Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment

Our older dalmation has severe thunderstorm anxiety. She shivers, hides, pants, and whines. It is terrible! I was another skeptical shopper, but willing to try the Thundershirt after reading about it in my Yahoo group. Some people in the group were getting good results.

I am happy to say that we have also had good results. Now, that doesn't mean it's an instant and 100% cure. It has lessened our dog's anxiety during storms by about 75%. She is still anxious, but she doesn't tremble, pant, whine, or hide. She will still pace some, but mainly she just lays down and looks unhappy until the storm is over. So it's a huge improvement.

I read another review about how tight the shirt is, so much so the reviewer worried about the product's safety. All I can say is that I think they bought the wrong size. We adjust the shirt so that it is snug, not tight. Our dog didn't like the shirt at first, and looked at us like we had lost our minds when we put it on her the first time. But she has gotten used to it. She even stands and looks at us when a storm is approaching, waiting for us to get her shirt.

We live in South Florida, the lightning capital of the world. So we have frequent strong thunderstorms. The Thundershirt has helped us get through this last rainy season with less problems and a happier dog. I think it's worth trying and I am glad we did.

Ever since my Ellie was a puppy...now 9, loud noises, like fireworks and thunderstorms are a problem.

She goes into complete panic mode.

This 80lb Shepherd mix looses her doggy mind, trying to climb in anything that has a door. The fridge if we are looking for something, the cupboards even the dishwasher, for example.

Tried doggy downers, but once she is in that panic she will not chew a tablet.

We live in Florida, where a wicked thunderstorm could pop up without warning.

So we purchased this shirt to see if this might be some salvation for us, and relief for the dog.

Well...she lets us put it on her with no fuss. I let her give it a good sniff over before attempting to put it on her.

She actually likes the shirt and shows some sign of excitement when it's presented.

Now during storms, and this took a couple of times, She seems to not to try to climb in the cupboards or have that look of abject terror in her eyes.

Now she gets the shirt...goes into the small guest bathroom. and lies on the floor in the the dark.

Don't get me wrong, there still is allot of pacing and panting before the final result. but it is more positive behavior.

I wouldn't call it a miracle cure, but it seems to help a take the edge off.

Buy Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment Now

I'll admit, I was a little skeptical about how well this shirt would work for our 11 year old black lab mix, Mollie. She has ALWAYS been deathly afraid of thunder when a storm blows up, she paces, pants, trembles uncontrollably, and is just generally very, VERY anxious. We could never provide her much solace, even in our laps. But, I had seen a wonderful movie on HBO called "Temple Grandin" starring Claire Danes in the title role. This true story is about an amazing autistic woman who, through courage, strength of will, and a brilliant mind, completed college and earned Master's & Doctoral degrees in animal sciences. She also is a pioneer in new approaches to cattle ranching and slaughter house management. By empathizing with the animals, and keenly observing their behavior during immunizations, dips, and being lead into the slaughter house, she redesigned much of how it all was done, leading to much calmer & easier to herd cattle, and as humane as possible slaughter.

Anyway, early in the movie, while spending a summer as a teenager at an aunt's cattle ranch for the summer, she observed that the cattle were calmed when placed in a holding device called a "squeeze chute" that pressed in on them tightly. She was fascinated by it, and her aunt allowed her to try it out. Finding that it calmed her nervousness dramatically, she built a smaller-sized version for herself that she used while in college and beyond.

Remembering this from the movie, I decided to get a Thundershirt for Mollie. Well, let me tell you, it works wonders, at least for our Girl. In fact, it is thundering outside as I type this and Mollie, with her pink rugby-style Thundershirt on is laying calmly on the floor in her bed beside me. No panting, trembling or pacing. No apparent anxiety at all! And, to top it off, my wife is vacuuming in the next room (another "trigger" for Mollie's anxiety), and she is apparently not bothered by it either.

Your "mileage may vary" as it is said, but I recommend you at least try one for yourself if you have a dog who gets overly anxious during thunderstorms. If it works half as good as it does for our Mollie, just think how much happier & at peace your dog will be during a storm!

Oh, and as an aside, unlike some other reviewer's dogs, our Mollie has no problem moving around & relaxing when wearing her Thundershirt. The key, I think, is to be sure & order the correct size by measuring your dog around the deepest part of their chest. Doing this caused me to order one size larger than I would have guessed she needed. Also, don't put it on too tightly! Finally, while the material could cause her to be hot, we run the air conditioning in our house consistently at 72° and she is comfortable while wearing it.

