I've become one of "those" people!
 

I'm going to come clean here. Before I officially adopted Thor, I did not get people who treated their dogs like babies. I thought doggy daycare was silly. I cringed when I visited someone's house and discovered a tiny little dog with enormous baskets of toys. I sneered at dogs dressed in designer outfits.

And now, in six short weeks, I have become what I despised. A fawning, yorkie-obsessed, dog-dressing mommy!

I've been surprised at how much more I loved Thor once he was officially mine. I mean, I loved him like a dog before, but now I love him like, well, a baby.

I'm mostly amused at myself and how quickly my snobbery has gotten turned on its head. I do struggle with it a bit though because what bothered me so much about Thor's former owner was that she didn't seem to recognize that Thor was a dog. She got that he was adorable, dressable, portable, but she wasn't big on parks, or walks, or obedience training, or any of the stuff you generally do with DOGS. The ONE thing she taught Thor really well is tolerate clothing. He doesn't like you touching his paws, but if you need to yank his forelegs through a tiny pleather jacket, he'll sit calmly and wait for the insanity to pass. When I got him, he didn't know the Sit command, but he had an impressive wardrobe.

So I told myself that my mission would be to celebrate that Thor is a DOG before all else. I want him to get dirty, dig holes, chase birds, play with others of his kind, that kind of thing.

So I'm caught between my mission statement and my burning desire to get just the right pet case carrier. I feel like maybe I should buy Thor a little doggy tux just in case he gets invited to a wedding. I know he hates shoes, but darn, does he look cute when he's wearing them.

I don't know where I'm going with this. When is a yorkie your fussy little baby, and when is he just a yorkie? That is the question. Do you ever struggle with this? Have you always been a yorkie mamma at heart?

i know exactly what you are saying...i used to be the person who sneered and made fun of people like us (not in a mean way but you KWIM) as well :D but now that i have my furkids, i completely understand everything now

there was this episode of friends (where the girls are playing the boys in a trivia game to see which team knows more about the other team) and monica ends up wagering - and losing - the apartment....well i always remembered one of the questions...something along the lines of, "what is monicas biggest pet peeve?" ... and i think chandler shouts out, "animals dressed as people!" ... i remember that because i always thought the same thing! :p and now my kids have more clothes than my fiancé :D

oooh and i was one of those people who would tell pet crazy people, "that is just a dog (or cat), you know - not a person" ... ashamed to admit it but it is true lol

I let Milo be both, he knows all his basic commands sit stay stop dont even think about it LOL! On the other side he has more toys than he knows what to do with, he likes to walk so I always have his carrier when he is with me incae we go some where he can't walk into and since I am on the east coast his clothing is reserved for the winter only it is just way to hot for him in the summer. I did try to put him in a top not once but I could not find a bow or band that was manley enough for him. So in the end he is a very well behaved boy pup who wheres sweaters in the winter walks, plays, and to date is the best boy I know. :)

OMG...I was EXACTLY like that, lol! I just didn't understand the whole "treating a dog like a baby" thing. How quickly that has changed! I don't know if it is Yorkies or what, but I've had other dogs that never affected me like this. I learned a long time ago that the next dog I got for me would have to look something like a puppy, because once puppies grew out of the puppy stage, I lost some interest. Lulu at 6 months still looks like a puppy and I've seen so many pics on here where older dogs still have that very "puppyish" look to them. I have never babied an animal like this, lol!

I have sketched dresses to sew for her...already made a purse bag to carry her in, and have bought her 3 dresses and a sweater. Oh, and I made her a vest. I'm eaten up with the Yorkie bug!

Yes, I'm another one of "those"! My husband had a german shephered / collie cross, who I was very fond of - we lost her after seventeen and a half years, and decided not to get another dog (I'd never really been a doggie person ... or so I thought!)

When I found I really missed Beth, I did my research and ended up with Lucy (YT, now 8 months old) ... and she has become my baby! My DH wasn't too keen on her at first, but he now refers to her as his "little wart" ... becuase she's growing on him ... big time!

Although I don't dress Lucy (except for coats when it's cold outside), she is treated like a little princess, has gazillions of toys and has to subject herself to masses of cuddles, hugs and kisses ... my wonderful little baby! Who would have thought it? But I defy anyone to live with a yorkie and not fall head over heels.

If it makes you happy!
 

My hubby has a theory that all the yorkies in the world are planning a secret conspiricy to take over the world( well let's face it, they are certainly intelligent enough for it)!

