Thundershirt Celebrates National Pet Wellness Month and Ongoing Mission to Address Dog Anxiety

DURHAM, N.C., Oct. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In celebration of National Pet Wellness Month this month, Thundershirt®, a leading manufacturer of anxiety-reducing dog products, continues its mission to bring relief to the millions of dogs and dog owners struggling to cope with dog anxieties. National Pet Wellness Month is designed to raise awareness about the pet aging process, disease prevention and twice-yearly wellness exams.

Dog anxiety and fear issues are widely believed to be very common for dogs and recent surveys commissioned by Thundershirt and conducted by GMI, Inc., an independent third-party company, demonstrate its pervasiveness, effect on the wellness of dogs and Thundershirt as a proven solution for veterinarians and dog owners. Thundershirt is a leading anxiety-reducing product that applies constant, gentle pressure to a dog's torso creating a dramatic calming effect for most dogs.

A recent survey of 149 veterinarians, who see an average of 180 dogs a month, provides further evidence of Thundershirt's effectiveness for alleviating dog anxiety.

• During a typical year, the veterinarians surveyed estimate that they see more than 370 anxiety cases. Noise anxiety (96 cases) and fear of veterinarians (135 cases) were identified as the leading issues associated with these anxiety cases.
• When treating anxiety cases, the solutions most often prescribed are training (79 percent), Thundershirt (38 percent) and medications (35 percent).
• More than 98 percent of the veterinarians surveyed reported having success when using Thundershirt for treating fear and anxiety issues.
• For treating anxiety and fear issues, veterinarians rated Thundershirt the highest for:
  • Overall satisfaction
  • Ease of implementation
  • Low cost of treatment
  • Lack of side effects
  • Overall success rating of "Excellent" (25 percent)

In "The Thundershirt Dog Anxiety Survey" announced in July 2011, the company provided insights on U.S. dog owners and its own customer base.

• Nearly 23 million dogs currently suffer or have suffered from some type of anxiety; Dog anxiety issues have impacted 18.6 million U.S. households.
• Two of the most prominent forms of anxiety among dogs are noise, most notably thunderstorms and fireworks (17 percent) and separation anxiety (13 percent).
• The incidence rate of anxieties increases with the age of the dog.  Twenty-two percent of dogs 3-years-old and younger suffer from anxiety issues.  More than 36 percent of dogs 8-years-old or older suffer from anxiety issues.
• Thundershirt was identified as having the highest success rate of all solutions tried for various anxiety types with nearly 82 percent seeing improvement in symptoms.

"Many of our dogs that previously used medications now just use Thundershirts. We also use them to calm dogs that are anxious during their exams, daycare or boarding.  Our clients love them," said Dr. Julie Servaites, D.V.M. of Dayton, Ohio.

Additionally, Thundershirt has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing noise anxiety in a simulated thunderstorm environment, according to a scientific abstract presented by Dr. Gary Landsberg, D.V.M., a leading veterinary behaviorist, at the 2011 CanCog Conference on Behavior, Cognition and Aging in Companion Animals. The complete study is expected to be published in a scientific journal in 2012.  

"Dealing with anxiety and fear issues has been one of the most challenging problems for dog owners and veterinarians," said Phil Blizzard, founder of Thundershirt. "Thundershirt has proven to be the best overall solution because of its effectiveness, but also because Thundershirt is simple to use, inexpensive and totally safe—and dogs love wearing them!"  

For additional company and product information, including demonstrations, and to learn more about the Thundershirt study and survey series, please visit www.thundershirt.com.

About Thundershirt

Founded in 2009 in Durham, N.C., Thundershirt's mission is to bring relief to the millions of dogs and dog owners struggling to cope with dog anxieties. The Thundershirt is designed to provide a constant, gentle pressure to a dog's torso creating a dramatic calming effect for most dogs. Thundershirt continues to investigate dog anxiety and fear issues with scientific-based studies and surveys from recognized veterinarians and customers. In its first two years, Thundershirt has helped tens of thousands of dogs across the country and around the world.

The company also donates thousands of Thundershirts and funding to rescue groups and shelters to help these organizations manage their dogs' anxieties and find permanent homes.  

Thundershirts are sold online at www.thundershirt.com and by retail stores, veterinarians, trainers and kennels across the country.

SOURCE Thundershirt