Read Best Reviews of Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment Here

We didn't buy our thundershirt for "thunderstorms". We read that the shirt was supposed to help ALL anxiety problems. We have a two-year old Lab/Golden Retriever mix. We love him to death, but since the day we got him (he was ten weeks old)he got very anxious whenever we had to leave him alone or take him for a drive. We recorded him on our webcam whenever we left. We would leave him kongs of frozen canned dog food or peanut butter, or any type of food that would take him a while to finish off. Once the food was eaten and he realized he was alone, he would start to pant, start crying, then start howling up toward the ceiling, calling for us. The crate just wouldn't work. We made it his "happy place" by putting toys and food in it. He happily goes into the crate to rest when we are home, but as soon as we left, he would howl, bark, and try to break out of the crate. What we did then was put a gate up and left him in the kitchen so that he had more room. The barking lessened, but he still did it. Whenever he laid down in the recorded videos we had of him, his head would be up and his ears would be back. Our main problem was when he barked, we didn't want him getting the neighbors angry...he has a LOUD bark, especially when he's anxious. We tried the thundershirt. We put it on him, he didn't try to chew it off or get uncomfortable. We recorded him with it on and we left for an hour. While in the shirt, he simply went next to the gate and laid down. After watching the whole video, he didn't bark a SINGLE time. That made us so happy that he felt like he was being hugged, so he didn't bark. The only thing I don't like is, as I said earlier, whenever we leave, we leave him food to work on in his kongs. Since we have had the shirt and we leave him, he seems to lose interest in his food. He just chills out and lays down with no barking. I like that he gets mellow, I guess that's what it's SUPPOSED to do, but for our extremely food-motivated dog to NOT touch his food when we put him in the thundershirt is odd. I don't know, it just seems like he's drugged or something while in the thundershirt. It doesn't hurt him, his personality just gets really mellow which is what you want if you don't want your dog to be anxious during stressful times for them. I would recommend if you are using this shirt for crate training or seperation anxiety, record your pooch while you are gone and see how he reacts when you aren't there. It was just nice to see that this shirt is not JUST for thunderstorms. If the shirt doesn't work, then return it with the money-back guarantee.

Want Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Treatment Discount?

Purchased this for my miniature schnauzer who is a worrier, not because of thunder. She likes to get worked up in the evening about the people walking the neighborhood, bunnies in the yard, the cat, etc. She ends up running from window to window like a loon, whining and shrill barking. Put the thundershirt on and she stops dead. She will literally freeze. I pick her up, settle her on the couch, and she falls asleep almost instantly. Take the shirt off and she's normal again. It seems to be a lot like swaddling an infant. It's essentially a t-shirt with Velcro, but something about it does the trick.

Joybies Tropical Red Aloha Piddle Pants(tm) for Medium Female Dog (Measuring 15"-17" From Collar to

My 10 year-old Pharaoh Hound has recently become incontinent. After trying different types of childrens diapers (with no success), I stumbled upon these piddle pants while searching the web for solutions. I ordered a pair of denim XXL and after waiting 3 weeks for them to arrive, was very pleased with the way they are working out. There are straps connected to the pants that velcro around the dog's neck to hold them up and this prevents the pants from falling down. This is the best feature because my dog has long legs, narrow haunches and a narrow waist.

They must be washed by hand and laid flat to dry, so having only one pair is a big challenge because when they are being washed/dried, it could take hours before they can be worn again.

To remedy this issue, I ordered two more pair. I have a trip planned and a friend will be staying at my house to watch my dog, so the other two pair are desperately needed in order for it to be easier for my friend to care for my dog. I ordered the additional two pair of pants plenty of time in advance of my trip (1/24/11) and even sent the company an e-mail politely requesting that the pants arrive before 2/12/11. I was told they would be here well before 2/12/11.

However, today is 2/12 and no pants. I e-mailed the company to obtain an order status and was told that they shipped me the pants a few days ago and they were returned to them because they forgot to add postage. So they re-shipped them yesterday which means I will not receive them in time for my trip and if I'm lucky, they will get here some time in March more than a month after I ordered them.

