The wind blows. I roll over and go back to sleep.Our dog, Quinna, does not. She goes downstairs and crawls under my husband’s heavy oak desk. That was her favorite cozy place when she was a puppy. Now she has to squeeze her grown-up figure to fit into the space under the drawers that is her chosen den. She goes there during thunderstorms, fireworks … and when I use the blender. She feels safe there. I don’t judge. I’m not scared of wind — unless I’m on the ferry — but I have serious empathy for any creature with anxiety.
We’ve talked about noise phobias in dogs before. We still have summer thunderstorms ahead, August fireworks approaching, and a worse-than-usual hurricane season predicted. If you have a Nervous Nellie, there are basic environmental things to do. Provide her with a safe place away from the windows. A crate covered with a sheet. A large cardboard box on its side. Put it in the quietest spot you can find, with a cozy blanket inside or whatever bedding Nellie prefers. Put it in the basement or an interior room. Close the shades. Most storm-phobic dogs prefer the dark, but experiment. Some do better with the lights on. Do not lock her in as panicking dogs can harm themselves trying to escape their confinement.
Put on a white noise machine, a fan, some music. There’s actually dog-calming music you can purchase. I see Amazon has “Through A Dog’s Ear: Music to Calm Your Canine Companion” available on CD — if anyone besides me still has a CD player. I am sure there is somewhere you can download similar tunes or make your own playlist.
Now, start working on behavioral modification for Nervous Nellie when the sun is shining. You can teach her “coping skills” just like you would teach a human. Pair your soothing music with rewards like food puzzles or special long-lasting chew treats. If Nelly learns to anticipate positive things with her calming music, this may help her relax when you follow the same routine during a storm. Have her practice going to her safe place when there is nothing scary happening. Practice doing things she enjoys and that relax her. Then when the storm hits, you are not starting from scratch. Try adding anti-anxiety diffusers such as Adaptil® or Thunderease®. These products mimic the scent of certain canine pheromones that may also help Nellie relax.
Which brings us to the Thundershirt® and other “anti-anxiety” vests and coats. These have become very popular among dog owners. The concept is for Nellie to wear a garment that applies constant, gentle pressure to her body. This is supposed to help her feel more secure, like swaddling a baby, or using a weighted blanket for an anxious human. Do they work? The answer is sometimes for some dogs. And sometimes not at all.
There have been a few studies done evaluating the efficacy of pressure wraps on dogs with anxiety. Some monitored objective parameters such as changes in heart rate and behaviors including “pacing, panting, yawning, tongue-flicking, drooling, elimination, barking, stress whining, howling, licking, door orientation, and calmness.” Results did not definitively show improvement in behavior though there appeared to be some effect on heart rate.
Another very small study evaluated the use of such pressure wraps on anxiety in dogs hospitalized in an ICU. This was not about noise or storm phobia, but about the stress of hospitalization. The study looked at 16 dogs that had persistent evidence of anxiety for more than 30 minutes after being admitted to the ICU. After taking baseline measurements of vocalization, pacing, chewing and ability to be calmed, they gave each dog a ThunderShirt and repeated the measurements an hour later.
All but one of the dogs tolerated the ThunderShirt well and all but one showed reduced anxiety scores. However, one “critically ill” dog had cardiac arrest and “during CPR, the shirt was identified as very tightly placed. No other potential complications were observed.” Now I am sure the ThunderShirt did not cause cardiac arrest. I am also sure that some of those dogs might have calmed down after an hour without it. I wish they had included a control group of anxious ICU dogs that did not get ThunderShirt.
Studies that use owner’s subjective assessment of their dogs’ anxiety levels not surprisingly often suggest that anti-anxiety coats are effective. But we know that a “placebo” effect is also possible for owners observing their dogs. You want it to help, so you think it does. My opinion? There is absolutely no harm in trying an anti-anxiety coat for your Nervous Nellie — with a few caveats.
These coats are not designed for constant use. They are not appropriate treatment for dogs with generalized anxiety. The coat should never be left on all the time. Not only can it lose its effectiveness when Nellie gets used to it, but it can add to risk of overheating and cause physical stress on her body. There’s a website called iheartdogs.com I stumbled across that has a nice list of “The 7 Best Thundershirts, Anti-Anxiety Vests & Coats for Dogs” if you want to go shopping. There’s even one that has calming music and aromatherapy included. Make sure you get the right size and introduce it to Nellie in advance of any anxiety-producing events.
Finally, drugs. Talk to your veterinarian. Now. Not in the middle of the next hurricane. There are many different options of medications each with their own pros and cons. It is often a matter of trial and error to determine which drug or drug combination works for each specific dog, and at what dose. Plan ahead. You may even want to do trial runs to see what medications are best for your Nervous Nellie. At my house, I might order Quinna a ThunderShirt, but I’m afraid it will make it too hard for her to squeeze her chubby body under the desk to her chosen safe space.
