Last night, I had the privilege of sitting in on a very informative Twitter Chat about Pet Anxiety. With summer storms with lots of thunder popping up daily and the 4th of July on the horizon, what a great topic to be covered
It was hosted by @Pet360 of
Pet 360, Guest speakers were
@PatrickMahaney a holistic veterinarian specializing in acupuncture/pain management
& @Thundershirt for dogs and cats to help relieve their anxiety and calm them down during stressful situations
Here are some of the questions and answers of the night:
Why does thunder scare dogs?
*Loud noises, including thunder, stimulates a dogs basic instinct to flee for saftey.
Why do dogs start pacing long before the thunder starts?
*Animals are keenly sensitive to environmental & barometric changes
Are there certain breeds/pets that are more prone to anxiety
*Yes in both dogs and cats
-Terriers, Retrievers, Sporting, (Weimaraner, Viszia, etc) & working dogs
(Border Collie, etc) are the most prone in dogs.
- Cats that are relatively "wild" like Bengal, Occicat & Savannah don't do
well with stress of domestic confinement.
How can I relieve this stress or anxiety?
* Exercise, distracting sounds, massage or medication.
-Medication should be used as part of the treatment for anxiety and should
never be the sole therapeutic option
What are some non-medication alternatives?
* Behavioral stimulation, including: exercise, environmental enrichment, acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese medicine food, therapeutic herbs, massages. etc.
What is considered environmental enrichment's?
*Interactive training, distracting toys...
How do pets develop these loud noise anxiety? Is it inherent fear or developed early in life?
*It is instinctual but can develop with repeated exposure
If one dog is afraid of thunder and the other one is not, should you separate them during a storm?
*It depends on how severe the anxiety is, especially if removing the companion dog makes it worse I wouldn't.
Don't those wraps help dogs with Thunder?
*
Thundershirts can help pets with any type of anxiety
Is is safe to leave Thundershirts on for long periods of time?
*Yes many clients leave them on all day while they are at work
This is not all of the questions from the night but a basic recap. If you would like to learn more about
Thundershirts you can click on this link
Learn more about Thundershirts
