I make dog clothes. Bandanas. Sweatshirts. Wearable blankets. Hooded towels for after the bath. Sun protection. My dog is a mixed breed tripawd who came from the shelter, an amputee. Her clothes serve many purposes. First, weather protection. Second, it helps folks focus more on her, than her missing leg. And more. Also important is that I roll up my sleeves to help rescue stray/lost/dumped/gone on unauthorized walkabout pets, and get them back home or to safety.. and donate the gently worn clothes to help shelter pets look more approachable and/or adoptable, which makes room for the next rescue. Not all of us who dress up our dog(s) are going 'full foo-foo', nor are we unaware that there are needs elsewhere in petdom that need addressing. Many of us quietly do what we do and/or can.
That's awesome you make your own! I do think plenty of dog apparel has a purpose, such as sweaters and towels. Weather is a legit reason to use apparel. It's the tiaras and tutus and bling that serves zero purpose other than Instagram that bothers me.
PS: I bet your tripawd has no problem attracting attention! Most people are super impressed by dogs that have bounced back after a trauma like that!
Actually..I'd almost be willing to bet that if those folks were approached correctly, at least one of them would be a whiz at doing big-ticket fundraising for local or national rescues.
Having been in The Biz back in the day and seeing real-life stage mommies and daddies doing essentially the same thing with their human children, I can't be surprised when people treat their dogs like Barbie dolls. Doesn't mean I like it, but here in Murica these days I have so many other things to be upset about . . .
This is true, Jan. I guess even in Canada I have bigger things to concern myself with lol. I'm trying really hard to keep my head in the sand at the dog park and not focus on the hard things 😑
I can't imagine myself coming down anywhere other than "let's take care of the dogs." I guess I'm also lucky that the most clothing my dogs will tolerate is the occasional bandana!
Guessing you’re not gonna get a lot of pushback here because the people you speak of spend their time watching other stupid reels instead of reading.
Ha, and you thought you might’ve come off judgy. I think I just topped you 😉
I hear you Kristi. I’m out on an adventure with my little dog here in the UK. I’ve looked after 79 dogs and counting and I’ve never been asked to dress one up! And I don’t dress Sonny up either! I know it’s out there.
And then I also think we don’t know what these people’s lives have been or that they may contribute to the betterment of other humans or animals in other ways.
Maybe we’ve got two separate issues. One-that we don’t like dogs being dressed up. And two-it would be great to find more people to donate to good causes.
Deborah, you're right, I shouldn't judge. They could be good people doing good things. It just seems so bizarre and impractical. But who am I, I suppose lol.
I do however live in a country where I see the cruel neglect of animals, particularly dogs.
I could relate several stories but won’t as I prefer to write about happier things while doing what I can to assist the animals (and educate the owners) as much as I can.
I absolutely concur with your post! I don't want people to forgo fun, but I wished they'd fork over less on costumes and send the balance to a local shelter to help ease suffering.
I make dog clothes. Bandanas. Sweatshirts. Wearable blankets. Hooded towels for after the bath. Sun protection. My dog is a mixed breed tripawd who came from the shelter, an amputee. Her clothes serve many purposes. First, weather protection. Second, it helps folks focus more on her, than her missing leg. And more. Also important is that I roll up my sleeves to help rescue stray/lost/dumped/gone on unauthorized walkabout pets, and get them back home or to safety.. and donate the gently worn clothes to help shelter pets look more approachable and/or adoptable, which makes room for the next rescue. Not all of us who dress up our dog(s) are going 'full foo-foo', nor are we unaware that there are needs elsewhere in petdom that need addressing. Many of us quietly do what we do and/or can.
That's awesome you make your own! I do think plenty of dog apparel has a purpose, such as sweaters and towels. Weather is a legit reason to use apparel. It's the tiaras and tutus and bling that serves zero purpose other than Instagram that bothers me.
PS: I bet your tripawd has no problem attracting attention! Most people are super impressed by dogs that have bounced back after a trauma like that!
Actually..I'd almost be willing to bet that if those folks were approached correctly, at least one of them would be a whiz at doing big-ticket fundraising for local or national rescues.
Wouldn't that be amazing!
it would!
I love dogs.
Having been in The Biz back in the day and seeing real-life stage mommies and daddies doing essentially the same thing with their human children, I can't be surprised when people treat their dogs like Barbie dolls. Doesn't mean I like it, but here in Murica these days I have so many other things to be upset about . . .
This is true, Jan. I guess even in Canada I have bigger things to concern myself with lol. I'm trying really hard to keep my head in the sand at the dog park and not focus on the hard things 😑
One particular dog would agree with you: https://davidperlmutter.substack.com/p/one-angry-dog
I can't imagine myself coming down anywhere other than "let's take care of the dogs." I guess I'm also lucky that the most clothing my dogs will tolerate is the occasional bandana!
And mine has so much fur that clothing her would be cruel lol.
Guessing you’re not gonna get a lot of pushback here because the people you speak of spend their time watching other stupid reels instead of reading.
Ha, and you thought you might’ve come off judgy. I think I just topped you 😉
Lol Henny...you are my people!!
I did think I'd come across pushback and I know I can be judgey sometimes (a lot 😆)
I hear you Kristi. I’m out on an adventure with my little dog here in the UK. I’ve looked after 79 dogs and counting and I’ve never been asked to dress one up! And I don’t dress Sonny up either! I know it’s out there.
And then I also think we don’t know what these people’s lives have been or that they may contribute to the betterment of other humans or animals in other ways.
Maybe we’ve got two separate issues. One-that we don’t like dogs being dressed up. And two-it would be great to find more people to donate to good causes.
Deborah, you're right, I shouldn't judge. They could be good people doing good things. It just seems so bizarre and impractical. But who am I, I suppose lol.
Haha. Who are we all? I don’t like it too much either. Mainly because the poor little devils look so miserable 😂
Happy I don’t have Instagram.
I do however live in a country where I see the cruel neglect of animals, particularly dogs.
I could relate several stories but won’t as I prefer to write about happier things while doing what I can to assist the animals (and educate the owners) as much as I can.
Thank you for doing what you do, Heléna! We need to continue to shine that kind of spotlight!
I absolutely concur with your post! I don't want people to forgo fun, but I wished they'd fork over less on costumes and send the balance to a local shelter to help ease suffering.
Yeah when you see how some toy dogs wearing different outfits every day it's a bit of a gut punch considering the need elsewhere. 😕
I guess I’m out of touch with the whole dog costume thing. We bought a $15 sweater for our cat and I thought we were big spenders.
😆😆 You should see what's going on out there!!
Also, for the record, I think seasonal attire has a purpose. Sweaters and raincoats for pets is legit.
Totally agree. $$$'s better spent on those dogs that need it!
If we could ask the dogs what they would really like, I'm sure it would be to roll in something dead and stinky.
Lol exactly!!!! Nobody wants to wear a tiara and tutu when they could be having that kind of fun!
I have a client whose whole job is to design those costumes for Target. It’s crazy the money people spend.
If it's Halloween costumes, I kind of get it but the ones where people dress their dogs up for everyday outing is beyond weird to me lol
I understand it for Halloween, and for dogs like greyhounds who need winter coats in Minnesota in the winter. but the rest is just weird to me.