Maisy in a homemade anxiety wrap

A friend recently attended a TTouch seminar, in which they discussed anxiety wraps. Since my dog is anxious, fearful and reactive, she wondered how Maisy might respond to one. I replied that I didn't think she would care for it based on a past history of hating wearing clothes, harnesses, etc. Still, curiosity got the best of me- these things have different pressure points and are really supposed to work- and I looked up the directions on the internet. I didn't have any ace bandages around, so I improvised with a scarf. I probably didn't do the anxiety wrap perfectly, but I think I got close enough to tell what she thinks. Watch the video closely for her body language. There's a lot going on here that indicates that she is not happy about the situation.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• maisy
• anxiety wrap
• dog body language

[angelrob17]

The other pointer is to not just put the wrap on them immediately, but to work up to it. Hang it over their shoulder while doing something they like, feeding a treat, whatever. Then *gradually* move to the full wrap. My T-Touch instructor said that even after getting used to having it hanging, do only one "turn" of the wrap rather than the full wrap. And never leave it on that long for the first time. 5-10 seconds, max. You have to work up to the full time or you can stress the dog (as you saw)

[cryslea]

@angelrob17 Interesting. I don't remember seeing that in the book I read, but it makes sense. Thank you for your comment. :)

[Panteraya01]

you cannot compare a scarf to a pressure applying suit, sorry

[cryslea]

@Panteraya01 The TTouch book I read recommended an ace bandage. I improvised. Although I don't think this is the same thing, I do think it gives a fair representation of her reaction.

I'm not sure what you mean by "pressure applying suit"- do you mean something like a thundershirt? I have not tried one of those, but based on her reaction to the scarf, harnesses in general, and dog clothing, I have my doubts one would be helpful. I could be wrong, but don't want to spend the money to find out.

[Panteraya01]

@cryslea hi, well I was thinking the scarf probably just had the same effect on her as the clothes etc. do. So when you actually apply something to her body that has pressure, it should make her feel different. My dog is severely scared of thunderstorms and loud noises, I will give it a try and check out the Anxiety wrap, it has good reviews on amazon. I will let you know how I feel. maybe that helps you too....

[cryslea]

@Panteraya01 I actually wrapped the scarf fairly tight, so I think it would have provided a medium amount of pressure. Definitely more than just a doggy t-shirt or something. Still, it may not have been as evenly applied as one of the professionally made wraps, so it's possible she'd have better results with one of those. But, like I said, it's not something I've wanted to spend the money on, especially since we've found other ways to manage her anxiety. Good luck to you and your dog!

[FMLFYT]

@cryslea The ThunderShirt has a 45 day money back guarantee. Either it works and makes a big difference, or it doesn't work and you get your money back. Win win situation.

[cryslea]

@jnorr993 This was put on during an evening at home when nothing was going on. She was fine before I put the wrap on, but once it went on, she started showing signs of stress. So, for this dog, wraps aren't useful/helpful, and in fact, make her worse. The work well for some of my friends' dogs though. If you're going to try it with your dog, do it in advance and see if it has a paradoxical effect like it did for poor Maisy.

[jnorr993]

Dog still showing signs of anxiety to me...panting, licking lips, yawning. Was this for a thunderstorm? Separation anxiety? Did you see improvement over normal behavior? I want to try one for my pup who gets anxious in the car...

[cryslea]

@jaxgal618 I think it work better with an ace bandage. I sort of improvised with what I had on hand.