‘Tis the season that those of us in the northern hemisphere bundle up. And those of us with dogs, especially the small and relatively hairless ones, bundle their dogs up, too. If that’s you today, you have unwittingly celebrated today’s fun holiday – it’s Dress Up Your Pet Day.
I’m not ashamed to admit it – for most of my life I would have scoffed at this holiday, so if you’re rolling your eyes, it’s ok. I have had Siberian Huskies all my adult life, and they’re a breed that needs no bundling up in cold weather. Mother Nature literally designed them to be comfy in arctic conditions. I’ve never bought a coat or sweater for my dogs, and the only time any of them have worn booties is when they were loaned to a friend to run on his sled dog team for the winter. So no, I’m not someone who dresses up her dogs, except maybe at Halloween for a quick photo op.
That is, until I got my current Siberian, Kacey. It was during the pandemic lockdown that she moved from my friend Lisa’s house to mine, a beautiful 10-week-old puppy with a ton of energy and two tons of brains. It was immediately clear that we needed to get into a training class. Lockdown meant no in-person classes were happening, but virtual ones were. My friend Christine lives in Maine, I live in Georgia, and before you know it Kacey and I were enrolled in a virtual puppy kindergarten class. In the 5th week, one of the assignments was to dress up our puppies and provide photographic evidence.
I wasn’t excited about week 5. Not, that is, until I read on in the class instructions.
There’s a good reason to dress up puppies and dogs, and even kitties and probably birds. It has nothing to do with cuteness or keeping them warm in cold weather. It has to do with helping them accept bandaging if, later in life, they are injured or have surgery. Many pets do fine with the treatment or surgery and do not do fine with the wrappings put on the wounds. Teaching a pet to accept “dress up” and tolerate it is an important life skill, whether you ever intend to put them into Doggie Dior or Kitty Chanel outfits. The benefits of this early dress-up exercise became abundantly clear when Kacey was spayed – she accepted the surgical recovery suit like she’d been wearing onesies her entire life.
There are a lot of life skills we might not have and might even scoff at developing in ourselves. If you’re willing, think about some “wellbeing” skills that you pooh-pooh, and consider whether you could benefit from developing a new skill or two that could benefit you for the rest of your life. Here are three episodes of the world’s second-shortest podcast to get you started:
Want to feel better about the world through focus? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
What’s the big deal about feeding your soul? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
How will being in the moment benefit you? Here’s a Tiny Bite for that!
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Just like teaching Kacey to play dress-up, your life can improve dramatically when you learn a new skill. And if you’re thinking about teaching your pet to wear cute outfits, here are some tips from the Animal Medical Center in New York:
- Make sure the clothing fits properly and doesn’t interfere with your pet’s sight, hearing, breathing, or movement.
- Avoid clothing with pieces that can be tripped over or chewed off.
- Never leave your pet unsupervised while dressed up.
- If your pet rejects the clothing, don’t force it.
- If your dog has thick coat, choose a lightweight costume to prevent overheating.
Have fun teaching – and learning – new life skills. Double-dog-dare yourself. I double – dog dare you!
Wags,
Sandy Weaver
The Voice of Wagaliciousness
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