Doggie Style: Dressing Up Man's Best Friend

It's not just for rich girls with Chihuahuas anymore. While dressing up dogs hasn't caught on with everyone (I'm pretty sure hunters aren't putting pink tutus on their bitches or baseball caps on their dogs just yet), it's certainly become more commonplace.

It's New York City that made me realize this fad is everywhere. I take my short-haired dog outside here without a coat during the winter, and people look at me like I'm crazy. He's fine!

I admit: I'm guilty of indulging in this ridiculousness occasionally, but usually only to laugh histerically and snap a few pictures. Some people have clothing on their dogs almost constantly!

But if you're not careful, dressing up your dog can be expensive! And is the concept of putting clothing on our animals a little too "out there"?

As far as I can tell, there are two kinds of dog clothing: the necessary and the frivolous.

Most of what we see falls under the second category and is a silly effort to further anthropomophize our dogs. This is your Halloween costumes, t-shirts, and Christmas doggy sweaters.

But sometimes dogs need clothing! For example, dogs like Greyhounds and American Pit Bull Terriers have a single coat that is very thin. Taking them outside without a thick coat on a cold winter day can be downright cruel. (How can you tell if your dog is cold? It'll shiver! And some dogs will be clearly uncomfortable in the cold weather, not wanting to walk or play at all.)

My theory is that the reason we think of "toy" dogs as wearing clothes more often than other breeds is precisely this reason: a crossover from necessity to frivolity. The smaller the dog, the more likely it is that dog will need a sweater to go outside in the winter.

When people realized how cute (open to interpretation) their toy dogs looked in "human" clothing, they no longer put it on their dogs just in the winter time. Before you know it, we had a whole line of Halloween costumes just for dogs!

So now that you know the deal, I'm sure you want to buy some clothes for your dog, right? But be careful; chain pet supply stores and pet boutiques will way overcharge you for the simplest garment, so an outfit gets pricey very quickly! Here are ways to dress up your dog without exorbitant prices.

• eBay! Just search "dog [size letter]" and you'll be sure to find plenty of things for much cheaper than you would at Petco.
• A few specialty websites. PetEdge, Drs Foster and Smith, and Ruff Ruff and Meow are my favorites for inexpensive, high quality pet clothing.
• Make them yourself! Take an old t-shirt or jersey, and it might fit your dog without any adjustments at all!

A little creativity and knowing where to look will keep you from overspending and will have your dog looking snazzy whenever you have the time to dress him up!

And for the dog who's too embarrassed to wear full-on human clothes, there's always the fancy collar phenomenon. eBay works well for this, too, as does CollarMania.com. You can get them customized with your dog's name or favorite colors (your favorite colors?) and there's always something interesting in any size.

I'm not opposed to dressing up dogs, though I acknowledge that it is thoroughly silly. Whenever I've put a t-shirt or sweater on my puppy, it's only for a moment or two to take pictures (not that he would allow it to last much longer than that anyway).

What do you think? Would you dress up man's best friend, or is it too stupid to even give a second thought to? Leave a comment and let me know! If you do it regularly, do you have a favorite place to buy dog clothes that isn't over-the-top expensive? Share it with us!