Seperation Anxiety Wraps

[sweet_ceana]

I remember from previous threads a few people mentioning Seperation Anxiety Wraps of some sort. Does anyone know where I could find one? Poco howls in his crate when we leave. He woke up last night at 3am and I had to keep my fingers through the front grating on his crate for about 30 min so that he would settle down and sleep. He hates being alone, and I am sure that this stems from his bad time in the shelter and from him being a stray. My computer has crashed at home, so I can only access the boards at work. I am also going to see what I can find in the search feature in between clients.

[bc4pack]

Google 'TTouch' and 'anxiety wraps'... You'll find tons of sites and 'how tos'

Have you tried a snug t-shirt yet? Snug it up at the waist with a scrunchie or knot.

[sweet_ceana]

No, but the only times he did settledown and not pee in his crate was when he had to have clothes on to protect his nueter spot. I think this may really work.

[MaggieDog]

Boys "A shirts" (aka beaters) work great for doggie clothing btw - perfect length and no sleeves to get in the way.

 

TTouch wraps are good, but I don't know if you can find the designs online. I took a seminar and they taught us to do them w/ Ace wraps. You need one 2" wrap for a half-wrap and 2 for a full wrap. Starts centered on the dog's chest, wrap up and crossed over the shoulders, brought down and crossed under the chest behind the front legs and then tied on the back for a half-wrap or continued into another cross on the back, down under the back legs and clipped onto the final over the back cross for a full wrap. If you want I can try and post pictures of them this evening.

 

The ready made wraps are "anxiety wraps" and pricey, but I've heard great things.

[kelpiegirl]

Lucy had crate issues when she came to me as a pup. She flew in from Australia in a crate, seemingly unfazed. Though I did hear that she did get her way out of a crate the day she left Anyway, she really didn't like the crate. She would chew on the bars- enough to wear her teeth down

Anyway, I started getting marrow bones at the store- taking out the extra marrow because it was too rich, and gave her those. This is what began fixing her crate dislike. Perhaps try a marrow bone- only when you leave, and only in the crate. He is still really new to you, and it will take him time to adjust, I am sure.

[sweet_ceana]

We have tried treats and bones. He really doesn't respond to either. He is a very social guy. The little beaver will chew through a raw-hide bone in 30 minutes, but only if we are home. He will not even eat all of his dinner unless I am right there with him. I am sure all of these things have to do with one another.

 

I would love to see the pictures Erin. I have been searching online, but I am having a tough time finding any explanations.

 

I am hoping that these anxieties will get better the longer he has been with us. Poor guy has been shuffled around a lot. We are going to give it a couple of months and if it persists we will have to see a behavioralist. Right now I am trying to rule out all of the recent changes. That way Poco can settle into being Poco and we can make some progress.

 

On a positive note Ceana is getting much better. They have not quite worked out who is in charge yet, but I actually caught the two chewing on a bone together at the same time! Of course once I saw them, one of the dogs had to snatch the bone and run. She is still a little bi-atch, but she wouldn't be Ceana if she wasn't.

[MaggieDog]

Pictures! First two are the half wrap and the last two are the full wrap. Maggie prefers the half wrap, but the full wrap is supposed to be more effective.

 

 

[bc4pack]

There's a TTouch site out of South Africa that has diagrams/ photos, but of course I can't find it

[haleigh]

I've used the wraps and they work fantastic! My mom's old work used TTouch on their dogs, so it's kind of crossed over into our dogs-and people!

[KJ]

Pictures! First two are the half wrap and the last two are the full wrap. Maggie prefers the half wrap, but the full wrap is supposed to be more effective.

 

 

 

Hi

What issues does Maggie have to use the wrap if you don't mind me asking. My Aussie as high anxiety, generalized. Maybe I should try your method.

[MaggieDog]

Maggie generally doesn't like wearing things and the full wrap goes around her back legs, something she especially doesn't like. The half wrap doesn't do that, so she doesn't mind it. Of course she also doesn't like standing still while I put either on, but once that's done, she's generally fine.

 

Maggie does do a bit better when kenneled if she's wearing a wrap, but I'm always concerned that she'll either get the wrap caught on something or she'll chew it off, so she only wears a wrap when supervised now (thunderstorms, stressful situations, etc.).

 

If you're going to be using the wrap in public, be aware that you'll get a lot of questions about what happened to your dog. The woman who taught the seminar on TTouch I attended said Rit dye will work on Ace wraps and that colored wraps do tend to reduce the number of questions.

[1sheepdoggal]

Have you heard of a product called Comfort Zone? I use it in my groom shop, and used it in a boarding kennel I use to have, and it worked well for me. It plugs into the wall, and puts off pheramones that ease the tension and anxiety in dogs. When I run out, I realize it real quick when dogs start to cry and whine and chew the cages and such. I cant smell it, but they sure know when its there. I order mine from Jeffers, but im sure there are other places you could find it. Ive heard conflicting stories about it, some say it works, other say it doesnt, but I believe it does, and have seen the consequenses of using it verses not. Try it, plug it in beside the crate, and see if it helps. Good luck.

[SnickerKitten]

Comfort zone is great.

Rescue Remedy from Bachs Remedies works really great, too. You can even use both.

 

I finally solved the problem of seperation anxiety with Stormy by buying a vest that says "in training" and putting it on him. He's so perfectly behaved in public that between his behavior and the vest no one ever questions his right to be anywhere. Of course I also make sure that I frequently us allerpet-D to make sure he doesn't bother anyone's allergies. Shhhhh don't tell anyone!

 

Lori

[MaggieDog]

Lori are you saying you are passing off your pet dog as a service dog in training?!?! Do you realize that it's illegal?

 

Comfort Zone never worked for Maggie, but for SA we followed the protocol one of Purdue's vet behaviorists uses (we tried it before I knew it's how he dealt with SA cases): get rid of the crate, devalue arrivals and departures, provide a special food dispensing toy only when leaving, and increase exercise. I think the vet behaviorist has a few other steps, but this is what worked for us - and Maggie used to destroy crates, salivate excessively, barked non-stop, and refused any food or chews when crated, even after trying the gradual build up of time left alone. We could never get past 10 minutes without vocalizing. She's been fine loose in the house since we accidently discovered that it worked almost 7 years ago and the same protocol has worked incredibly well for two other of my coworkers and their severe SA dogs.

[bc4pack]

There is nothing wrong with putting an 'in training' vest on your dog...as long as you abide by the law.

A lot depends on where you are at. There are plenty of small mom and pop stores that would let

you bring in a dog if asked...

[SnickerKitten]

His vest is clearly marked that he's a Search and Rescue dog in training. Which he is. Also, I ask the manager or owner of a business before bringing him in and let them know that they are not required to let him in because he's *not* a service dog. The response I get is "As long as he's got his vest on he's fine". If asked if he's a service, guide, seeing eye, etc dog I always say "no".

 

Lori

[bc4pack]

Like i said Nothing wrong!

[MaggieDog]

Good to know! There have been a few references to doing the fake SD or SDIT thing before on this board, so I'm a bit hyper about it, especially since, without clarification, lurkers may have thought that's what you were referring to. I had forgotten he was in training as a SAR dog as well. Carry on.

[SnickerKitten]

Technically, SAR dogs (in training or done) aren't covered under the public access law, which is why I always ask an establishment if it's ok for him to be there. There are several places I go where I won't even ask to bring him in and if he's in the car I'll have my 12yo walk him or sit with him while I go in- or her favorite option is to send HER in with my credit card while I stay outside. He does SO love to go to people places, though.

 

Lori