Ok so maybe they still are a little frightening. Especially to Chloe.  The loud scary booming noises send Chloe into a shaking, whining, pacing, frenzy.  In the past when we have dealt with storms or fireworks we tried to give her herbal calming meds, which hasn’t always worked very well… Here is a video of Chloe when the thunder first started.  I don’t think you can hear the rumbling over the loud rain, but trust me, there was most definitely thunder.

After I put the Thundershirt on to help calm her, it took about 20 min for her to finally settle down.  I bought this a few weeks ago to help with fireworks that go off here occasionally and first found it on the Tripawd website Amazon Tripawd Selections webpage.  It is based on something called Tellingtouch Therapy which is a gentle pressure massage that is supposed to help calm nervous animals naturally.  The design of the pressure wrap shirt “hugs” the dog and capitalizes on that principle.  Anyway after I put it on, she decided that the best place to hide was in her crate.  This is a video of her staying in her crate even while the thunder was going off.  Again, the rain drowns out the thunder noises.  She is still shaking and panting a lot, but at least she isn’t pacing or whining like before.  Baby steps, baby steps…

And for an hour she was doing so well!!! Then my roommate came home with a few of her friends and Chloe sold me out to go spend time with other people to protect her.    Gee I didn’t feel like I’m a worthless protector or anything.  Plus, she decided to get on the couch and curl up between two people.  My roommate thought it was the funniest thing though, so I decided to take a picture and let her stay where she was most comfortable.  Even after my roommate and her friends left, Chloe slept on the couch, downstairs, by herself in the dark.  She wasn’t interested in coming back upstairs…

In the past the Thundershirt has worked great on a few fireworks that have gone off.  However, we had some extremely loud claps of thunder right over the house and I think it was just too much.  I will be putting the vest on her more often now when she is calm to help ease her anxiety more easily in the future when a thunderstorm hits.  Rare though they are, I’d rather be prepared.  The only disappointing thing is that I don’t think Chloe will ever be “cured” of her fears.  The directions that came with the Tundershirt don’t extend beyond what I mentioned above.  They mentioned incorporating it in a training program, however it just regurgitated advice I can look up on google in 2 seconds like, “when you are gone, leave them with something that smells like you or give them toys to play with to keep them occupied…etc…” you know the things I listed in my separation anxiety training that I have found don’t work for Chloe.  That is the only downside to the recommended use for the product.  Guess I am just going to have to use my brain and figure out something myself!

On this day November 18th, 2010,  Mr. Camo Man passed away at 8:40am (PST) around the age of 3 months.  He is survived by his wife Mrs. Gingerbread Man, his long time friends Mr. and Mrs. Devil Ball, Mr. Flappy, Mr. Landmine, and Ms. Stereo.  Mr. Camo Man was an avid believer in the gift of giving and his last wish was to have others benefit from this unfortunate event.  Mr. Camo man wanted his body to be donated to science and his heart (squeaker) available to Barney if he ever gets a chance to visit.  This was the kind of squeaker Mr. Camo Man was, a playful, yet honorable toy.  We hope to grant his second wish someday.

Mr. Camo Man’s funeral service was held later in the day. The sky was cloudy, but he had a beautiful setting with green grass and flowering plants.  It was an open casket service.

Some words were said, tears were shed, and all agreed that he would surely be missed.  Mrs. Gingerbread Man told everyone the story of his life, how he came here fresh from the store about 3 months ago and fell in love soon after.  She never thought she would meet someone like him or someone with such a giving heart.  Soon after, Mrs. Gingerbread Man broke into unending sobs and had to be dragged away from the casket.  Here are a few things that his fellow toys had to say:

Mr. Flappy: “I was his best man at the wedding between he and Mrs. Gingerbread Man.  But in reality, he was the best man in my book.”

Mr. Devil Ball (blue): “He saved my life the other day when the beast started to prefer me to the other toys. Mr. Camo Man stepped in and forced the beast to play with him, so that I could recover from the incessant attack.  Yes, he was a great man indeed. He was loved by all.”

Even though Mrs. Gingerbread Man is a grieving woman she would like it to be known how his death came to be.  She is quite afraid of this bizarre partly shaven, 3 legged beast with a missing tooth and flair for squeaking a toy to death and would like to warn others of this terrible creature.  Mrs. Gingerbread Man allowed these videos to be released for informational purposes only.  Disclaimer: If you have a weak stomach, please refrain from watching the videos and viewing the photo from the scene of the crime.  For they capture the actions that led to his untimely death. Unfortunately, this is not the first death by the beast. Click here for a previous blog post about the life and death of her other squeakers.

The beginning of the end.

His final moments.

The scene of the crime. His heart was saved by the immediate actions of the paramedics to preserve this life saving organ.

May you rest in peace Mr. Camo Man, you will surely be missed.

For a dog who runs away from the tumbling waves and doesn’t like to get a bath, she sure is OK with puddle hopping! This is the second time I have caught her in the act (see previous post rock climbing and puddle hopping)!!!  For those of you who don’t know what puddle hopping is, I will let Chloe show you:

Did I mention that she went back in again?!?!  And she convinced someone else to join in the puddle hopping fun!

I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked.  I mean if I’ve learned anything after having a tripawd for 3 months now, it is that they surprise you when you least expect it.  Maybe she will turn into a water dog…who knows?