I don't know if this is a real company or just someone sewing these items from their home and calling themself a company, but it is a bit ridiculous to have to wait more than a week or two to receive something ordered from the internet. Plus, these pants help dogs either in heat or that are incontinent, so we don't have the luxury of waiting weeks and weeks for this product to arrive. The item itself is really good so what a shame that they can't get their act together as far as processing and shipping their items in a timely fashion.

M&C Healthy Centers with Real Chicken/Vegetables

It's a great little treat, only 4 calories and good for them, too! They are hard to find in the stores.

Our dog loves these treats! They are easy to carry around too not too soft or smelly. We're going to try the turkey and cranberry ones next.

Buy M&C Healthy Centers with Real Chicken/Vegetables Now

This is a tasty healthy treat for my dog. She looks forward to getting them daily. They do not have any of the bad glutten and help promote healthy joints. My dog is big and she is very busy on the farm and I think this with other supplements she gets will help keep her joints healthy.

Read Best Reviews of M&C Healthy Centers with Real Chicken/Vegetables Here

Alfie Couture Designer Pet Accessory - Crystal Rhinestone Retractable Dog Leash - Color: Pink, Size:

I BOUGHT 3 OF THESE 2 AT FIRST FOR GIFTS 1 PINK 1 BLUE. THEN A COUPLE WEEKS LATER I BOUGHT 1 OF MY DOGS ONE ANOTHER PINK IT LASTED 1 WEEK. WE WERE WALKING OUR DOGS AND THE BLACK LEASH CAME RIGHT OUT OF THE PINK ALFIE COUTURE CRYSTAL RHINESTONE. VERY DISAPPOINTED. I GOT THE BAD ONE. NO FAIR FOR $30.00 U WOULD THINK IT WOULD LAST A LONG TIME. WELL IT DIDN'T. JULIE NAJAEIAN AT RUDOLPH1954@YAHOO.COM

Super cute, but the leash part/ribbon twists once it is out (because it is so thin);so it does not retract properly without extra effort.

Buy Alfie Couture Designer Pet Accessory - Crystal Rhinestone Retractable Dog Leash - Color: Pink, Size: Now

Guardian Cotton Web Training Pet Lead Leash - Red

I have 50lb pointer, he pulled hard on it and broke this leash. NOT the leash itself, but where the metal part is sewed onto the leash. Wish this was re-enforced stronger. The nylon leash part is actually good quality and is still in tact. This leash would be great for dogs that don't pull or that are lighter than 50lbs.

I've gone through a few cotton leads, as I walk my dog 4x daily through the woods on one, and they get muddy, and caught on brambles and brush, and then washed and dried regularly. This one has stood up to this rough kind of wear and still looks as good as new, unlike others that have frayed and fallen apart rather quickly. I'm very happy with it.

1/12 Update

My pup eventually chewed through the original red lead (she still gets excited when there are deer nearby) but I think she would have chewed through anything. I am still very happy, and have purchased additional leads in other colors.

Buy Guardian Cotton Web Training Pet Lead Leash - Red Now

Great way to keep my bolting schnauzer from taking off in the yard (which isn't yet fenced) when he sees something! The leash is very sturdy and well made.

Read Best Reviews of Guardian Cotton Web Training Pet Lead Leash - Red Here

Qualaity is great. Delivery was fast. Hardware is quality, it swivels and it slides easily. Would buy again. Far superior to the last training lead I purchased.

Want Guardian Cotton Web Training Pet Lead Leash - Red Discount?

My dog and I live in an apartment in the city, so there is no place for him to just run. With this long lead I can take him to the park and play fetch.

Save 45% Off

Indoor Pet Potty Trian Pad Grass Replacement Mat 23"X18"

I love my second potty patch. It came in the mail within 3days . I got a second one so I have one ready for the next time. After rinsing with dawn soap and scrubbing I let it soak over night with a solution called 256; It'd concentrate so I use just a little bit and water. Its used by most vet clinics to discinfect. MY LIITLE pom loves the mat and I don't feel like I have to rush every time from work.

