Shockingly good product at relieving dog anxiety and problem behaviour: The Thundershirt

My parents have two dogs, Tessa the blue heeler and Henry the bits-a-lots-a-things. Both are scaredy cats when it comes to fireworks, but Henry has his own special form of anxiety, needing to be with his mum and dad at all possible times. His separation anxiety is no joke. And Tess is a barking machine in the enclosed, echoey space of the car when she spots another dog outside. She gives my father, the driver, a hell of a shock.

A couple of years ago, I saw a friend on social media post about the wonders of the Thundershirt for animal anxiety behaviours, like barking, running around, separation anxiety and fear of thunder and fireworks. And shockingly, her friends, too, just talking amongst themselves, were commenting about how great they were. Even veteranarians, animal trainers and shelter/rescue staff swear by the Thundershirt.

 So I did some googling and youtubing and decided to buy one for Henry to see if we could help him calm down. You won't believe the difference it makes - and how much he loves it. Check out the below video to see how it works.

For Henry, the results were instantaneous. It can be difficult when arriving to visit my parents because Henry works himself up into such a heightened level of excitement that he is clawing at you and licking you and whacking everything with his tail and just truly in your personal space for way longer than it should take for him to calm down.

But if you wrap him up in the thundershirt - even when he is already in a frenzy - he calms down almost immediately. Instead of frantically licking you, he curls up beside you and is content to just be nearby. Might even have a good fart and then a nap.

He even gets excited when my parents pull out the Thundershirt, waiting impatiently for them to put it on him. He must feel great, snug and secure when he wears it.

How the Thundershirt Works

The Thundershirt is a long section that goes over the dog - or cat's - back, the shirt part, if you will, that attaches to the animal via a velcro strap under the throat and around the chest. These wide, velcro straps need to be secured around the animal nice and tightly, like a really good, caring hug. The tightness of the shirt reduces the amount of vibration in the air, which is a big component in making them feel anxious. It's not the sound of thunder and fireworks that scares them, it's the feel of them. The Thundershirt is like a big, long hug, and we all know how calming that can be. I'd love to wear a hug all day.
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The Thundershirt is Amazing - But it Doesn't Work on All Dogs

We tried Henry's Thundershirt on a visiting dog and it worked a charm on her, too. After pacing anxiously at an influx of visitors to the house, within a minute of wrapping her in the Thundershirt, she lay down and curled up for a nap.

We tried it on the exceptionally loud-barking Tessa to stop her deafening the driver, but it didn't work. She still barks in the car, even with the shirt on. The Thundershirt doesn't have the same effect on every dog and cat, but when it works, it really works and I recommend this shirt to every dog parent I know who has an anxious pup or cat. We all want the best for our four-legged family members and I honestly believe the Thundershirt is part of that.
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Sizing

The Thundershirts come in a variety of sizes (as with dogs there's definitely no such thing as one size fits all) but we found the one medium Thundershirt fit a barrel chested jack russell-sized dog, a blue heeler and border collie, so if you're not sure, there's definitely a lot of leeway in the sizing, due to the long velcro straps. Plus, like in the border collie's case, the dog may be tall, but underneath all that fur she's actually very slim, and a lot smaller than you would think.
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Don't LEave the Thundershirt on Your Pet All Day/Night

Thundershirts shouldn't be left on your pet all day/night as they could certainly overheat, either in hot weather in the warmer months, or hot houses in the colder ones. Overheating is stress and  anxiety-inducing in itself, I would think.

You can check out their website here http://www.thundershirt.com.au/ or buy your pet's own Thundershirt on Amazon.

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