So, after having a very little dog for 12 years and resisting the urge to dress him, except for a few brief incidents, I'm dressing Pooh. She isn't dressing for fashion though. I'm conducting tests to see if there are changes to her anxiety level. I read about using t-shirts or various fitted shirts that are intended to decrease anxiety. I tried a medium sized t-shirt, but it was just too big and was likely to increase anxiety because Pooh's front legs got tangled. Then, on Tuesday Pooh was having an "off" day. That's the only way to describe the days when she simply can't hear through the anxiety...things she has done hundreds of times require convincing and it is exhausting for me. Tuesday morning it seemed to be one thing after another that spooked her. Gone was the calm dog from the day before. So, mid-day I put a Thunder Shirt on her. It's called a Thunder Shirt because that's an example of a time it would be used for most dogs. If you opt to use one on a dog like Pooh, read the package before you start crinkling all the velcro and have someone else there to generate a consistent treat supply. Pooh mistrusts anything new by default so there isn't ever a really good time to try something like this on her, but the idea is to introduce it to the dog before there is strong anxiety. (Ha! That might have been before she was born.) The fabric is wonderfully soft, but the velcro is loud and takes a bit of getting used to. I left it on for a while, then took it off as the package says. Then, I put it on when I headed home for the day and left it on for a couple hours. She was calm, happy, and her tail was wagging more than normal. My husband asked her what she was so happy about! The following day she wore it all day at work. When we went outside to play I had a new experience. I took a picture of her in her shirt and her tail was just a blurr when I looked at my phone. Really? I had to look twice, took another pic, same thing. I take a LOT of pictures of her and that has never happened. Her head is frequently blurry because looks away from the camera, but her tail always shows just fine.
This evening we were outside and two boys came into the field with razor scooters, then wandered around on foot in the field. I didn't think anything of it because I know Pooh lived with boys before and is generally not fearful, sometimes even curious, with them. Just as I realized they were circling around behind Pooh and probably getting too close, she flew past me and headed for home like her life depended on it!! I called her very firmly and she paused to look back over her shoulder, which is a really big improvement for her. While I talked her down I told the boys to get away from us because they were freaking my dog out. Clearly...these were not "boys" in her mind, perhaps a bit too old for her. So, once I got her leash on we struggled to make it two blocks back home, with the boys still nearby. She was a WRECK by all standards, hunkered down, shaky, and tucked tail. So, I thought, let's see if this shirt works...I brought her inside, put it on snugly, and her tail was wagging within minutes. My husband always says we shouldn't change multiple things at once with her because then we don't know what works. So, did her tail wag because we made it home safe? Or, was it the shirt? I know her pretty well and I'm guessing it would've taken more than just being in the house to get her to "bounce back" from that situation quickly so I think the Thunder Shirt is a keeper. Either way, she looks really cute. :-)
This evening we were outside and two boys came into the field with razor scooters, then wandered around on foot in the field. I didn't think anything of it because I know Pooh lived with boys before and is generally not fearful, sometimes even curious, with them. Just as I realized they were circling around behind Pooh and probably getting too close, she flew past me and headed for home like her life depended on it!! I called her very firmly and she paused to look back over her shoulder, which is a really big improvement for her. While I talked her down I told the boys to get away from us because they were freaking my dog out. Clearly...these were not "boys" in her mind, perhaps a bit too old for her. So, once I got her leash on we struggled to make it two blocks back home, with the boys still nearby. She was a WRECK by all standards, hunkered down, shaky, and tucked tail. So, I thought, let's see if this shirt works...I brought her inside, put it on snugly, and her tail was wagging within minutes. My husband always says we shouldn't change multiple things at once with her because then we don't know what works. So, did her tail wag because we made it home safe? Or, was it the shirt? I know her pretty well and I'm guessing it would've taken more than just being in the house to get her to "bounce back" from that situation quickly so I think the Thunder Shirt is a keeper. Either way, she looks really cute. :-)