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My dog, a 8 year old female Terrier mix, is extremely sensitive to loud sounds. She gets very scared of storms and firework.

In advance to holydays, where fireworks are pretty common, I was looking for some info about how to prevent that. I came over this post on facebook where, among other methods, it explains that wrapping the dog in bandages can help with this.

Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

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  • I've never tried it, but I prob will now that you brought it up. Our dog wants to get carried/held whenever she gets frightened by thunder or fireworks. We learned that putting her bed underneath something, couch, bed, whatever looks/feels "hidden" helps her to calm down.
    – Just Do It
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 15:00
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    @PoolPartyRenekton Ours runs and hides in the shower. Our vet told us not to bother her while she was there, as she does this looking for a "secure" place, but I would prefer this not happening at all, so I think I will try this too.
    – mornaner
    Commented Dec 9, 2015 at 15:40
  • Sounds like a homebrew attempt to replicate the effect of a Thundershirt (tm). I'm not sure there's consensus on whether thundershirts actually work or if they just act as a placebo for the human and the dog reacts to the human calming down.
    – keshlam
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 2:59
  • We have some Q&A about thundershirts
    – James Jenkins
    Commented Dec 10, 2015 at 17:58
  • I don't have any resources for this answer. But I've been told that the static electricity from a thunderstorm makes a dog feel uncomfortable and scared, not necessarily the sounds. @mornaner's dog goes to the shower since the material the shower is made up of limits the amount of static electricity emitted. I'm not sure that this has been proven, but petting the static out of the dog with a dryer sheet might help calm her down... and smell nice during a thunderstorm.
    – MSU_Bulldog
    Commented Jan 12, 2016 at 13:45

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Someone mentioned the Thundershirt; I think the bandaging is an attempt to create the same type of pressure and fur stimulation that the shirt does. Something about it is calming for the dog. I have friends who swear by the Thundershirt and I have seen it work in making a nervous dog calmer, especially during things like storms and fireworks.

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