious.

How much of the effect was the dryer sheet, and how much was just that you were petting the dog?

And leaf, your dentist puts a vest thing on you for the X-rays? I've NEVER heard of that before.

[NormanPride]

You've never had the lead vest? Enjoy your radiated organs.

And I tried petting him before. I heard dogs have pressure points or something that calm them down and tried it. No worky.

[StoopTroup]

Everytime he freaks...put him outside during the storm. He'll eventually calm down when he's inside.

[GottaHavePride]

You've never had the lead vest? Enjoy your radiated organs.

And I tried petting him before. I heard dogs have pressure points or something that calm them down and tried it. No worky.

I prefer to think my dentist regularly upgrades his equipment, so it can actually control where the radiation goes. ;)

[proud gonzo]

...what would ever give you the idea to rug a dryer sheet on your dog?? Am I the only one freaked out by this?

[OU-HSV]

For $36 the vest may be worth a shot. Hell it says satisfaction guaranteed, so if it didn't work I'm sure you could get some if not all of your $36 back too.

[ouduckhunter]

It was weird with the dryer sheet. He calmed down pretty quickly, but was still nervous. I imagine it helped, but the noises were too much. Earplugs or earmuffs for dogs would be hilarious.

ITA!! I think that my dog would sooner chew my hand off then let me put ear plugs on her!