Dog Thunder Anxiety

by another Gale who also loves dogs
(Arkansas, USA)

Hi I wanted to ask a question and share a partial solution I found to my dog's thunder anxiety.

My Blanca is 10 years old and she never had this kind of problem until we moved a little over a year ago. We're up in the mountains now. So, maybe there's a difference in barometric pressure or something. I don't know.

She's always been a tad nervous. But, never anything like this. One day it thundered while my husband and I were gone to work. We came home to find a number of books and papers shredded. And, she tore up a huge palm tree that my husband had had for about a dozen years! This potted palm weighed about 300 lbs and she managed to dig all the dirt out of the pot and cover the carpet with it. That's how upset she was.

I'll spare you the litany of all the things that didn't work. What does seem to help her calm down considerably is a vest called "Thunder Shirt". It wraps around the dog's chest, back and belly. It's made of a soft stretchy material that really hugs the body and is heavier than a t-shirt, but lighter than most doggie sweaters. I suppose it would be possible for someone who's craft oriented to duplicate it using their own materials instead of buying the "brand name".

Once I put it on her, she visibly calms down within minutes. What I wanted to ask about is around the same time we stumbled on to this, someone suggested we try Bach Flower Remedies. Have you ever heard of this or done this? I think it's kind of like homeopathic treatment, but I'm not sure that I understand how it works. (Or whether it works.) Any thoughts on this?