Seasonal Advice From Dog Lady

Dog Lady is shocked -- shocked she tells you -- by the number of catalogues pushing costumes for dogs.

Pssst! Dogs hate to dress up. They claw and scratch to get out of garments, or they lie there is a pathetic heap, waiting to be liberated from the constraining material. If you buy them a costume, you will throw your money down the drain. Better to buy a bunch of bully sticks for them to chew or a few tennis balls for them to chase. When it comes to their wardrobes, dogs are Zen nudists. Even wearing stuff on their heads can cause distress. A man who once put a crown of fake reindeer horns on his pitbull mix reports his pet sneered at him on every walk. Dog Lady can believe it.

If you're really anxious to adorn your dog as a Christmas elf, why not put on a blinking collar or a festive neckpiece? They don't mind wearing things around their neck if they're already accustomed to a collar.

In the holiday season, best to follow the sound advice from a reader, Leslie in Huntsville, Texas, on how to spend your money instead of buying costumes for canines:

"Instead of spending $$$ on doggie costumes, the dogs at the local shelter would benefit way more than your (probably) uncomfortable dog will, and you, Mr./Miss/Mrs/Ms.Dog Owner, will feel warm and fuzzy all over knowing you helped an animal or two.

An Eskimo pie -- the most natural dog costume of all.

Posted by Dog Lady at November 28, 2007 12:40 PM