For the past couple years I have volunteered at my local shelter providing Tellington TTouch® to dogs in need.
I have found the Thundershirts to be an invaluable tool.
Some of the many situations where I’ve used the Thundershirt:
- Jack Russell Terrier who was opposed to being touched and hyperactive. Using the Thundershirt he was able to calm down long enough to learn that being touched can be a good thing. Later the dog got loose and ran into the hills around the shelter. He was quickly caught and able to be handled without protest.
- Dog Reactive Dog. I used a Thundershirt on a dog that did not appreciate the site of other dogs. During our session a volunteer walked past our enclosure with another dog on a lead. Both dogs got nose to nose with the fence between them and the only reaction from the dog I was working with was he cried when the other dog and the volunteer continued their walk.
- An Australian Shepherd failed the social handling portion of his behavior test because he would cry out if anyone touched him beyond his face. Tossing treats on the floor I distracted him and quickly put him in a Thundershirt. The Thundershirt gave him the confidence to allow me to very slowly and very lightly touch him with the back of my hand. By the end of our session he allowed me to touch him with normal pressure all over his body without crying. When I took the shirt off he would cry when touched. The next day I worked with him and he was a totally different dog. Now he allowed substantial touching all over his body.
- A year old lab puppy that had suffered brain damage from being hit by a car circled wildly to the left. Using a Thundershirt and a Tellington TTouch® wand and a specific leash configuration she was able to concentrate enough to walk straight. The more and more we practices using these techniques the better she is able to walk.
- A young Puggle was recently abandoned in a cardboard box and found himself at the shelter. Overcrowding dictates that small dogs will have multiple kennel mates. As this little dog was meeting his 3 new kennel mates he was having a rough go of it. The bigger two dogs were too enthusiastic about exploring him and he would growl at them. This doesn’t go over well in a shelter setting and I immediately put him in a Thundershirt and did a short TTouch session. Within minutes all four dogs were off and paying. The Thundershirt gave him the courage to withstand the inquisition from the 2 bigger dogs and get on to the playing.
- The Thundershirts are used with dogs that have not yet passed their behavior testing. Shelters are scary in the best of circumstances. I’ve found that by using the Thundershirts and Tellington TTouch® it helps these dogs settle into the routine, feel safe and more confident so they are more apt to be able to pass their behavior test and move along to adoptions.
Linda Troup
Tellington TTouch CAPiT
TouchNpaws
www.TouchNpaws.com
www.TouchNpaws.blogspot.com