dressing up dogs!

[gelda]

Did anyone watch This Morning I think it was yesterday or the day before, anyway they were dressing up all these poor dogs in Christmas clothes, they had coats, leggings and stupid hats on, I got quite cross watching it those poor dogs looked most uncomfortable, ffs they are dogs not little children! What are your opinions on this.

[terambulan]

Toy dogs are expensive and bred to be pampered.

Some people buy dogs as a statement and the dogs get happy homes - result!

My friend has 4 wolf-hounds in her lounge around the fire....the stink is unbearable as they fart continuously....ugh!

[daffy654]

I get more annoyed when I see people carrying their small dogs everywhere,for crying out loud,it has legs,let it use them!!! I understand if you are in a crowded area you may need to pick the dog up for it's own safety,but all other times it should be walking,those poor dogs must be so unfit :(

[terambulan]

Dogs should be restricted to your own property.....if you don't have space you shouldn't have a dog!

[gelda]

Terambulan, I don't get your answers, I'm talking about dressing up dogs like children! Dogs have got coats already, they should be chasing around the countryside li
ke dogs not dressed up as children.
Daffy, I aggree with you completely.

[gelda]

Also Terambulan, dogs shouldn't be restricted to your own property, they should be out having fun with other dogs and going out for nice long walks in the countryside!

[Schutzengel]

Gelda, You'll be even more cross if you look at the picture gallery on the Sky News site about the poodle, which is clipped and dyed to look like a camel, by a stupid American woman. There are 8 photos, of the dog dyed in all colours, one is as a peacock, and one as a ninja turtle, just to mention two. If you have a look you'll be a lot more than cross. She also claims the dog has a blood test every 12 month to see if the dye is getting into the blood stream. I think she should be prosecuted for animal cruelty. What do you think.

[angiebaby57]

I HATE to see this too....they are animals not toy dolls. If a dog needs a coat to keep warm, then great but otherwise I find it a little bit unecessary.....if the dog doesnt object and is used to it, I suppose it doesnt do much harm , but it looks quite ridiculous, I agree

[gelda]

Schutzengel, I quite aggree with you,anyone who doesn't treat a dog like a dog and doesn't cater for the dogs needs should be prosecuted, it doesn't mean that you don't love the dog ( I absolutely adore them btw ) but a dog's needs are quite dfferent to a human beings.
Angie I quite aggree with you too but often the dogs have no choice and just put up with it to please their owners unfortunately.

[gelda]

Schutzengel. I'll have a look at that site later, I don't feel like getting cross at the moment!

[LoftyLottie]

I can't stand to see dogs dressed up, although my yorkie does have to wear a dog coat in cold weather (Yorkies don't have nice thick undercoats and very find silky hair).

However, there are so many neglected and ill treated dogs around that I really can't get too upset by people dressing their pets up (occasionally) - at least these animals have caring homes. They may feel uncomfortable in the clothes but I doubt if it really affects them to much in the greater scheme of things.

However, this really makes me furious. These are wild animals!!

http://www.snackfeed.com/videos/detail/24188e0 6-1917-102c-a525-00304897c9c6/Penguins-dress-u p-as-Santa?_s=s

[LoftyLottie]

However, yes I get extremely angry about dogs being dyed, etc.

[angiebaby57]

Teah you are right Gelda...maybe the dogs do tolerate it as loyal pets. I use highly reflective jackets for my retrievers, for reasons of safety when walking in the dark or poor weather and they love wearing them as they associate them with a walk! They also love their collars and dont like to have them taken off if being bathed or brushed, but thats where it ends. Both my gorgeous dogs have thick winter coats and thats all they need as they live in-doors in a very comfy house. I actually think that the people who do dress their dogs up are attention seekers! But, of course thats my opinion!!!

[blackcat77]

I have never had a dog that requuires any extra wrapping up other than it's own coat - however, a friend of mine had two whippet X's and they had proper little coats made of waxed cotton with a blanket lining, before all this fuss about dressing dogs up. As the two whippets were up at the stables most of the time with us, and it was very often cold and wet I think that it was quite sensible for them to have a bit of extra cover. What I really hate is little dogs being made to look foolish - I saw a poodle a while ago which had a yellow ribbon, a yellow coat and yellow painted toenails!

[daffy654]

There is a man around where I live who walks his wife's dogs and the poor animals(dogs,not hubby) are forced to wear jackets and scarves,one of the dogs is a wire haired terrier type and it looks absolutely awful in its pink spangly coat and stripey scarf.The other one has a lilac checked coat with a yellow scarf.The poor bloke looks so embarrassed walking the dogs in their outfits(obviously chose by his wife) but the dogs look uncomfortable and ridiculous.

[LoftyLottie]

The thought of those two dogs made me laugh Daffy!!

My yorkie actually gets excited when his red fleecy coat comes out. It's just a plain little dog coat, but he really does need it in this weather. My JR cross would look stupid in a coat and doesn't need it - thick underfur and very energetic. However, sometimes we tie a pikie scarf round her neck. It suits her admirably and as she is very small and agile and runs like the wind it makes her easy to spot in the distance!!

[daffy654]

It doesn't bother me at all to see the type of dog coats you mention LoftyLottie as they are obviously of benefit to certain dogs,also a bandanna (tied around the dog's neck)or scarf is fine if it isn't harming the dog in any way.Its the so called fashion coats etc. that really bug me,or the awful outfits mentioned in the original post by gelda. The poor dog has no choice in the matter and it would serve the owner right if they got bitten while dressing the dog!

ps: can you imagine what most cats would do if you tried dressing them up.lol

[LoftyLottie]

Yes, the difference is that some, like me, put a coat on a dog for it's own benefit, whereas the fashion garments are purely for the owner's benefit.

However, I still maintain that with the issue of cruelty and neglect so prevelant it's not really an issue unless the dog is really stressed out by it. Although I think dogs should be treated like dogs at least these pampered pooches aren't really suffering much!!

[lankeela]

I would far rather people dressed their dogs up than ill treated them. I doubt if any of the dressed up dogs will end up in rescue or being put down because they are not wanted. Ok its not necessary or ideal other than a warm coat on a thin coated breed, but a lot of them enjoy the attention. I often see greyhounds out walking without coats in the cold weather, and I feel so sorry for them. My racers sometimes wore two walking out coats if it was really cold, and at the track they always had a warm outer coat over their thinner ones.

[tiggerblue10]

This poor dog must be quite confused.

http://site.barkslope.com/images/blogimages/gi raffe_dog.jpg