DOG ALMIGHTY - Humanization of Dogs

Hope I didn't offend anyone. 
 
I'd like to clarify that I am not against it in moderation - sweaters, t-shirts, hats, sunglasses etc for special occasions or even just occasionally I wouldn't think twice about.  It's when those t-shirts, dog beds and collars start costing more than an annual holiday, or a car, that I just think is extreme.  Are there not so many better things that could be done with that money? 
 
My future sister in law thinks dressing up dogs is adorable, and I won't let her.  To me, if it's going to happen at all it is a look much more suited to smaller breeds.  Maybe I should have gotten a St. Bernard - good luck finding clothes for one of them!  I also know that if I let her, she'd take it too far so it is easier not to let her at all...and at the end of the day, Ben is MY dog.  It's MY choice.  The same is true for everyone.  I'll confess, after I found out I was getting Ben I was on holiday in Manhattan, and came *that* close to getting him an I *heart* NY t-shirt. 
 
Everything in moderation.  That being said I think mascara on a dog is downright dangerous.
 
Kate

My basenjis have an assortment of jacket type things.  They get cold easily and it gets cold here in the winter.  Sometimes bitterly cold with blowing winds, so they wear jackets to go out.  If we're doing agility and it's cold, they'll wear their jakets while waiting for their turn.  (Of course I also have 2 sets of coursing jackets.)  They also have seasonal bandannas and I went to a Petsomething store that had lots of xmas hats/antlers for next to nothing, so I had to get some.  Of course, they use that stuff (bandanas, antlers, hats, etc) for the therapy visits.  The only time I'd really dress them up, would be if they had to go visit children in the hospital on Halloween.  So far we just do nursing homes and the Alzheimer's place.  But really I don't see much point.  Not how I'd choose to spend my money, but I can say that about a lot of things. 

Before Romeo, I was one of those rolling the eyes, after Romeo, if on a road trip on a cool breezy day, I take the convertible roll the top down and Romeo wears a t-shirt  and doggy glasses, so nothing goes flying inside his eye.  If swimming , he wears a vest, if hiking, booties to protect his paws, if it is raining like today all day long non stop,  and he has to go out, he wears booties and his rain coat, is the only way I get him to go, otherwise I will have a dog who will burst before he goes out and gets wet...

I have had eople stop and take pictures of him with the rain coat and booties, other than that he goes Au natural...my mother insists on him wearing a sweat shirt if it is 30 degrees during winter which in Houston it almost never happens. []

He just did this to please me. And then we took the picture and took them off.
While adjusting to Alaska Stevie sometimes wore a sweater.

I confess, my dogs have an extensive wardrobe. Emma has demodex, and must be kept shaved. She shivers in the air conditioning, and burns in the sun. She's incontinent. Some nights, she needs a diaper. And PJs. Humanizing?? I dunno. Necessary? If I want her in the bed, she needs the diaper. If I want her not shivering, PJs are the way to go....

 Teenie just *loves* the attention and loves clothes. They get their nails painted regularly, and are bathed rather often. Unfortunately, neither has enough hair for bows It doesn't go to the extent of compromising their care in any way, so it's not a problem. People think I'm silly, but.... I AM! LOL

Going to such a crazy length is wild.... My dogs wear $3 baby sweats from Walmart, and the rare, $15 special occasion outfit. I spend far more on quality food, treats, and medical care, for them.

Kayla has a few sweaters and she loved them when it was cold, and look so darn cute in them! 
 
Love that picture of Boss in his shirt!![]
 
I cant wait for halloween to dress up Bailey... oh we are having a luau next weekend and my mom bought doggie hula girl costumes for Bailey and Minnie, that should be cute!!
 
I know I did it earlier in this thread - but I want to clarify again that I think its all very cute until you go overboard... and that to me is just every day expensive things and the like.
 

