Darling!

She is so cute! The pink sets off her ginger colored fur perfectly! What does a thunder shirt do?

They say that the snug fit of the shirt and the fabric which is stretchy is much like being held in a hug. So it's calming. I had a fleece hoodie shirt for her that velcros around her middle and if I put it on her sinched up tightly it would help so I figured that the thunder shirt would be a little better plus the hoodie apparently either got lost in the flood or packed up in the container. I found a really good discount code for the thunder shirt so I decided it was worth a try. It's notrraining hard now so I took it off and she is just fine. It was worth the money if it makes her less frightened. The one I bought is a new style called sport and it has lots of reflectors on it so great for walking after ddark.

Can you get one for yourself?

How cute!

Some dogs, not all, will respond positively to training that desensitizes them to thunder and other loud noises. One simple approach involves withholding the dog's favorite treat or activity and doing it ONLY when the loud noise starts. That way, a very positive association is developed that replaces the negative association, and the feelings of discomfort are distracted away.

We used that method to train our dog to ignore sirens. After awhile, the need for the positive distraction can be dropped and the dog just carries on as if nothing has happened. Good luck.

Good things still happen! Mia looks so cute and happy in her new shirt , and the shirt itself is pretty. We all need hugs now and then.

Snidely - I considered your approach for future reference but then remembered that my dog won't eat a bite of anything once she has heard thunder or firecrackers.

Until last July 4th she was never afraid of noises. Now, every sound she hears, she stops to listen and may or may not get scared. One simple holiday celebration changed my dogs entire world. By people doing illegal activities.

Mia is adorable!

I have always been skeptical on the whole thundershirt thing. Maybe I will give in and order one. I'm just not one to throw good money away on gimmicks.

Some dogs will refuse even treats when terrified. As moonie said above.

OMG, she is precious! I just want to cuddle her.

I mentioned it, moonie, because often people underestimate what their dogs can do and they may accept various behaviors without exploring alternatives.

Some dogs are more trainable than others, of course. And some dog owners are better trainers than others. But as with housebreaking, it can be easier if one can intervene early before any negative behavior gets ingrained.

We almost never have thunder where I live but we are lucky to have a trainable dog when it came to noises like sirens or fireworks on July 4th. She's an adult dog now but to her, July 4th is the same as August 4th. She pays no attention to the sounds and may or may not realize that she gets extra nibbles/treats as payback because when the sounds can be heard she ignores them.

Awwwwww Mia looks so pretty in her new pink thunder shirt. She is darling. I hope she won't have to wear it often because we sure do want your storms to stop. Thanks Raven for letting us see your baby girl. Give her a smoochie for me.

Are all of your pets living in the RV with you?

Mia looks nice in her thunder shirt. I've read about them on here, but never tried them. My dog is highly scared of fireworks. I usually put him in his kennel and put a blanket over top. That soothes him a little. He usually goes and hides. Only dh can hold him.

We only have Mia now. She luckily doesn't take up much room. She weighs under7 lbs. She is a Toy fox Terrier. She is very friendly, she thinks every one is her friend. It's a hhuge difference from the Great Danes we always had. LOL

Mia is a cutie pie!! Just saw a commercial on TV for Thunder shirts. When we got Biscuit 4 & ½ years ago she was afraid of storms & fire works but for some reason she no longer is-thank goodness!

Our old girl used to be really scared of loud noises. I can remember one really bad storm, when I had 60 lbs of quivering elbows and toenails sitting in my lap. We were given a Thundershirt, and it really helped. They were opening a store, and DH helped with some part of the construction or something. Anyway, for our dog, I swear by it.

Now she's old and quite hard of hearing, so noises no longer bother her. And I doubt if the Thundershirt still fits. I should dig it out, maybe someone here around the table could use it.

For some reason I thought maybe you had cats too.

I did have cats they all lived very very long lives but have passed on now. Kidney disease got all of them. Garfield lived about 22 years I was giving him his Iv at home daily at the end but it just was time to let go. I sure do miss them all. Some day I may have another. Mia would love a kitty friend she loves cats, however the love is not always a 2 way street lol My sisters cat um not so much she tolerates Mia visiting but usually would prefer to hide or go outside instead.

I wish I would have known of this with our previous dog. Her anxiety was through the roof. She was terrified of thunderstorms and fireworks. Unfortunately we also live near a place that tests explosives and fireworks. Our current dog isn't phased by any of it. Cute dog, btw.

Mia is such a good model! I too have heard of thundershirts and thought about getting one for your previous dog as well. She was a big girl- rest in peace Jane, and was INCONSOLABLE with thunder-lightening and fireworks. INCONSOLABLE to the max. I have thought when we get another dog if they react like Jane did, a thundershirt will be ordered. I am so glad that it works for Mia and I am sure she is thrilled.

