Should you, or should you not, dress your small canine in dog clothing?
If your dog is the kind that is receptive to clothing, there is today a wide variety of small dog clothes to delight any human-dog parent. Aside from amusement and charm, however, many dog clothes do provide essential protection for your small dog and are practical, as well as stylish or fun.
Some of the numerous practical reasons to dress your canine companion in dog clothing:
- Fur Loss
2. Surgery
3. Heat
4. Shaved Hair
5. Cold
6. Abrasive Surfaces
7. Water Safety
8. Maximum Visibility
9. Wet Weather
Whatever your reason for needing to dress your pet up, you can choose from adorable or amusing to fancy dog clothing. Dog clothes are no longer boring one color or striped sweaters; they are available in canine versions of human clothes, of the highest quality: Irish knit sweaters, suede coats, hooded sweatshirts, blanket coats, reflective jackets, faux fir trim sweaters, denim jackets, terry robes, diverse t-shirts, Hawaiian shirts, even pajamas with animal prints, sports shirts, and surfer shorts!
In addition, there are numerous varieties of costumes to suit many occasions, including graduation costumes, and bow ties for any formal occasions your canine may need to attend.
Warning: why the only time you want your dog to be hot in clothes is when he looks trendy, and not when he is overheating!
Temperature plays a critical deciding factor when deciding to dress your little dog in clothes. Your small dog does not have the ability to communicate to you any discomfort. Keep in mind your dog comes equipped with natural insulation via a dense coat unless he is shorthaired. He may not find the weather you find cold, troubling at all.
Donning a sweater on him could just cause him to overheat, and even lead to heat stroke. Do not expect to determine this by your dog panting or showing some other overt symptom for you to figure out if the clothing article is too hot for your small dog. Sometimes the only overt sign you may see is your dog vomits.
If the condition goes unchecked, it could progress even to coma and death. Dogs do not tolerate warm temperatures as well as humans.
If this happens to your dog, remove the article of clothing at once, and immerse him in a sink of cold water to cool him down, or hose him with cool water, if you cannot access a sink as it is important to induce a rapid temperature drop. Of course, any symptoms more severe than the start of overheating require an emergency visit to the veterinarian.
Just be responsible in warm weather and do not dress your pet in any sweaters, shirts, or any item that could provoke your pet to overheat. 70 degrees and up is an ambient temperature your small dog would be uncomfortable wearing blankets, coats, sweaters, and even t-shirts if he has a full coat. Outdoor summertime fashions should be restricted to boots, sunglasses, visors, collar adornments, and bandanas.
If he is shorthaired, he may tolerate a light t-shirt comfortably in the lower 70 degrees, but all dog clothes, with the exception of small accessories such as bows and bandanas, should be kept to cooler temperatures, including indoor air-conditioning set at a low thermostat.
