Does the Thundershirt for Dogs really Work?
My golden retriever Elsie is a bit nervous during thunderstorms OR fireworks. OK, that’s an understatement.
Elsie is very nervous during thunderstorms. In fact, it doesn’t even need to be an actual thunderstorm.
Elsie seems to have some kind of built-in barometric pressure reader. She seems to know when a thunderstorm is coming. then when it finally does arrive, the real fun begins.
I’m Nancy Stordahl, and I maintain the blog Nancy’s Point. 2021 update: Elsie has passed away.
When Elsie senses an approaching thunderstorm, all the classic canine symptoms of anxiety begin to kick in:
She becomes restless.
Her body language “screams” worry.
She paces. She sniffs the air.
Pants – a lot.
She whimpers.
Forcefully nudges her way under my legs or chair.
She “digs.”
Tries to find a safe spot. She can’t – in her mind, there isn’t one.
*Get That Mutt’s ideas on how to help a pet dog who’s afraid of fireworks. Haga clic aquí.
These behaviors start off on the mild side, but swiftly escalate, becoming highly annoying and frustrating. Elsie ends up in full-blown, panic-attack mode. No es broma.
Whenever these symptoms begin to happen, I immediately put her in her kennel in my basement and turn a fan onto its highest setting in buy to cool her down and hopefully drown out some of the “terror.”
Other things I’ve tried in addition to the Thundershirt:
Ignoring the behaviors. Sin suerte.
Providing comfort verbally and physically by speaking reassuringly while petting and stroking her gently. Sin suerte. See the post, Can you reward a dog’s fear?
Putting her into a confined space such as a bathroom.
Anti-anxiety drug by means of her vet. Again, to no avail.
The Thundershirt review – does the Thundershirt really work?
When That Mutt used me an opportunity to test out a product called the Thundershirt, I was thrilled. As it turned out, our trial run came at the best time. The fourth of July was also fast approaching.
In addition to thunderstorms, my pet dog is terrified of fireworks and firecrackers. considering that we live in Wisconsin where such noisemakers are legal, we get to hear such sounds for a lot more than a few days before and after the Fourth.
More opportunity for testing!
Now a bit about the Thundershirt.
The particular product I am critiquing is called the Thundershirt and is marketed as “The best option for pet dog Anxiety.”
It has a patent-pending design that applies constant pressure on a dog’s abdomen. This pressure is intended to calm the dog, much like swaddling an infant is meant to calm her. It’s generally a “wrap” for your pet dog held in place with Velcro.
The Thundershirt for dogs is labeled as safe, effective, drug complimentary and easy to use, so I will comment on these four claims.
Safety – Yes, it’s a safe product to use as far as I can tell, although I did not leave it on my pet dog while she was kenneled as she tends to chew/destroy things in her kennel when she is agitated.
I didn’t know if she would “eat” the product or harm herself with it in some way. She probably would not have, but my choice was better safe than sorry.
Drug complimentary – Yes! I don’t like drugs for myself or for my dogs. See the post, Medications for dogs during fireworks.
Easy to use – Hmm. I am not good with puzzles. Thankfully the Thundershirt came with a good diagram. Let’s just say I needed it! a lot of people will probably figure it out a lot more swiftly than I did.
Effective – Well, for my dog, not so much. See what others thought of it here.
Will a Thundershirt stop my dog’s concern of storms?
For our particular situation, the Thundershirt did not verify to be very effective in minimizing my dog’s stress.
I did notice a minor decrease in her anxiety with a gentle rain (no thunder or lightening, just drizzle), so this was something I will keep testing. Yes, my pet dog starts to get nervous even when there is a gentle rain!
Maybe she can progress. ¿quién sabe?
One positive thing is that Elsie did not seem to mind one bit about putting on or wearing the Thundershirt. There was no struggle to put it on her at all.
Another observation I made was that part of the Velcro came undone after only one use.
All in all, the Thundershirt did not fix our problem.
Could the Thundershirt work for other dogs?
The Thundershirt did not help Elsie get rid of her thunderstorm anxiety. However, every pet dog is an individual and this product may or may not help your dog.
It’s crucial to point out that my pet dog is an extreme case. If you have a pet dog only beginning to exhibit signs of anxiety, this product might be of help in keeping the problem from getting worse.La Thundershirt podría ayudar con la ansiedad por separación de perros de mascotas u otros problemas como ladridos, ansiedad de viaje, excitabilidad, tiros de correa y temor.
También se puede utilizar como una herramienta de entrenamiento general. Por ejemplo, podría usarse para mantener a su perro mascota mucho más centrado en la lección en cuestión. Puede o no ser útil para estos usos. No lo probé para ninguno de estos propósitos.
Si tiene un perro de mascota que sufre ansiedad, la thundershirt puede valer la pena intentarlo, especialmente teniendo en cuenta que la compañía ofrece una garantía del 100 por ciento de que funcionará o puede devolverlo por un reembolso completo.
¡Tienes que amar eso!
¿Cuánto cuesta una rayos de rayos?
La Thundershirt tiene un precio de alrededor de $ 44.99 en Amazon, obtenga uno aquí.
¿Su mascota sufre de ansiedad por tormentas eléctricas? ¿Qué (si algo) funciona para tu perro?
¡Háganos saber en los comentarios!
*Obtenga mis ideas sobre cómo ayudar a un perro mascota que tiene miedo de los fuegos artificiales. Haga clic aquí.
Nancy Stordahl mantiene el blog Nancy’s Point, un blog sobre dolor, cáncer de mama y otros temas.