TREATING NOISE PHOBIAS

 Body Wraps Or Capes

Body Wraps for Calming, Focusing & Anxiety  An Article from the APDT Chronicle of the Dog

Special body covering wraps called Storm Defender Capes, Anxiety Wraps, or Thundershirts have been developed recently for their calming benefits. Although these products may first sound like they are gimmicks, there is increasing evidence that they may actually help, and studies are underway to investigate their effectiveness. These coverings have been found to be useful for several anxiety problems including noise phobia.  They may not work in all dogs. We do not sell these body coverings at Deer Run Animal Hospital but we have provided links below to their manufacturers.

• The Storm Defender Cape was developed assuming that electrostatic charges in the air during storms cause dogs to become anxious.  The lining of the cape was designed to eliminate these static charges.  Studies with the cape show improvement in dogs wearing the cape, but also in dogs wearing a similar cape without the special anti-static lining.  This may indicate that just wearing the covering may decrease anxiety.

• The Anxiety Wrap is made of a stretchable fabric the animal wears.  It uses a technique called Maintained Pressure.  Maintained Pressure is a technique also used with Autistic children, and in neuro-rehabilitation to modify the body's sensory receptors and change the nervous system back to a more normal state. There is currently a scientific study being done on the benefits of the Anxiety Wrap at Tufts University Veterinary Behavior Department.  

• The Thundershirt  uses the covering theory and also adds gentle pressure over the dog's body with a snug Velcro closure and stretchy fabric.  It is hypothesized that this body pressure hugs the dog, giving relief to anxiety.  It is not fully understood how all these body coverings work, but many dogs have shown improvement in noise phobia and a decline in anxiety wearing a cape, wrap or shirt.  Usually the response to these coverings takes some time to develop and is not instantaneous.  At least 3 wearings, and following the manufactures instructions carefully are important for success.  Especially when combined with the other anxiety treatment modalities, body coverings can often help decrease the stress of noise phobia.  See these websites for more information.  DEER RUN NOW CARRIES THE THUNDERSHIRT!

Not Every Cape Has Or Needs A Silver Lining

Storm Defender Cape-How it Works!