Save 61% Off

DT Works Harness, Service Dog In Training, Black/White, Large - Fits Girth Size: 34-Inch to 47-Inch

The harness is remarkable. It looks and fits very well.It is easy to put on my dog and easily removed. I would like to have the sign that says. THERAPY DOG IN TRAINING. I can pay for any additional signage. Thanks Lois

Save 9% Off

Dean and Tyler Small Pocket Bite Tug - Jute - Size: 8-Inch by 2-Inch

Tug is well made and great for sticking in your pocket. The description is misleading however, I expected there to be two handles. The item I received had only one.

Petrageous Designs Travel Goody Bag, Green

This worked fine while in a training class with my big standard poodle. The flap makes it hard for me to get the treats out but also keeps his big nose out of the bag! I can also put it in my purse when we go out, the flap keeps the treats from spilling. A good little travel treat bag.

Save 7% Off

Natural Chemistry gnawful Ultra Bitter Training Aid for Destructive Chewing, Licking, and Biting Beh

This spray made me cough and gag but my pup didn't seem to mind it. I sprayed it on anything and everything that he chewed and he still went back for more.

This spray is different from many other anti-chewing products. It works, and doesn't have drawbacks of other products. The bottle can spray a wide mist to cover a large area like furniture, floor, or drapes. The nozzle can be turned to spray a directed stream to small areas on your pet (paw, tail, stitches)or a small object. There is no smell or bitter taste for humans. Other products go airborne. I've inhale the bitter spray or transferred it from my dog or the areas that I sprayed to my hands and mouth. YUCK! That does NOT happen with Gnawful. I would have given 5 stars if I didn't have to reapply several times a week.

Buy Natural Chemistry gnawful Ultra Bitter Training Aid for Destructive Chewing, Licking, and Biting Beh Now

PetSafe No-Bark Collar, PBC-102

This is a must have if you live within the city limits, have fussy or close neighbors in proximity to your yard, or have a strict home owners association that prohibits excessive dog barking. I am a lab breeder and own 3 of these units. I am very pleased with the performance and function of this product because it stops "nuisance barking" by administering a minimal buzz that gradually gets stronger the longer the dog barks the lowest setting delivers your common "prankster hand buzzer" volt. And if your too squeamish about buzzing your dog, there is a "lemon spray" version of this exact brand that also works well too. Instead of delivering a buzz, it puffs a lemon deterant near the snout. For more stubborn dogs, the buzzer seems to work better. In no way is this harmful to your dog, but rather more humane discipline than verbal or physical correction by you, the owner. I believe all dogs are pleasers and want you to be happy with them. If your dog doesn't have a bark collar, most people tend to over correct or not be completely steady in the level of correction being a swat on the hind end, hopefully nothing more abusive, or other methods. The end result is your dog barks when your not around. That's why these collars work so well, it adjusts and corrects only as needed, and with as little force as needed, and will never over correct, or over punish, like we humans sometimes do when we're angry or sleep deprived due to a BARKING DOG!!!! By using this bark collar, the dog, in a sence, is making a choice whether or not it wants to continue barking incesantly, which is a much better training technique. This collar will still allow them to bark, don't get me wrong, but the ongoing nuisance barking will cease. These collars work great and allow more opportunities for us to reward the dogs for good behavior instead of correcting them for barking constantly. You'll love your dog more and he'll love you more too by being a good owner and keeping everyone happy. I would definitely buy more of this brand if my other units get damaged somehow.

I gave this product 5 stars because it definitely works as advertised. Be forewarned, however, that your dog's reaction may vary greatly from others. We purchased two. On the one dog, it worked great after a few weeks of training, she stops barking as soon as we take out the collar and stays silent. For this dog, the device is worth it's weight in gold! The other dog, however, had very bad experiences when she is shocked, she cries (she has a weird bark/cry/growl), but the device thinks she is barking and continues to zap, and she becomes a wreck. Thus, we can't use it on her, but on the other dog it works great.

A few other notes: it works by detecting vibrations in the dog's neck, not by sound (ie, another dog barking won't set it off), so the collar needs to be tight. If a dog has thick hair, it may not work as well. It will also take several weeks to train your dog properly with the device the instructions indicate that you can't keep it on for more than 12 hours at a time or the dog may develop a rash. Thus, you will have to work the collar into your routine, putting it on and removing it based on your dog's bark patterns. Finally, the shock is definitely not painful (you can test it by rubbing it against your jeans, it's just a static shock), but your dog's reaction to this may be different from others. With this in mind, I do highly recommend this product! Good luck!

