Furry Friday Edition: Pet Goods

Pet apparel has never been for me.  First, I've always had cats, and they're not so supportive of pet apparel experimentation.  Moreover, though, I've never been able to really appreciate it.  My thought has always been that there are many, many other things to spend money on.  However, this pet apparel pictured at right?  That is a dog shirt, purchased by me, for my 60 lb. goldendoodle puppy.  Obviously, something has changed.

This new affinity for dog apparel is rooted in the discovery of Fido's Fashion Collars.  I didn't even really count this as a venture into dog apparel because every dog should have a collar.  So, it was a little more along the lines of a need.  However, I started to buy Tucker these customized collars when he was just a pup, and being that he weighed in at 8 lb upon arriving at home, you can imagine the number of collars we have gone through.  Add to that the fact that I cannot bear to place an order with Fido's unless I order multiple collars.  Why?  My only answer is puppy apparel is like crack.  It's a terrible habit just lurking in the wings for you to bite.  There are rotations of holiday collections, seasonal collections, just because collections.  And once you've bought in once, it's all over.  

More recently, I've hit an issue that further compounded this situation.  Tucker is a big guy, and he doesn't hesitate to drag me through our walks.  I've found one harness that reels in his power a bit.  Funny enough, that harness is the sole harness on the market that has no padding in a crucial portion of the harness structure, which causes occasional scraping to a dogs skin behind their front legs.  I figured this was like the listing of side effects for any medicine.  There was a 1 in 1000 chance that Tucker's harness would actually rub him wrong.  But, alas, I was wrong.  I was really disturbed the first time I discovered it was rubbing him, so I quickly started to replace the harness...only to be dragged through our walks again.  Then, I had my light bulb moment.  If I place a t-shirt on him, then the harness won't rub!  There will be a protective layer!  You would think that the initial discovery that dog t-shirts run about $25 would have deterred me.  But, no.  BaxterBoo.com reeled me in just like Fido's Fashion Collars, and I have purchased my first two dog t-shirts.

So, remember.  Things change.  One day, you see yourself as a level-headed consumer, aware of the tricks of the dog apparel trade, and the next day you could be in the thick of a brand new bad habit.  All I can say is thank goodness Tucker cannot speak English.  I feel sure he would be pulling me aside for a word after parading around the neighborhood in his new dinosaur-themed t-shirt, complete in fall colors.