Anxiety Wrap Pressure Wrap for Dogs, Toy

No, we refuse to knowingly sell an Anxiety Wrap to be used on any dog who lives his life outside. The reasons are simple:

1. The dog could overheat.

2. According to the National Humane Society - dogs who live outside are more likely to blend into the environment.

   Meaning they are more likely to not have continued access to fresh water, clean food, proper shelter, their medical needs are more likely to go unnoticed for longer periods of time, etc. We know the Anxiety Wrap could help these outside dogs get through storms and other issues, but we will NOT risk them becoming overheated or anything else one could think of happening to an outside dog. Although it is rare an outside dog owner will try to order an Anxiety Wrap, but it does on occasion happen and we have and will continue to refuse to sell to them.

Absolutely yes, as a matter of fact, the Anxiety Wrap is a great way of smoothing down the dog's coat making putting on a harness even easier.

Yes as long as the weather is conducive. If it's pretty warm or hot outside then wet the Anxiety Wrap in cold water and use it as a cooling agent. Of course, you'll need to keep it damp. If it's cold outside of course it is fine to use outside without fear of overheating your dog.

Yes, it's machine washable recommend on delicate cycle in cold water. Then air dry it (which doesn't take long) or if you need it right away, put it on your dog while it's still damp.

Yes, regardless of gender.

Yes and no, in the case of storms, as well as some other usages, we instruct the person to ignore the dog. When a person interacts with their dog the Anxiety Wrap's calming effects are at risk of being overridden. The person's interaction, good or bad, can cause the dog's adrenaline to increase. Another example is hyperactivity. We had a customer call reporting on his dog. He purchased the Anxiety Wrap for his Lab who was hyperactive. He reported with the Anxiety Wrap on his dog would lay down and want to do much. He said, "I took him out to play ball and he really didn't want to play". It's amazing, but why wouldn't he play ball when normally he loves to?" When the Anxiety Wrap is used it calms the dog, by interacting with the dog asking in this case, for the dog to play ball, the person is forcing the dog's system to override the Anxiety Wrap's effectiveness. Don't do it, let the Anxiety Wrap work. If a person is training their dog then the Anxiety Wrap becomes a training aid. When interaction is part of training then interaction is warranted. The Anxiety Wrap in these cases is used to increase balance, confidence and can also aid in reducing aggression, but as with all aggression one needs to be working with a qualified positive reinforcement trainer and/or behaviorist. NOTE: It's been said one can not increase fear in their dog (or another person for that matter) by their interaction with the dog. That said, we continue to instruct people not to interact with their dogs when their dogs are wearing their Anxiety Wraps (unless training) until studies, and not speculations, prove otherwise. Observational evidence leads us to still believe interaction can make a difference.

We recommend a dog wear their Anxiety Wrap only as long as needed, but sometimes life gets in the way. In these cases the answer is yes. We have only received a handful of feedback which suggested a dog habituated to its Anxiety Wrap. If on the outside chance it happens then we instruct the person to stop using the Anxiety Wrap for 2-weeks. After this break the Anxiety Wrap's effectiveness should return.

In cases such as all day storms, mild anxiety, separation anxiety, etc., the Anxiety Wrap was designed to be worn short or long term. In the case of dogs who don't need to wear their Anxiety Wrap all day, an example would be "my dog is afraid of a storm, but the storm is due to pass out of our area by noon". We advise the caregiver, if possible, to go home at lunch time or have a friend remove the Anxiety Wrap from the dog once the storm has passed by. It's not that their dog couldn't wear the Anxiety Wrap all day, but rather it's best not to wear it when it's not necessary. As with anything you don't want to risk habituation. But, if a storm or separation anxiety calls for the Anxiety Wrap to be worn all day, then it's safe to do so.

The Anxiety Wrap can be used as a cooling agent by wetting and/or keeping it damp should the weather be pretty warm or even hot outside. If the Wrap's fabric is more like a stretchy swimsuit wetting it doesn't become uncomfortable, but try wetting a pair of not so stretchy and heavier slacks, it's just plain uncomfortable. We at the Anxiety Wrap company know our customers would never intentionally want their dogs to be uncomfortable and neither do we, therefore it is our goal to produce quality products always keeping the animals comfort and safety in mind. We have and will continue to work on prototypes which offer non-over the head applications, and as soon as we successfully develop the design that maintains, effectiveness, comfort and safety we'll let you know.

That's an excellent question! There were a total of 90-prototypes before the one you see today was put on the market. We actually tried several designs that didn't go over the dog's head, but we found the fabric had to be heavier with a small amount of stretch. When we traded our lighter, extremely stretchable fabric for one that could be used more like a wrap around dog coat we also found a reduction in effectiveness, comfort and safety. Here is why, the less stretch (especially 4-way stretch) meant the Wrap still had to fit snug on the dog's body to provide and retain effectiveness. When this was done the dog's comfort was greatly compromised. It would be the same thing as you wearing a pair of snug Spandex leggings or leotards vs. wool slacks with a small amount of stretch fabric added. Ask yourself which type of form fitting apparel would you prefer to wear? Now what if you were to wear that apparel for hours and hours at a time. I think the answer is obvious (and keep in mind dogs don't care about how their tummies look in comfortable form fitting apparel). Now take the same fabric comparison and let talk about safety. The more stretch the more safe, if a dog should walk by and get snagged on something the stretchy fabric would allow him to walk out of the Anxiety Wrap. While a dog coat style with much less stretch would have your dog hung up until someone found him conceivably all day.

The Anxiety Wrap is a custom blend of breathable, 4-way stretch fabric. We spent a lot of time finding the right blend of fabrics that gave the effectiveness while providing comfort and safety.