Way to go Smiley! appicon I hope today goes well!
I bought the Thundershirt for Arabella to get her thru the storms. She hasn't worn it thru the last few storms and in one the thunder was VERY loud! The whole house shook. I am so proud and releived we have gotten past that. We still use her shirt for fear anxiety for going places like the vet, but hopefully we will have the same results.[/QUOTE]
I hoped that the thundershirt would help him, but when he came to me, even a close hug freaked him out. So putting on the shirt was more traumatizing that without it. So it was returned. I just did a lot of soothing and t-touches when he was anxious. Some trainers say that coddling only reinforces fear - I say it's bullarky! Fear is an psychological reaction - you can't reinforce it, it just is. My method was to give him the security and closeness when he was anxious. It worked wonders for him. It calmed him. Eventually he would jump up and sit between my legs whenever a noise would set him off. I became his refuge for his anxiety. Some gentle strokes, soft whispers into his ear, and he would relax a little bit each time. The last storm he was amazing! He jumped right up, sat between my legs and LEANED INTO ME WITH HIS HEAD AGAINST ME. It was his first doggy hug!!! It felt so good to me that he was finally comfortable and felt safe. I cried.
The first of the two last storms, the one he was medicated, was the friday of July 4th week, and all the neighbors were setting off fireworks. I knew his reaction to the noise was greater than the previous times, so hence the meds to help him. Heck, I even had him playing ball during the noises! I thought I would have to have him medicated all the time, but I guess not. He just needed to have a good experience to erase the traumatic ones from the past. This boy just amazes me with his progression. I'm sure it will continue til his last day, as I don't see him totally anxiety free, but will work on it forever. I love this boy so much. He has enriched my life more than I can say. Don't tell the others, but he is my absolute favorite. And that's because he came from such a horrible past, and each day he shows me how to overcome even the most horrible of situations. I wish more humans could have that recovery.