Mia looks totally cool Raven!

I'm not sure if you've seen this. Aquatube Dam

This guy saved his house with an aquatube dam. If the water had gotten another foot or so it might not have worked so well. I'm glad he was able to save his house.

raven - I'm sorry you lost your cats to kidney disease. My outside group are all getting old and are starting to have some of the elder cat problems. Also, I am currently taking care of a cat with hyperthroidism, an ulcerated eye and a skin allergy. He is in the beginning stages of renal failure. I am shocked by the litter box and the amount of urine he is putting out and the amount of water he is drinking. I'm also trying to get him to eat more canned food, but he really only wants the gravy out of it. He is eating dry food just fine.

If anyone has any tips or things to keep an eye out for, I would appreciate it!

Snidely - don't be too sure of your training abilities or those of your dog. My dog was 4 years old when that first incident occurred. I think that unknowingly we may have fed into the fear because we were also knocked right out of our chairs on several occasions. My poor 92 y/o neighbor was in tears the next day when we talked about it. The people responsible are setting off large firecrackers and also professional fireworks both from land and on the river. They will do only enough to not get caught or to pinpoint where exactly it is coming from. Now we have been several weeks and not heard anything. Either they got caught or the supplies are gone. If it happens again I will make it my mission to find them. The inconsiderate jerks even turn the lights off on the boat. Dangerous business considering all the stumps and cypress knees.

adellabedella - people like the guy with the aquadam should get a tax credit. That's pretty cool but there are many people that could never afford that. So glad that guy was able to save his home.

As I said in my second post, many people simply accept behaviors in their dogs without trying to help the dog (and themselves) do something about it, or assume that that's just how it is. Several of the subsequent posts have that very tone - here's what my dog did. Period.

It often isn't the case, but you don't know if you don't try.

Raven, your travails have been unbelievably, absolutely horrifying. You are so strong and just keep keeping going. I would send you my Energizer bunny if he was findable. Your little doggie is so cute and so fortunate to have such a loving, caring mom person. Hang in there!

Fortunately my Sheltie doesn't respond at all to thunder or loud noises, but in thinking about comments about the thunder shirts I would surely try one if he did. I've looked at them and think they're pretty expensive, and wonder if you could experiment by using a piece of soft thick fabric and some well placed strips of Velcro. The comfort comes from the snug binding effect, which could be accomplished number of ways.

How cute! Glad it works

We had another full day of thunderstorms so she wore it most of the day. She is normally shaking all over and with it on no shaking. My husband is just amazed he didn't think it would work. Before the flood BF, I was going to make her one from some soft fleece fabric, I have plenty velcro. But all my fabric in the sewing room went under water. I saved most of the velcro lol.

I ordered hers directly from the thundershirt website and they sent me an email about a sale. I did a Google search for a coupon code before I ordered and found one for $10 off and free shipping. That helped! I wanted the new sport version and really glad I did get that one it's very good quality and cute. It would be extremely easy to make, I found the pattern online and it's exactly like the shirt.

Mia was not scared of storms or loud noise until we left the house one day to go get groceries and there was a very serious storm right over the house with severe lighting and thunder and hail. We got home as quickly as possible, we were all taking shelter in the store because they had a tornado warning. We got home and she was shaking so bad I was very worried about her. It took us a long time to calm her. Since then she is scared. I don't blame her I don't like it either. I had one of my Great Danes that would go hide in the master closet when it stormed.

I am so glad that Mia has had such a good experience with the shirt. I've heard many great stories about them. I just wish that they were around when I still had my little schnitzerdoodle, Georgia. (I invented the name....it was before the days of designer dogs. Vet said she had signs of poodle, schnauzer, and dachshund heritage, lol.)

She was fine with storms when I first adopted her but being caught in a severe event while we were in the car traumatized her for the rest of her life.

My current Rottie is currently bomb proof when it comes to noise. I took/take her everywhere she is allowed to acclimate her to all situations, smells sounds.
Should she ever get skittish we will go back to step one.

I have had dogs in the past who were afraid of loud noises. I desensitized them by getting happy and playful with them during the thunder or fireworks. Sure it wasn't 100% effective with every dog. All are different. It certainly helped each and every one.

I tend to be in agreement with Snidely on this one. Training is not something you do once and are done. Training is for a lifetime. That means when new things come up you get up and train again.

I can see using a thundershirt or other anxiety wrap as a tool. But I still believe that it should be used along with behavior modification techniques as well.