[] It would appear that Pebblez has more clothes, more expensive clothes and probably much better looking clothes than I do.  But then I'm pretty much a jeans/t-shirt/sweat shirt person anyway - no self respecting dog would want to dress like me.

Joyce

First, let me start off that dressing a dog up for cold/hot weather is not the same as dressing them up because one thinks it's cute. I also don't have a problem with dressing them in cute, yet weather appropriate attire, or in cute clothes only once in a while.
 
That said, I think that my dog is beautiful the way she is. If I wanted something flashy and colorful, I'd get a Macaw. If I want to play dress-up all the time, I'll get a doll. Spoiling a dog is just that; spoiling them.
 
Maddi's wardrobe consists of her backpack harness and backpack, her buckle collar, 2 black nylon leashes, and her gentle leader. That's it.
 
I think we, as a country have gotten too clothing-obsessed, and we're starting to force it down our dog's and cat's throats.
 
They aren't humans and I don't think it's fair to treat them as such. You aren't a dog, do you wanted to be treated like one? (you is a general use of the term) I think it's a disgrace to a species to treat them like they are anything other than what they are. 

Sometimes my dogs wear bandanas.  I see nothing wrong with that.  Especially when I was using the prongs I used bandanas to cover the prong so people didn't think my dogs were "mean".
 
I just made Tyler a bandana for the MS Walk.  The purpose of the bandana is to SHOW people that he is part of the team.  I am not going to ask a german shepherd to walk six miles wearing a team t-shirt and lets face it, I would NOT have raised as much money as I raised had Tyler not pleaded with the idog dogs to help him out so HE could walk.  In my book, that makes him part of the team and by golly, he deserves to be recognized as part of the team.
 
When we moved to MI from coastal GA  in FEB, Sheba needed a sweatshirt to be outside for any length of time.  She also needed boots...the cold pavement really bothered her feet.  Last winter she was fine with it, but the FIRST winter she was flat out too cold and needed something.
 
I am not, and never have been a person who dresses my dogs, BUT, if they need a little something due to the weather, they will get it.  And I honestly don't see a bandana as such a terrible thing for a walk.

Max wears bandannas all the time - always has.  So did the dog I had before him. I think dogs and bandannas just kinda go together.[] He has a very extensive collection (some he inherited from Bud, some he got new) of all colors and patterns and some for special holidays. I almost always pick one up for him whenever I go to Wal-Mart since they're only $1 there. That said, I'm NOT going to buy him a leather bomber jacket, silk shirts or a diamond studded collar.[]

Joyce

Heck, I don't care how people choose to spend their money. As long as a person shows enough acknowledgement of the dog's nature to train and exercise it properly, they can put a prom gown on her for all I care! I think it's just that oftentimes there's an overlap between people who doll up their pets and those who do not care for their dogs properly, but that doesn't have to be the case at all. In the interest of full disclosure, I bought one sweater for Russell just for yuks, but it never gets cold enough for him to wear it - he's so furry. But I DO subject him to some nefarious knitting experiments. [sm=devil.gif]

I agree a lot with many of pumawards points. The western culture is obsessed with fads and trends and I fear this article may be a gimpse at a very harmful fad about to explode in NA. While adorning ones dog with jewels and houte couture may in itself be harmless, the potential for pets becoming living, breathing dolls paraded as status symbols makes me cringe. It becomes another really bad reason to purchase a dog and obviously small dogs will be most victimized by this.

Along with the whole "dress up" trend comes the whole attitude of humanizing our dogs. We think of them in human terms which inhibits our ability to understand and train them properly. Like children we over indulge, rationalize and excuse bad behaviours, resulting in over weight, unhealthy and obnoxious pets. But they look adorable!!!!

And sadly at the end of the day the fad becomes passe and all the trendy people are left with a plain old dog who no longer interests them.

If Xerxes didn't need his jacket in the cold weather, there's no way he'd have one.  But no fat and very little fur doesn't get you far in cold rainy weather.