Old Dog, New Trick

I don’t advocate putting clothing on a dog, unless you’re putting booties on your sled-team’s paws for the Iditarod. Otherwise, it’s pretty much an abomination, in my humble opinion.
I can only imagine poor Fido’s embarrassment when he’s trotted out to show off some horrible polo shirt in the colors of your favorite athletic team. Everyone’s billing and cooing and he’s thinking, “Oh God, someone please save me. This is not helping my image down at the dog park. How humiliating!”

So you can take all your cutesy polka-dot sweaters and pom-pom hats with ear-holes and jumpsuits and hoodies and pajamas for dogs and throw ’em all in the dumper.
At least that’s what I thought until last month.
Turns out there is an instance where putting togs on your dog is not only appropriate, it’s therapeutic.
My dog Annie is 13 years old and gets very nervous when there’s a thunderstorm. At the first drop of the barometric pressure, she begins to follow me very closely from room to room, looking up into my eyes with apprehension, and lying on my feet when I sit down. By the time the lightning and thunder arrive, she’s panting like she just ran a 5K. She wants to stay so close to me, I think she’d wrap herself around me twice if she could. It was only a mild annoyance for me, except for the times it occurred at 4 a.m.
It was getting so bad, my vet prescribed an anti-anxiety drug, but even that wasn’t completely effective.
Then someone told me about a remedy for Annie’s weather-generated canine angst. They said to wear an old T-shirt for a while, and then put it snugly on the dog. I had to cut a slit up the bottom hem of the shirt and tie a knot with the ends so it would be slightly tight around Annie’s middle.

My human smell, coupled with the feeling of gentle pressure all around her, apparently calms Annie and allows her to weather the storm with much less anxiety.
It works like a charm. Wearing my T-shirt, Annie is markedly calmer during storms. That’s good news for this light sleeper, but it doesn’t mean I’m going to start dressing her like a Barbie doll. So if your mutt gets thunder-struck, try the T-shirt trick. Just lay off the sequins.

Playlist:
1. Love Dog — TV on the Radio
2. All Dressed Up — Plain White T’s
3. Don’t Do It — The Band
4. What to Wear — Taylor Swift
5. Dog Problems — The Format
6. Rainy Night in Georgia — Brook Benton
7. This Shirt — Mary Chapin Carpenter
8. T-Shirt — Shontelle
9. Shirt — Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band
10. Black Dog — Led Zeppelin