The Pet Anxiety Thunder Shirt – Edens Savoir…
Eden is a bit of a scaredy cat. From general loud noises, cars and even the wind, pretty much anything will make Eden prick up her ears, which is strange as she was brought up on a working farm as a gun dog, However her two main noise nemesis are fireworks and thunder.
Guy Fawkes night back in the UK was a complete nightmare, fireworks going off all evening and the days leading up to it, made for a very stressed out Cocker Spaniel.
Puddles of drool everywhere from her constant panting and shaking, jumping up and trying to bury herself in any tight space. It was not much fun for anyone.
Moving to Thailand hasn’t helped, the tropical weather means there are more thunder storms occurring here than back at home, especially in the rainy season.
Even though there is no Guy Fawkes night anymore, its not just the 5th November we have to worry about. Pretty much every Saturday or Sunday night in our neighborhood parties and general gatherings seem to require fireworks and loud bangs which can be heard from all directions.
The shirt works by applying constant pressure to the animals nervous system, creating a comforting and safe feeling.
The Thunder Shirt simply lays over the top of your dogs back with a long side which you feed under the belly area and it is held in place by strips of velcro. The top section then comes down and velcros in place, adding to the tightness of the jacket. There are also 2 strips which wrap around the neck area. One big safe hug for your dog!
There is a knack to using the thunder shirt though. It’s not just a case of shrouding your pooch in the jacket as soon as they get scared. You have to preempt the storm/loud noises and put your dog in the shirt before they actually start getting anxious.
Once the dog is anxious it is already too late.
By putting the shirt on early, it gives them the comfort to not even get scared at the noise.
So does it work? Yes and No! As soon as we put Eden in her shirt, she calms down and becomes almost like a statue. You can see an instant change in the dog. With gentle storms and light thunder, Eden doesn’t bat an eyelid anymore when wearing the shirt, whereas before she would be stressing out and pacing around the house long before any thunder even happened.
However if the shirt doesn’t go on in time or the storm is a particularly loud one, she does still do a lot of panting and tries to jump up on you, but again, not half as much as if she wasn’t wearing it at all.
We are very happy with the item and it has made Eden slightly less terrified of the world, we get covered in less drool and have a much happier dog during a storm, so it’s a result all round!
We purchased the Thunder Shirt from Amazon.co.uk at a price of 26.99 GBP in a size Medium which fits dogs between the weight range of 9-22kg.
Different sizes are available from XXS (for dogs under 5kgs) up to XXL (for dogs up to 55kgs)
Thunder shirt also has a version for cats.
It is 100% cotton and fully machine washable.
Traveler’s Tails