Baxter let me know really quick that he is a dog. I wanted him to be a prince, clothing and all. He will tolerate a coat when it is cold but otherwise it is horrible to get him to wear clothes so I have pretty much given up. He wants to play fetch and bark and chase squirrels and will sit on command. So he has defined that he is a dog instead of me defining what he is. The pom that I had before was a prince. He was beautiful and he knew it. He never thought for one day that he was a dog. He was the most stuckup little thing you would ever meet. Don't think he was going to get dirty or go out in the rain. Baxter on the other hand just wants to go roll in the mud!! Sounds like Thor is the best of both worlds. He is precious. As is Baxter - I just have to remember that he is a dog and he constantly reminds me!

Yep me too!
 

Wel-come to the club. Before I got my first yorkie, Duke, I hated fu-fu dogs. Now people that have known my for awhile just laugh and shake their heads when I say that.
Duke was so sick, he had to have shirts, and coats to stay warm. But when I lost him, I seem to lost my mind with him. The ones I have now DO NOT go out without clothes on. (don't want any puppy porn you know). The is a fine line between dog ownership and being owned by a yorkie.
I have crossed that a long time ago. Wel-come to our side of the line!!

Yep, if you would have asked me 3 years ago where/what I would be right now - the answer certainly wouldn't have been a "quit my job so I could stay home and dress up my yorkie girl" type person. After all, that would make me one of those crazy dog people like my old, crazy great aunt Rosie with her little chihuahua, Buddy :eek:

This has taught me to be careful of those labels we put upon others, as you never know when you might become one of "those" people you're labeling!:D

Now, which tux is Thor getting - I'll make Ruby a co-ordinating dress :p

Ohhhh boy I couldnt agree more, funny thing is I swore I would never be one of those people , yesterday I couldnt wait to call people to say Laci learned to lay down :)

I used to roll my eyes at my sisters antics with her two and now I find myself pulling the ores in the same boat.

Can't go to the store without bringing back something special for my 'baby'. LOL

I've had to reevaluate my behavior and remember no one likes a bratty child therefore no one likes a bratty dog. If I'm gonna treat her like my child then I need to treat her like I would my child and not an adorable toy, cause he isn't. She's a living, breathing 'baby' who needs discipline....... and really cute sweaters. :D

Its so true what everyone is saying..

I never thought I will one day be the folks I made fun of calling their pets their babies, dressing, carrying it in a carrier. Since I got my furbaby Veer there is almost nothing I will do for him. Now when DH plans vacations, he knows he has to make sure Veer is included ;).
DH has also started like him more than he would admit. DH doesnt say a thing to Veer sleeping with us every night and even on weekend afternoon naps :), shopping, dining out ( Veer is so good he will stay so quiet and play with his soft toy in his petfly carrier ). As for cloths he has 13 pairs of it and I am still in the look out for something new.

LOL, I know exactly what you are saying.

I have ALWAYS been a huge dog lover but they've always been family dogs. Jackson is solely my dog. And I treat him like such a child. I spend so much time on the internet on this website and searching through eBay and pet retail shopping for him. I think I buy more for him than I do myself! lol. I've been working really hard with training him, watching countless episodes of It's Me Or the Dog and Dog Whisperer. He's so well behaved and I couldn't have asked for a better dog, seriously. I can't believe how much this little guy has changed my whole world for the better and the love that he brings.

He's such a dog though, loves getting dirty, running around, will not put on clothes. He knows sit, stay, shake, down, come, high-five and is learning "Bang bang!" He's so smart.

"I'm going to come clean here. Before I officially adopted Thor, I did not get people who treated their dogs like babies. I thought doggy daycare was silly. I cringed when I visited someone's house and discovered a tiny little dog with enormous baskets of toys. I sneered at dogs dressed in designer outfits."



Quicksilver...you have described me to a "T". My how they change us!!:)
:animal-pa

Welcome to being a Yorkie owner!! :p Everytime I talk about them I say "the baby" this and "the baby" that. My friend who has a "big" dog always says "what baby?" who? I realized she will never understand. So I don't even try to explain it. They are my second litter. First was 4 "skin"kids now it's them. :D They truly are my babies.!!!

I've ALWAYS been those people
 

ha ha ha . . . . .
I always adore dressing up little dogs ever since I was a little girl....everytime my brother got a small dog I'll got buy him/her and outfit. But my brother never kept up with it and most of the dogs that the got were only small when they were young. Once they grew up they were 30+ pound dogs.