Buy PetSafe No-Bark Collar, PBC-102 Now

My recently adopted, very excitable dog has had the collar on a total of

maybe 3 hours over two days. Already, *without* the collar on, he has

absolutely stopped barking at (a) the vacuum cleaner, (b) the neighbor's

perpetually yapping (instigator) dog right on the other side of the

fence, and (c) squirrels (real or imagined) in the trees behind the

house. The transformation is absolutely beyond belief. Get over any "I

don't want to hurt my baby" thing you may have going on I did too -

and buy this product if you have a barking problem. I'm floored by how

effective this thing is and wish I'd known about it years ago. I realize

that training isn't complete at this point but I've seen instantaneous

and really dramatic improvement. Good luck and I hope you have even half

the success I'm having with this product. Note to those who got a defective one try again!

Added 2 days after my initial review it gets better! Tried this on my other young dog, adopted a month or so earlier, who is pretty good about barking except while I'm preparing her food. Then, she barks like crazy and runs back and forth. It's cute and no problem at my house, but it's not cool when we're visiting my mom's apartment in a retirement community. I stuck the collar on her before starting food prep tonight and got two (count 'em!) barks during the entire prep process. Normally I wouldn't be able to count the frantic, nonstop barks during food prep. This change was astonishing.

I have become more aware of the need to be on top of things since I have two relatively young and energetic dogs. They may go from a "barking's not good now" situation (barking at the fence at passerby) to a "barking's OK now" situation (chasing each other around the house) pretty quickly. You need to be ready to take off (or put on) the shock collar at such transitions during training. But I'm finding that even occasional concentration on this is yielding bigtime resuts faster than I would have ever believed.

Read Best Reviews of PetSafe No-Bark Collar, PBC-102 Here

When my husband suggested that we get a bark control collar for our Pitt/Australian Shepherd mix, I nearly cried because I knew he was right. She was disturbing the whole neighborhood with her barking, and we knew that our tolerant neighbors would only be tolerant for so long.

I searched for hours doing research, trying to find the right collar, and I decided on this one for one main reason: it gives increasingly more intense corrections every time the dog barks, and it has an automatic shut off in case the dog freaks out.

When it arrived, the first thing I did was try it on myself. I wasn't going to put something potentially harmful on my dog until I knew what it felt like. The first correction feels like a small pinch, not even equivilent to a shot at the doctors office. Truly just enough to get your attention. The second correction is probably equivilent to a shot. The third got a little squeak out of me, and the fourth was clearly painful, but not enough to make me uncomfortable since the first three were so slight.

After that, I put it on my dog and waited for someone to knock on the door. When they did, she barked once and got a really confused expression on her face. She barked again and tried to sniff the collar. She didn't bark again. When we put her outside, she tested the collar, as I expected. On the third bark she gave a short cry and stopped barking. Ever since that test, she has only gotten to a third bark twice, and that was when a strange dog came near her fence.

Overall, I am VERY satisfied with this collar. After only 5 days of wearing it, she is generally bark free without it. We only put it on her now when we are gone for the day, as this means she is outside for a longer period of time than she is used to.

I highly reccomend this collar to anyone who is considering this type of devise. I think that it is an excelent and humane teaching tool. There is another review below from a pet owner who claims it was very painful when she tried it on herself. The only reason for this I can think of is that she tried it on herself before the collar had a chance to reset itself back to the minimum correction, as her dog was in distress when she took it off.

Want PetSafe No-Bark Collar, PBC-102 Discount?

I'm a trainer who was skeptical as to whether this rather low-priced collar would be effective on a German Shepherd, but I'm pleased!

My dogs aren't nuisance barkers, but are territorial and didn't like getting a new neighbor & sharing our fence with his dog. I bought one collar for my female the 'lead' barker. After just a few zaps from 'God', she got the idea and no longer barks. The gradual correction levels give her warning enough that she sometimes still gets off a bark or two before pushing her luck. and she's still able to whine a grumble a bit without getting corrected.

MOST IMPRESSIVE is the fact that the collar somehow wound up in a cooler at our Christmas party, submerged in water for about 3 days before it was found. It still worked perfectly!

I'm getting a second collar now for my male, who has decided to take over where the female left off. While I still have some additional problem solving to do to keep them from running at the fence with the neighbor dog, this collar at least keeps it quiet and less aggressive.

