Here is a thundershirt on a really pretty dog
This is what I would probably look like if I was a dog in a thunderstorm.
Satu has had me figured out since we met. She knows exactly how to be calming and exactly how to be agitating if need be. I think she got the idea to apply pressure when I am ramping up to a panic attack from listening to Temple Grandin talk about her squeeze box (honestly, another brilliant and wonderful sounding invention.) I don't know really where the inspiration came from, but it I am very lucky to have a girlfriend so clued into how I work.
Generally a panic attack starts like this. I'm asleep, then awake, then confused and my heart starts to pound.
I get up to pace a little, which doesn't help, but it keeps me from feeling trapped. By the time I come downstairs, I look like I just got out of the dryer, all bunched up and hot and still a little moist. Satu talks to me in a calming voice and gets me to either sit or lay down someplace quiet. Then she presses on the center of my chest a little. That has the same effect on me that it does on a lot of dogs. It makes my brain think about, well, I guess about nothing. I just feel happy. Whenever the shaking quiets down, Satu drapes herself on me like a warm thundershirt. There is nothing in the world more centering than wrapping my arms around her and relaxing into that perfect pressure.
Ahhh. Thundergirlfriend.
What it think is also a little telling is how 180 degrees opposite Satu is about this, but she can still understand me and keep me calm. When she is agitated, she can't be touched, she has to be talked to and distracted entirely with her mind. She plays games on the computer or does crosswords, but touching her makes her feel trapped. We are an odd pair of animals that have found a common place to curl up together. I am a dog, loyal and trusting and happy hearted and she is a lion-hearted bird, unique to the world, curious and strong. What a wonderful kingdom of animals live here in our home.
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