Jan
2013
Sentry Calming Collar
Lately I have been having a feeding problem with Plunger. It seems the older he gets the less patience he has. He doesn’t want to wait patiently to be fed like the Newfs. As soon as he hears the food bowls come out he wants his food and he wants it now!
Feeding the dogs for me takes time. I have three dogs and five bowls. I have to prepare their food making sure each dog’s food is at the right temperature and mixed properly. Each dog gets different things added to their food and all of this preparation takes time.
Plunger doesn’t think he has time when it comes to eating. He has always been a little on the “food aggressive” side and we have never been able to break him of this. The dog will howl and howl until I give him his food and it’s quite annoying to have a howling Beagle behind you when you are trying to make sure everyone’s food is prepared properly and this bothers me because I try and keep feeding time nice and relaxed.
To add to the chaos Plunger has recently started to jump on me as I begin to pass out the bowls. Plunger is the last one to get his food because that is just the way the rotation goes and he will follow me around jumping on my legs until I put his bowl down.
It’s annoying to say the least, especially early in the morning.
So when I was asked to try out the Sentry Calming Collar for dogs I took my chances to see if this could help our situation.
About the Sentry Calming Collar:
Sentry states that the collar helps dogs in fearful or stressful situations (separation anxiety, fireworks, thunderstorms, visitors, new baby, traveling, pulling on leash, whining, chewing, aggression, incessant barking). The collar mimics pheromones that mother dogs produce to calm and reassure her puppies and will release pheromones for up to 30 days and is non-toxic.
Pros: I tried the collar out on Plunger for two weeks and found that while I didn’t see a complete change in his behavior at feeding time, he did stop jumping on me. The lavender chamomile fragrance of the collar was strong at first but over time seemed nice and refreshing. The collar is big, big enough to fit around Sherman and Leroy’s neck and can be trimmed with scissors to fit most sized dogs. According to Sentry, the collar can be used without long term side effects for dogs of all ages. The collar, while not intended to be edible, is safe if accidentally or purposely consumed, but keep in mind that this is plastic and plastic can cause an intestinal blockage if large pieces are eaten. Just ask Leroy who ate part of the first collar we were sent to review. (he’s fine and didn’t suffer any ill side effects besides dealing with the likes of me)
Cons: The collar has a powder coating on it that is very messy when you first take it out of the package. The collar “is designed to release powder when applied, which will activate the pheromone technology.” I personally didn’t like the powder all over my floor or my hands but it washed off easily.
My conclusion: Nice, safe calming product except for the mess that it initially creates and given more time it may have conquered more of our feeding time issues.
The Sentry Calming Collar is available at pet specialty retail stores, such as PetSmart and Petco, as well as online from a variety of retailers. Retail prices vary, but the collar is generally available in the affordable $15-20 range. There is also an online coupon available at http://www.sentrypetcare.com/goodbehavior.
BIG Bonus! BIG Bonus! BIG Bonus!
If you help me spread the word about the Sentry Calming Collar one lucky reader will win a $50.00 donation from DogTime Media to the non-profit 501c3 shelter or rescue of their choice!
There are three ways you can be eligible for this awesome donation.
1) Add a comment to this blog post telling us about your experience with the Calming Collar or why you want to try this product
2) Tweet about this review post and leave the URL to your Tweet in a comment on this post
3) Blog about this review post and leave the URL to your blog post in a comment on this post
Congratulations to GIZMO! Gizmo is the winner of the $50.00 donation!
Contest ends on 1/22/13 and winner will be chosen by random.org.
***Disclosure*** I was sent two Sentry Calming Collars from my honest review of this product. All opinions expressed here and mine and mine only.
Daisy
January 17, 2013 at 3:14 am (154 days ago)Sounds interesting. We think Bella could use a calming collar or something, she seems to be getting more nervous.
Hope it solves your problem.
XXXOOO Daisy, Bella & Roxy
2 brown dawgs
January 17, 2013 at 6:56 am (153 days ago)Sounds like an interesting product. If I had a dog that was stressed in certain situations, I think I would try it. Can it be put on and taken off as needed (like for storms), or does it have to be worn continuously to be effective?
