Blinders For A Dog

[KCF2013]

That and a $1.50 will get you a cup of coffee. You have provided no solid argument for your opinion, whereas the OP's client sounds like they have put significant thought into this, and sought professional advice about it from someone who knows what they're talking about.

KCF2013, what kind of dog is it, incidentally?

The owner has decided to try one of the Thunder caps,

And it is a English Sheperd dog.

[LNLeather]

You learn something new every day! All along I have been thinking "these folks are nuts".

Heheheh. So Sorry...

Being a big "Dog Lover" my self and having had dogs that merely needed a little training (Border Collie,

Australian Shepard)........ it is difficult to imagine that blinders for dogs would or could accomplish anything

more than adding to any problems the dog may already have.

I have never heard of the "Thunder cap for dogs" or 'Thundershirt Calming Cap' but after doing some

reading I can see how the occasional use of the cap may be helpful in certain circumstances

(and in conjunction with training)

Edited July 26, 2014 by LNLeather

[Tinkerton]

I have no issue with using something like a thundercap as an aid to training. My trainer had me using something akin to a thundershirt in conjunction with other techniques to get my dog over her fear of my new car. Aids like that play on a dog's psychology of what they associate with safety and security. You put them on when the dog is calm, and it helps keep them in that state while you work with them in an anxiety inducing situation, in my case, the car. Once they realize that the scary situation isn't so scary after all, usually you can remove it for the rest of the training session. With my dog, I'd put the shirt on her, get her to jump in the car, use the other calming techniques if she started shaking. Then I'd close the door, start the car, usually have to calm her again, then put it in drive. After roughly 10 minutes of driving, she'd settle right down and I could take the shirt off her and she'd stay calm for the rest of the trip. The initial calming times were twice as long when I didn't use the shirt. I used it for a couple of months and now she jumps in quite happily and enjoys the ride.