I don't believe this type of collar will solve every barking problem, but for my target issue, I'm pleased.

Save 33% Off

Sentry Stop That! - 1 ounce Spray

My wife uses this to control our pit bull mix's aggressive behavior on walks. She says it works quite well.

we used it to combat jumping and barking while in the crate, has worked like a charm and now only have to show her the can!

Buy Sentry Stop That! - 1 ounce Spray Now

I rarely do product reviews, but I had to in this case. My Ori Pei was starting to act aggressive toward the teen kids, and that was simply not acceptable. I tried all the ghost whisperer techniques, read a bunch of books, etc. Nothing worked. I saw a can of this in the pet store and figured it couldn't hurt. 2 uses was all it took! First use she barked up a storm, but backed off. It took about 15 seconds, and she went and laid down nice and calm. Like the others said, now she just sees the can and changes her behaviour. Only time I actually spray it now is when she's acting crazy and I can't get her attention (like barking at the fence at the dogs next door). One spray, even from 50ft. away and she stops acting up. I'm out now, so I'm stocking up. Amazing product.

Read Best Reviews of Sentry Stop That! - 1 ounce Spray Here

We have three dogs two are Golden Retrievers and the third is a Border Collie mix. And yep, two are only fiften months so JUMP. My husband poo poos everything I try and did the same when I brought home this spray but he actually saw it in action and now we have a can EVERYWHERE. IT REALLY DOES WORK! I only have to have the can in my hand now and they know. T-totally amazing!!!

Want Sentry Stop That! - 1 ounce Spray Discount?

Gets my dogs attention immediately , and stops whatever they were doing!

Works great! I recommend this product, good for walking your dog and stopping other dogs from charging at you!

Pet Safe RFA-67D 6-Volt Battery, Economy, 4-Pack

The first three batteries used out of this set of eight only lasted about three days each in an anti-bark collar, as opposed to the same brand ordered from other sources that lasted several weeks.

Well, what is there to say about batteries? The order was filled promptly and the batteries seem to be fresh. Good experience. I only wish PetSafe used rechargeable batteries, they have no incentive to make them more affordable.

Buy Pet Safe RFA-67D 6-Volt Battery, Economy, 4-Pack Now

With 2 dogs using the wireless fence, this is a good price to stock up on batteries

Read Best Reviews of Pet Safe RFA-67D 6-Volt Battery, Economy, 4-Pack Here

Since we bought this containment system we have been delighted to find our rescued Staffordshire Terrier, Elli (Pit Bull to the uninitiated) now knows her limits. Even when outside with my wife and I, she will not leave the limits we set for her with or without the collar. We live in the country and did not want her to wander into the cow, or horse, or alpaca pastures that surround us. We know she is safe from road traffic but has plenty of room to roam when she is outside un-attended. We know about the short battery life but feel it is a small price to pay for the safety of our pet.

Want Pet Safe RFA-67D 6-Volt Battery, Economy, 4-Pack Discount?

Is really good......... ... ...... .. .. .. ... ... .. .. ... ..... ... ... .... ... ... ...

Save 19% Off

Leather Brothers Italian Basket Dog Muzzle

Great product. Highly durable and dependable. No more dog bites. The only thing that I would consider a negative for this item is that it is advertised as leather when the face mask is hard plastic.

We live in south Florida and if you are familiar with Bufo Toads then you know how dangerous they are, the poison they sequestrate out their glands on their back will kill a dog in minutes. My mother has a American Water Spaniel puppy, who lunges at everything so this is keeping him safe as he learns. Great quality.

Buy Leather Brothers Italian Basket Dog Muzzle Now

Don't leave these where your dog can get it, but when wearing it it provides safety for all. My vet recommended this as well as a trainer and friends who have also used it. Keeps dog safe as she trains to behave. It saves lives!

Read Best Reviews of Leather Brothers Italian Basket Dog Muzzle Here

Treatstik Small Blue Meal And Treat Dispensing Dog Toy

I own the large Treatstik (9.75" long), and the small (6" long but with the same size treat dispensing hole). The large holds up to 1.5 cups of treats or kibble; the small ½ cup.

