Is it alright to dress our pets?

It depends upon the pet! I have a greyhound with a very short & sparse coat, and a hairless chest, belly & backs of thighs. She gets cold when it’s under 12° at night and will scratch up & ruin her bedding to ‘nest’ if she doesn’t have a short-sleeve cotton tee on to trap in warmth. Similarly, she shivers in a cold wind so has a cotton tee &/or cotton or woollen coat for these circumstances. I do not use synthetic fibres for her however as these will make her overheat. I would not imagine the guy at our local park with a Bernese Mountain Dog needs to consider dog apparel!:wink: Dress - or don’t dress - according to the breed, but mostly according to your own pet’s needs.

11 Likes

Welcome @sadie2302
I think it’s fine when it’s done to keep them dry, or warm like you do, or safe from bullets like @vax2000 indicated.
It borders on the ridiculous when they are dressed up for Halloween, or the beach party, etc…,

7 Likes

But IKEA did it :smile: While it was for April Fools Day they have provided the patterns (pdfs linked)


2 Likes

This quote says it all…:laughing:

4 Likes

We dress our dog when we are camping in winter. She has a waterproof. wool lined coat that she wears at night. I don’t like using it as she is an Australian Silky Terrier, long haired dog. It does make her coat tangle so the morning requires a good brush. However it is better than letting her shiver through the night. She’s an indoor dog hence the need.
image

4 Likes

What is the name of your Silky Terrier
@brudith ?
She’s very lovely!

The thing to remember is dogs are domesticated animals. They can absolutely be trained to dress up in ways that wild animals should not be. The important limit is understanding their behaviour, and responding when they’re clearly not enjoying it.

4 Likes

Pippa and we think she is wonderful, as we should.

Her pedigree is as follows. She’s a Jansilk. Dam is AUS. CH. JANSILK RYANS DAUGHTER (Tatum) and sire is AUS. CH. Curiosity Walking the Talk (Talka) from Finland originally.

To us, she’s just our wonderful little dog!

3 Likes

An article regarding making money from displaying pets on social media including dressing them up.

https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/aussie-pets-earning-cash-with-instagram-posts-making-owners-money/16de5ac2-e031-4a0d-9e4f-04ffc396b627

@SueW. Time go get Toby in a suit and top hat?

2 Likes

Ummm… nope? Anyway, he’s a tuxedo cat so he doesnt really need it. He’s already dressed :smiley:

4 Likes

I agree with you Sadie2302. I’ve had many pets throughout my life, I’m now 66. My current furkid, Honey is a maltese x toy poodle. Normally she doesn’t need a coat etc to keep her warm but she travels with me everywhere, safely carried in a pet sling across my body whilst we’re on our mobility scooter. Just as I wear a coat when out and about during the night (especially when it’s raining), I ensure that Honey is warm and dry as well otherwise she begins shivering just as I do because of the biting wind. One of my companions wore ‘goggles’ too after suffering a scratch to her cornea by a tree branch that I didn’t notice at the time…so it was far better for her to have a pair of goggles when she was riding with me than to risk further damage to her eyes (and more vet fees)! However I don’t dress up any animal for my amusement or for the amusement of others.

6 Likes

I am not a fan of dressing up pets as a rule but I have one caveat. I volunteer with my dog weekly at a mental health facility, and occasionally other places and my dog provides therapy to patients. Very occasionally , perhaps Halloween or Christmas, I will add part of a costume as it brings a little light heartedness into the visit. The patients enjoy it and he doesn’t mind although he isn’t big on hats so I would never inflict that upon him. I think people who work with their dogs as part of a team are fairly clued in to the dog’s signals.

5 Likes

Not gonna lie - have absolutely dressed up my dog for my husband’s & my amusement, but my dog had a great time too!:grin:


3 Likes

Greyhounds do like a bit of bling. Used to walk quite a few of them at RSPCA and they liked a coat and scarf.:smiley:

5 Likes

Love the pearls,@sadie2302 and the practical split in the skirt :laughing:

3 Likes

Channeling Prince in bare butt Chaps I thought.

Something like

3 Likes

Your greyhound is beautiful @sadie2302. What’s her name?

2 Likes

She’s Lina. She really is beautiful, so sweet.:blush:

3 Likes

I don’t have a problem with it - if the pet enjoys it. Our little children did it with the little dog we had - and the dog came back for more - very excited to be playing the game. But - if the dog is distressed, obviously don’t do it.

4 Likes

Dogs have owners, cats have staff…

4 Likes