Jen
January 18, 2013 at 12:16 am (153 days ago)It can be taken off and stored in a sealed bag, but it is recommended to keep it on for the most effectiveness.
emma
January 17, 2013 at 7:31 am (153 days ago)My sister was always a light eater mom says, never cared about food but the last few years as she has become a senior she is getting more and more obsessed with food and is also more impatient. She doesn’t jump or anything but she guards the area, sticks her head in the treat drawer, etc. No idea why she has become so obsessed.
houndstooth
January 17, 2013 at 8:43 am (153 days ago)I would be curious to see if this would help Blueberry get over her whining or if it would help Morgan to be less of a cracker dog!
Kimberly, The Fur Mom
January 17, 2013 at 9:22 am (153 days ago)I’m curious about this collar. Rodrigo and Sydney are calm dogs; even Blue is pretty mellow accept for 15 minutes after I get home (which I kind of like). It would be interesting to see what they think about it and the scent. It would be cool to see if it helps Blue calm down around the cats and guests.
Here’s the tweet: https://twitter.com/TheFurMom/status/291912895384657921
Jodi
January 17, 2013 at 9:34 am (153 days ago)I don’t need the collar, I just want to tell you that Delilah loses her stuff when I’m preparing meals. She just can’t sit still, sometimes if I’m not quick enough, she whines or she barks and when I approach the area where she is fed, she jumps backwards all the way there.
Two French Bulldogs
January 17, 2013 at 9:43 am (153 days ago)We tried something similar for my Lily. It didn’t work at all. Thank you for the good review
Benny & Lily
Gizmo (@GizmoGeodog)
January 17, 2013 at 12:42 pm (153 days ago)It’s not a product we need, but I know that many others do so we tweeted about it here https://twitter.com/GizmoGeodog/status/291963144979505152
We’ve also marked this post to share in Triberr
It would be great to win a donation to Save Our Homeless Pets,the group profiled in our Blog the Change post…Wish us luck
KimT
January 17, 2013 at 2:43 pm (153 days ago)We tried the collar, and had very similar results to yours. It actually works! That powder is a bit of a mess, too – but I swept it into a pile, set it in a container in the room where the dog spends most of his time. I figured the extra scent could only help.
I don’t know about you, but I was really quite surprised that it worked as well as it did on such difficult behaviors!
Jen
January 19, 2013 at 1:03 pm (151 days ago)Good idea Kim! I wish I would of thought about that with the powder!
Bark'n About
January 17, 2013 at 3:02 pm (153 days ago)You can also try Ttouch canine massage along with using essential oils like lavendar. The idea is, you use massage to relax the dog and at the same time have lavender in the room. After you can also put on a thunder-shirt sprayed with a bit of lavender. The idea is the dog will associate the relaxation of the massage with the scent and the comfort of the thunder-shirt also with the scent. Eventually the smell of lavender alone should help signal the dog to relax.
Jen
January 19, 2013 at 1:03 pm (151 days ago)Massage is something I could totally get in to! Thank you for the idea!
Julie
January 17, 2013 at 10:46 pm (153 days ago)We have friends that just adopted a very fearful dog . .I’ll have to tell them about it (although, she may not let them put it on her!).
tori
January 18, 2013 at 9:43 am (152 days ago)Very neat! My moms little JRT could definitely use this. I will suggest to her for her fear of thunderstorms!
https://twitter.com/Jealoushe/status/292280739641315329
Nichole
January 18, 2013 at 4:31 pm (152 days ago)Thank you for trying out our SENTRY Calming Collar for Dogs. I am glad you had some luck with it. There are several of these products you could check out, like the SENTRY Stop That! noise and pheromone spray. That one worked wonders with my naught yellow lab.
It sounds like your Newfs are wonderful companions (from what I’ve read). I will continue to read your blog! Thanks again! ~Nichole
Jen
January 19, 2013 at 1:06 pm (151 days ago)Hi Nichole,
Thank you for the opportunity to try out the Sentry Calming Collar and thank you for the suggestion if the noise and pheromone spray, I didn’t know that was available from your brand!