Both are well made of thick, hard, sturdy nylon that is smooth, with no sharp parts. Even the hole treats are dispensed from has smoothed edges. I have not used either size long enough to speak to how long it would last. I can't say what a stronger/larger jawed chewer than mine would do with it, but this toy is so sturdy and well made that I fully expect that it would last for years with my dogs. I bought the large to feed my 50lb. border collie one of her 2 meals a day of dry kibble. It both entertained her and slowed down her too-rapid eating. She did not seem too interested in chewing on it, mainly just knocking the food out (which occupied her for quite a while, but was not so hard to do that she became frustrated & felt the need to chew it open). She worked on it quite vigorously, pawing hard at it and knocking it into furniture. So I toss throw pillows or towels in front of certain furniture legs, etc, when I use it inside.

I've bought several treat/food dispenser toys, but this is the only one I've continued to use. Unlike the others, both sizes of Treatstik are very easy to fill through its large opening; even my sore hands can screw the cap on/off easily; cap stays on while my dog plays with it; and it's very easy to wash by hand, or it's dishwasher-safe.

Note that the Treatstik website says it is not for "toy" dogs: the hole that dispenses the treats is by my measure approximately 3/4" long by 1/2" wide oval. The small size has the same size hole. So in my opinion a dog might be a bit safer if she has lower canines farther apart than ¾".

The large size also works fine with my 14lb mini poodle, and she loves it (I supervise her with it, and her lower canines are wider than the hole). She rolls it all around, pawing at it & nosing it until she gets as much kibble out as she can, then looks to me to shake the rest down to the narrow end so she can work on it some more. I have to shake it down several times for her to get it all. So I bought the smaller size for her, thinking that she would be able to pick it up & tilt it to shake the last remaining bits of kibble down to the dispensing hole, which she cannot do with the large size (too big even at the narrower end for her small mouth to pick up). But she still can't pick up the fatter end of the small one, which is where she would need to grasp it to tilt it to get the food to fall down to where the hole is (she frustrates easily & won't experiment with more creative ways to tilt it). So she has the same problem with both sizes, causing her to get frustrated & give up on getting the last 10 or so pieces of (very small bites size) kibble out. So whichever size Treatstik we're using, I continue to help her out when she gets down to the last pieces. Occasionally I just open the end & dump out the few remaining pieces to save time.

Also, the smaller toy is so much narrower in diameter in the part where the dispensing hole is, that if I put her entire 1/3 cup meal of kibble in it, my dog feels she might be able to reach the kibble by just lying down & chewing at the hole to get to the food something she never even tried with the large version, and not what I want her to do with this toy. So I have to feed her the 1/3 cup in 2 installments, a minor nuisance (but not an issue if you're only using it to feed a few treats at a time).

My dog gives up easily & never goes back to toys that frustrate her, but some small dogs might work at the small Treatstik until they figured out a way to tilt the food out which might even be a good thing to keep them busy longer?

So both sizes work pretty much the same for my small dog, except that I can put her whole meal at one time in the large one, and the small one just requires a refill part way through. She likes both, and we use both, but I wish I'd known all this before I invested in the 2nd one that I ended up not needing. I prefer the large one, even for my small dog.

This is a really heavy-duty product that stands up to our dog's powerful chewing. She loves the toy and thinks getting her dinner in it is great. We got it since she would house her food so fast we thought she might choke or get bloat and it has definitely slowed down her eating.

Buy Treatstik Small Blue Meal And Treat Dispensing Dog Toy Now

Spiked Training Collar - Extra Small

My dog is so much more well behaved when wearing her prong collar. She doesn't pull on the leash and it easy to correct and train her to do the basic obedience. My dog coming running over when I take out this collar because she knows she's going out and doesn't have any problems wearing it opposed to a harness which she hated and aren't good for training anyways.

The quick release not only is good for taking off the collar easily but also putting it on without pinching the prongs hurting your fingers.

The actual lengths are NOT mentioned in these sizing so I ended up ordering the wrong size, the small is 18" which is for a good size dog. I had to reorder the extra small which is 14" and perfect for my medium sized mutt who's slightly taller than knee height, weighs 28 lbs but is thin.

Save 31% Off

Tri-Tronics Trashbreaker G3 EXP Training Collar with Tracer Light

I purchased this after adopting a very poorly raised dog. Although lovable, she would not stay in the yard, jumped on people and would not respond to anything.

Cured!

After only a couple of corrective impulses, she now behaves like an Angel.

Save 9% Off