Back in the 60’s when I had my first dog, a short-haired dachshund, my mother and grandmother knit her a few sweaters to keep her warm on those cold days. They were expressly made to keep her warm and healthy. They even had sweaters and a few coats available at local pet stores.
Seven years ago when we got our Pomeranian in the fall, considering her being a puppy we picked up a sweater for her. I figured with her long hair that one sweater would be more than ample. Even then, I was amazed at the variety of sweaters and coats they had available. There were sweaters with hoods, zippers, buttons, snaps and every color of the rainbow. They now had coats – rain coats, coats with hoods, coats with fur around the neck, pockets and some of them even come with matching scarfs to put around the neck.
It doesn’t end there. They have boots for dogs (yes, they come in sets of four), leg warmers, that even match the coats and sweaters. There are also numerous sweatshirts to choose from, which like the kids – have sayings on them and also a wide variety of colors and styles.
The big market in “dog” fashion seems to be the t-shirts. As a joke, we picked one up for our dog that said “frost bite” on it. I figured once we got it on her, that would be it. I was in for a rude awakening. She loved it, we could not get it off of her to save us. Being a Pomeranian, she virtually has no shoulders, so the shirt was always hanging off one side, but it was a fight to the finish to get the shirt off of her. In fact if you look in some specialty catalogs, they have matching t-shirts and hoodies – one for the owner and one for the dog!!! Just like mother/daughter dresses in years gone by. Let us not forget that dogs now have their choice of sunglasses and various hats.
The manufacturers have not forgotten the holidays either. On Halloween, your dog can be a pirate, a fairy princess, a ghost, clown and anything that you can think of. The variety is almost as large as for children. These costumes also come is sizes – small, medium, large and extra large. If your pet is not into wearing clothes, don’t be upset. They have headpieces and scarfs as well. During the Christmas season, reindeer antlers, Santa Claus hats and even Santa costumes are available.
Our dog absolutely loves being “dressed”. She walks differently, seems to be a little more feminine and dislikes having to have the clothes removed. Years ago, dogs never wore anything, except on a frigid day. Now, their owners have a wealth of articles to choose from. I am sure that if you look hard enough you can probably find any article of apparel for your dog. Yes, so your favorite dog will be a “trend setter”.
