Thunder Shirt: Talking Albino Wolf with a British Accent Sells a Calming Dog Vest

In order to sell their calming dog vest, the infomercial for the Thunder Shirt uses the magic of computer graphics to make its canine pitchman talk to us—and wink at us:

If you ever wondered whether animals can tumble into the uncanny valley, then the Thundershirt commercial should dispel all doubts.

The resemblance of this canine to an albino wolf can’t be helping matters either.

In order to convey the message that Thunder Shirt helps calm your dog’s frayed nerves, the spokes-pet lies recumbent and dispassionately reads his lines in a mellow English accent. The effect makes this dog come across like some kind of London opium addict circa 1850. (Cf. Thomas De Quincey)

The Thunder Shirt may indeed soothe the anxiety of dogs…but the sedate, talking, winking spokes-dog in this infomercial is likely to make the humans who watch it just a little bit jittery.