Posted By: Jessica Schulz
Thundershirt is a new product to calm dogs. Phil Blizzard came up with the idea after a neighbor made the suggestion that he wrap his dog in an old t shirt and apply pressure during a thunder storm. The results were astounding, according to Blizzard. "We tried it one night with the shirt, pulled it on the dog; wrapped it up with packing tape to apply the pressure," Blizzard said. "It was like flipping a switch.”
The Thundershirt sells for $36 and is available in seven sizes. The shirt applies gentle pressure to a dog's torso to help the dog overcome noise anxiety, Blizzard said, and is also used by customers for dogs with separation anxiety, fear or over-excitement. The product is now sold in boutique stores in N.C.
Hilal Chami, a manager at Unleashed in N.C., said all of the five managers at the family-owned business have dogs that use Thundershirts, and they carry the product in stores as well. He said when the product was first introduced, "everyone thought it was ridiculous," he said. He said they had natural homeopathic calming remedies, and the idea of a shirt that could do such things seemed far-fetched. But he said he now uses the product for his dog during storms, and he said many of the store's customers use it and like it.
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