Behavior Not liking storms

[Charlene]

Well we recently had several thunder storms in our area and my daughters guinea pig "precious" apparently does not like them! He is usually a quiet Guinea pig unlike our "Dora" who loves to talk. Any way he was squeaking and looking out his cage to the window. It was interesting to see his reactions he settle and be quiet when the thunder wasn't making noise. just thought i'd share.

 

[Raine59]

One of my dogs is terrified of storms and usually paces all over the place. But lately she has taken to laying under the table the GP cage is on and that seems to calm her for some reason. I haven't noticed the GPs minding the storm but maybe they just didn't say anything.

@Charlene, mind if I ask where in Texas you are? Charlene is my mom's name too.

 

[Charlene]

Down south near San Antonio.

 

[CritterLuvva]

@Raine59 I've heard Thunder Shirts are supposed to be good, but we haven't been able to come up with the money to get one yet. My shelty, Sunny, has a fear of thunder storms too. He's 10 years old, so he's getting up there in years, and it's disconcerting to see him whine and pace about the place stressed out like that. I don't like being away from home when there's a thunderstorm going on because I want to be here for him.

 

[mufasa]

I reviewed Thundershirts for my pet supplies column; had my neighbor try it on her nervous, previously abused dog, and it worked wonders for leaving him alone and taking him on car trips. I don't know how it works, but she definitely got results, so it's worth a try if you can get the money together. They make 'em now for cats, too, although I haven't tested that version. Wonder if they'll eventually make one for piggies, LOL.

 

[CritterLuvva]

You know how a (human) baby calms down when you swaddle them because they feel safe and secure? It's exactly like that. The shirt wraps around the dog so that it makes them feel safe and secure- while, of course, leaving them with freedom of movement. I didn't know they'd made them for cats too. For piggies? I'm not sure if that would work or not.

Thanks for reviewing the shirt! I'm glad to know you saw the difference. I watched a couple of news report "try it before you buy it" type videos and saw the dogs noticeably calm down right away. Victoria Stilwell (a dog trainer I'm a big fan of) is selling them from her site too, so they must be good. In reading about the shirts, I discovered that they may not work for the most fearful, but can still be used to curb their fear. Thankfully, I don't think my dog is quite that bad, and would be a great candidate for that shirt.