Dressed up like a dogs dinner
I have never ‘got’ the concept of dressing your dog up. It’s not just the fact they come pre-dressed in fur or the fact that they just look plainly stupid and far from cute (usually bored / embarrassed out of their brains). To me, the dressing up of a dog really smacks of the child substitution that so many people seem to attach to their dogs.
When it comes down to it the sure fire way to get a trouble dog is to treat it like a human, treat it like a child and you’re just adding to that trouble. A dog is a dog not your child. Yes, you can love it and it will love you back probably in ways your child never would. I’m not saying there isn’t a bond between dog and owner - far from it. This is not a child though, it’s a dog.
What’s so wrong with treating a dog like a child? On many levels it’s a sign of disrespect. I love my dogs for who they are not who I want to dress them up like. I don’t want to create little furry humans and I certainly don’t want to put them in a dress. Dogs I love for being dogs. Their furry and don’t come with a wardrobe or have to co-ordinate before they leave the house. It’s probably best I don’t get started on ‘matching sofa’ dog purchasing (some owners who seem to only buy a particular dog breed because it’s in fashion or it literally ‘matches their sofa’).
I do see a point to a proper dog coat when the dog is old or ill. If it has a skin condition, if it’s got arthritis… sometimes dogs need a helping hand. The problem I have is when you’re just substituting or doing because you are applying your human idea of ‘cute’ to the dog. A fair few times this causes confusion and at worst discomfort to the dog - to me that’s not right. As a dog owner and dog lover you should never loose sight of the true nature of your dogs - after all you love them for being dogs don’t you and not for how cute they look in a dress?