Thunderleash Review

About Thundershirt
I am not sure if you have ever heard of the ThunderWorks company before, so let me tell you about them. The company itself started when the owners of a dog, Dosi, wanted to help with her thunderstorm fears. In the case of Dosi, they developed the ThunderShirt, and since 2009 the gentle calming hug of the ThunderShirt has helped over a million dogs and cats around the world overcome their fears and anxieties. 

As the name ThunderShirt implies, thunder and noises were the first fears they tackled, but along the way, they found that simple pressure helped with a multitude of pet anxieties including separation, travel, vet visits and much more. Their proprietary research also uncovered that over 30% of pets suffer from one or more of these anxieties making anxiety one of the leading issues for today’s pet parents. 

For this reason, in addition to the ThunderShirt, they have created other products to help pet parents like myself alleviate some of the anxiety issues their pets may experience. At ThunderWorks, they are committed to finding simple and safe solutions to pet parents’ every day issues because when our pets feel stressed, we feel stressed. And when we feel stressed well, we aren’t always at our best. It is their hope that their simple solutions can help maintain the bond between pet and parent. In essence, helping us all be a better human to our pets. 

My Thoughts
My dog Paddington is a bit of a baby. I adopted him from the SPCA as a fostered pup. He was 6 weeks old, so I had to wait for him to be weaned and neutered. Since the day I met him, he has been a whiner. He basically hasn't stopped, and seems to cry all the time about any and everything. He has separation anxiety and it often gets the best of him. Yes.. maybe I spoiled him a bit, making it even worse on the poor guy when I am away from him. 

Off of the leash, he is a great dog. He listens to me and pays more attention to his surroundings. Put him on a leash, and he goes berserk. He pulls, struggles, knocks me down, and balks at everything that passes by. He acts so terrible on the leash, it is embarassing to take him anywhere. I have tried using a choke collar to no avail. He will pull and pull until he throws up. I have tried the Gentle Lead harness for his face. He hates it, and seems to act slightly better on it. Although, this often seems to give strangers the impression that Paddington is a vicious dog, which could not be further from the truth. Stupid harness looks like a muzzle. So in comes the ThunderLeash. I was a bit confused how to use it at first, so I watched a video. Since then, I have had SUCH a better time with my dog, it is like night and day. Paddington seems to be more calm when wearing this leash, and doesn't get overexcited as he often tends to do. When fascend, the leash becomes a harness. It applies a gentle pressure that seems to calm and sooth the dog. He listens to me so much better than he ever has, doesn't freak out when bicyclysts ride by, and doesn't drag me down muddy hills anymore.

To be honest, I didn't have much hope in the ThunderLeash. Boy was a wrong. It works wonders, and I would highly recommmend it to anyone who has a problem walking their dog. The only problem I have with it is that it seems to slip off from a bit too easily, causing Paddington to freak out. He also seems to be getting used to it and going back to his old ways. Well, maybe not nearly as bad, but he is still pulling very hard. I really want to try out the ThunderShirt, as Paddington could benefit from it at home and on car rides. He seems to be so anxious all the time. The only way to get him to relax is by taking him to the park for the entire day. As much as I would love to, I just cannot do this for him all of the time.

Disclosure: I received the above item in return for an honest, sincere review. I was not expected to leave a positive review, and would never post something I didn't feel fully confident in. No monetary compensation was provided. The above opinion is the sole opinion of me and my family, and may differ from your own. I am disclosing in accordance with FTC 16 CFR Part 255.