Now that I'm getting my little girl I have like 25+ outfits for her already and shes not ever here YET! Shes coming home this friday! :D But I totally agree with you. . . . . letting her be a dog is number one. And lots of training of course.... well good luck on your new baby and welcome!

:aimeeyork

I know how you feel, Tobie is my first real dog that I have ever owned and had to take care of, growing up I had a miniature schnauzer that was the families pet, he was closer to my dad then to me or my mom, he died last April. But he eat just regular dog food Kibbels and Bites and lived to be 16.

I am in college don't have much money, but Tobie only gets the top dog food there is, I will get him clothes or anything I think he might need before I get myself something, he gets his hair cut more often then I do. I send everyone on my e-mail list updates and pictures of Tobie once a week.

Lately I have been thinking and talking to my boyfriend that I live with and we have been together for two years, that I don't want to have kids because I don't want to neglect Tobie. To me Tobie is the only baby that I need and some people just don't understand that.

I think that this is funny because I have one of those big, muscle men, who works construction and at night when we sleep he is cuddled up with ours. It is funny. I would have never thought that he would be like that. I thought he would be more into our labs or our rottie..but I think he is becoming a little dog man...lol...

I am both...I let the run around in the park and be really dirty!:D Take them out for long walks except in the winter. We do treadmill in the winter. I spoil them with toys, treats, and they have bigger closet than I do with designer clothes. lol:D But my hubby and I always make sure they can be themselves and run free and dirty..I think as long as you balance both, it is fine. I actually see them as my own babies and i know but I can't help it.

I find your post so amusing, most ppl feel the exact same way,lol!! They do know how to be little princes and princesses don't they, hahaha...

Oh, I so know what you are talking about. Bailey gets to be a dog (but sshhhh, she doesn't know she is, she thinks she's a princess), she loves being out in the yard and going for walks. Then of course, there's all the toys, dresses, and bows. My son said that Bailey is more spoilt than he ever was when he was growing up.

I have always been one of those people to a certain extent. I have always referred to my dogs as my babies. I have always allowed them to get on the furniture and sleep in my bed and miss them like crazy if I am away from them for a day. But I def. think there has to be a balance. Like others have said, I think spoiling them is okay as long as you teach them obedience as well.

When I moved out and got married I took the family dogs with me and my parents got a long-haired chihuahua they named Sadie. Now, my dad has always loved dogs too but he treats Sadie better than he has ever treated any other dog. I never thought I'd live to see him let a dog sleep in his bed. He spoils her rotten and she rarely gets disciplined and she is a HUGE brat! She barks at my poor brother the whole time he is in the house and does the same thing with other company. She is bites if anyone comes near my dad while he is holding her. She is a holy terror! People never say anything to my dad but they leave absolutely hating her.

I swore before I got Tobie that I would not let him be like her. I want people to leave my house saying, "What a sweet dog!". That's why I started obedience training ASAP! Him being like Sadie scares me to death!

:D lol you are very funny.

I love to dress dogs up all along but I have never been able to do that from where I came from as it is hot and humid all year round and the dogs would probably die from heatstroke if I dress them up! But after moving here and have my own Yorkie that shivers from the Canadian cold, I am sooo happy that I can now dress him up!!! Lol! Jackets, sweaters, t-shirt, you name it!
Some people do cringe looking at him dressed up when I bring him out but I forgive them, they probably do not understand until they have their own small dog lol but most people that I have met have been really nice and thinks it is cute lol. I have never really splurge on his clothes but I do look into sales and I make my own and he does have quite a few nice outfits now:). I do balance it up with his socialization and obedience training as much as I could though. He has to be well-behaved to a certain extent if I were to bring him everywhere that I could possibly bring him :)

Also, before my husband never lets him sleep in our bed but I just let him sneak in to our bed and now hubby actually cuddles and hugs him before bed every night!!! Talk about how fast a person's mind could change!

Welcome to the Yorkie fashion world :)

Too funny how these little dogs take over our lives! :p

I have always had dogs...but when I got Onni, that all changed :rolleyes:..she is my baby (I have 4 skin kids too). I love to dress her, spoil her and shower her with kisses (when she will let me). I cannot go to Walmart any more without looking at the pet clothes to see what new outfit she might need. :eek:

She has everyone in this house trained to her beckon call. :D Her nick name is Baby Girl and she has my hubby as smitten with her as anyone.

I don't know if she has a clue she is (uh er d*g). As far as she is concerned she is Princess Onni the Baby Girl.