Should You Get A Weighted Vest for Your Dog?
Dog anxiety
Ensuring the best quality of life for our pet friends is a primary concern of many dog parents and animal lovers across the world. Just like humans, dogs can experience a vibrant range of feelings. Depending on the breed, their environment and many other factors your dog can have a variety of emotional responses.
Due to this cognitive ability, dogs often suffer from anxiety, stress, and discomfort, as most dog parents are aware.
Recently, a wide range of therapeutic products have saturated the market focused on alleviating various symptoms and behaviour patterns for our canine companions.
One such method that has become quite popular is the use of a weighted dog vest to calm anxiety and provide an extra push during endurance training and stamina building exercises.
In this article, we explore why you might consider buying a weighted vest for your dog, and whether your furry friend needs this new accessory! Read On!
What Is A Weighted Vest?
A weighted vest is exactly what it sounds like – a tight-fitting vest padded with weights that are worn around the torso by your dog. The weights placed on the vest are spaced at specific ergonomic points to minimize the stress on weak muscles while creating gentle additional pressure on the body.
A weighted vest acts in two ways. Firstly, it provides additional stress to the muscles and can help in endurance and stamina training. Secondly, it comforts the dog by leveraging their domestication instincts, helping them feel calm and comfortable.
Using a Weighted Vest for Anxiety and Stress
As some dog owners will be aware, certain breeds are highly prone to anxiety and stress. This is manifested in the behaviour of the dog, which can be irritable and restless at times. Dogs that experience stress and anxiety are often unable to sit still for long durations and frequently move around their space to alleviate their anxiety.
Using a weighted vest can help your dog address their anxiety and stress by providing them with a comforting, gentle weight on their shoulders that has a psychological and physical effect simultaneously.
At the psychological level, the weighted vest simulates the feeling of being held or hugged and helps the pup feel more relaxed, comfortable, and at ease.
At the physical level, the added weight allows the muscles to work a little bit harder, activating various hormonal pathways in their body, which leads to the release of feel-good chemicals in their brain.
If you are looking at ways to provide relief from anxiety for your dog, then a weighted vest is a good option to try. It is not very expensive and as with humans who can use weighted blankets at night for comfort – this dog vest can certainly provide relief for some dogs.