You Can Now Get A Weighted Blanket For Your Anxious Dog
Every parent of an anxious pup is going to want to nab a weighted blanket that’s just for dogs
Anxiety isn’t a good time for anyone. That goes for humans, but it also goes for our furry pals. They deserve all the chances to calm their anxiety that we get, which is why Amazon is now offering a weighted blanket that’s made specifically for dogs.
The Canine Coddler comes in two sizes to accommodate a wide range of dog breeds, and costs $80 for either size. The cover is machine washable, and the weight comes from nontoxic PVC pellets, you know, just in case your nervous pup decides to have a blanket snack, as dogs are wont to do.
Image via Amazon
Anyone who’s ever had an anxious pupper is probably going to stop reading right now and two-day ship this baby straight to their door. And for good reason.
When I adopted my 13-year-old terrier from a local shelter, I thought I was getting a turn-key dog. She was older, so I figured she’d be calm and well-trained. Instead, she had crippling separation anxiety (probably something to do with being abandoned at a shelter at 13 years old). If I left her home alone, she destroyed furniture. If I left her in her crate, she rubbed her little nose on the bars until it was raw and bleeding. It took months of careful training to get her to trust that I would eventually come home, and she was safe in my apartment alone. But watching her suffer like that absolutely broke my heart. I would have done anything to help her through her anxiety.
Weighted blankets have been a common anxiety treatment for humans for years. They work because of something called Deep Touch Pressure, or DTP. Basically, it’s the idea that gentle, distributed pressure on the body, in the form of a weighted blanket, a weighted vest or even a big hug, has certain physiological benefits. It’s been shown to increase serotonin, which regulates moods, blood pressure and heartrate, and decrease cortisol, which contributes to stress.
A lot of Googling didn’t turn up any studies on whether DTP affects dogs the same way it affects people. But for your anxious pup, it may be worth a shot. If nothing else, you’ll have a cozy, comforting blanket that you and your fur baby can snuggle under.
