I keep it simple, sweaters/coats and PJ's on cold nights. A semi-top knot for Scarlett to keep the hair out of her eyes, while Rhett's face is kept in a close cut.

As long as the dog isn't bothered by the clothes or have it's movements restricted in any way, then I don't consider it abusive.

I believe that yorkies do need clothing at times, just like chihuahuas do, because they get cold easily. I truly think that as long as the pup is ok with it then there's no harm - we would never make Oz wear anything if he fought it. We have a few shirts/sweaters for Oz because he HATES the rain, and it rains here a lot. He is trained to potty outside, so it's imperative that he is comfortable when he's out there. In the house he is normally a naked dog. I see the reason and need for a top-knot as well, if their hair is long enough.

Personally, I would not dress a "regular" dog that has an undercoat and real fur because I think they would get over-heated.

Before I had Finnigan, I used to think dressing a dog was the most ridiculous thing. I was ignorant... the first time I walked him with a fall chill in the air and he was shivering I knew that I had to dress him. Well, one coat led to an outfit, that led to another outfit and another and now an entire wardrobe.

Anyone that says its abusive needs to come watch how excited Finni get when I open their wardrobe... he jumps for joy!

However, if my dogs didn't enjoy the clothes or were scared of wearing them I would never ever put them on. I also think its a bit much to have a dog dressed up when its summer... don't want them to overheat.

I have 5 fur babies and they all have more clothes than me, winter boots, pjs, coats, hoodies, dresses and vest for the boys. They have Christmas outfits, Halloween outfits and everyday outfits. I use top knots on the girls and have done the boys but not often. If people do not like the way I am with my babies they can look the other way cause my babies are dressed and staying that way.

I like this thread, this is a really good topic.

Just like yours, if I pull out a shirt, Tashi gets super excited. She puts her own head and arms through the holes. (it was so fun to read that a lot of other fur-babies do that!) Sometimes if I leave a worn shirt by the basket, she'll bring it to me so I can put it on her.

She's very proud of her clothes and she loves to show them off. When I first got her, she was shaved all over, and she seemed much more confident around people when I put a shirt/dress/sweater on her.

I used to be bothered when people would ask me about it, but now I just try to realize that it's a foreign concept to them. When I explain that she gets cold and shivers because she lacks and undercoat, people usually understand.

If it's family/friends asking, I always find it really fun to take off her sweater and ask her if she wants to put it back on. They're usually shocked to see that she loves it so much and practically puts it on herself.

If a stranger tries to talk to me about "spoiling" my dog, I'll cut the convo short and be done with it. My dog is the most well mannered and loved dog I've ever met, and I don't need any unsolicited advice from random passers-by on how to love my pet less. :P

Attaching a picture of Tashi in a shirt just for fun :p

I'm a sucker. I now make Bellas dresses.

I dress and bow mine daily!:)

I dress Angel almost every day and she DEMANDS to have her hair put up. After her breakfast she will jump on the couch and bark in a very demanding way till I come put her hair up. She doesn't care if I want to eat my breakfast or make coffee, she wants her hair done NOW :eek: Then I brush her and she really loves having her face and chin brushed. Has to have a kiss for some reason after her chin. Then she helps to get herself dressed. Cotons are also a single coated breed and though fluffy not a lot of hair (not fur). Even though we keep the house comfortable she will sneak in front of the heater vents or space heater if she is not dressed. Not good for her sensitive skin or delicate hair. The thing she loves most are her YorkieTalk jammies. I sure am glad I got extras! She always does zoomies when she puts them on. In the summer when she doesn't need to keep warm I dress her because I want to.

We have very good neighbors that get a big kick out of her many outfits. I make a point of showing them and they get a great laugh out of her. I have a key to their house and I threaten to come in while they are gone and dress up their YorkiePoo, then take pics and post them on the net :lol tears

The big shocker is how much Hubby likes her outfits! I will ask him if I should buy A or B and he will say BOTH! She can't just have a 49er jersey, she has to have a Raiders too. Don't just get the purple kimono, get the blue one too. She is a year old and I think she has more clothes than I do. And he is always after me to take pics/vid so he can show her off at work. Even our Border Collie gets dressed up for Halloween and has special collars for Christmas and New Years.

So far we have not had any negative comments. All my friends already know I am crazy. If a stranger dares to I will just tell them how sad I am for them. That their parents didn't teach them better manners!

Sounds like a fun house to be in! I'd love to see both your dogs dressed up.

i think its completely okay! Mac really does like wearing clothes which some ppl think is odd. He has sweaters, tshirts, coats and pj's. mainly because esp in the winter he gets cold and shakes. i mean he is only 5lbs so what do ppl expect! Im not going to let him freeze.

usually in the summer instead of tshirts since its so hot i put little bandanas on his collar they are very cute, cheap and you can change them as much as you want.

People who think it's abusive to dress dogs probably don't know what the word abuse means. If it means the dog is uncomfortable in clothes, then I still wouldn't call it abusive. It would be mean and not a good thing to do. There are so many real cases of abuse that using the word abuse for things that are clearly not is wrong. An abused dog is one that has little to no food and/or water, little to no atttention/affection, little to no vet care, little to no grooming.

Brody was 14 months old when we got him and Mia was 17 months old when we got her 3 months later...Mia is only 5 days older than Brody....both were born in March of 2010. We are pretty certain Brody was never dressed up and we know Mia was, but were told she didn't like it. We are pretty certain Brody never had a top knot, and were told Mia would not wear one. Wrong...wrong...wrong! ;)

I grew out both Brody's and Mia's hair (both are still growing out), both wear top knots every day...I take them down at night most of the time, but then Brody's hair...his is longest...ends up in his mouth. Without the top knot, the hair in in his water and food, gets wet in the dew on the grass, and dirty when he 'tracks' the 'wild vermin' that violate our yard. Bows go in when we go out most of the time, or some decoration to cover the band and look pretty. They are Yorkies, after all...why shouldn't they look like Yorkies? ;) I make bows for their hair...they are not difficult...buy some as well, and use several different attachment types...bands, barrettes, clips, etc. I also put scrunchies around simple bands. Their groomer puts bows in...even 'boy' bows in Brody's hair.

I live in Florida, so during the summer (we got Brody in May 2011 and Mia in August 2011) I made no attempt to dress either one. Mia's clothes that came with her sat in their 'closet' and I had only bought a fleece garment for the upcoming winter for Brody at the time. When it started cooling down, I made certain they had some jackets and sweaters becuse I had a Yorkie-Poo years ago and crocheted sweaters for him because he would get so cold and just shiver and hated to go out in snow...I lived in cooler climates then...and knew they would need warm garments also, but was afraid I did not have time to make everything I needed. I had given away everything from my Yorkie-Poo, and still have a lot to get for Brody and Mia.

When I first tried their jackets on them, they LOVED THEM and got very sad when I took them off, so I put them back on. They jump up and grab their clothes out of my hands. Brody, in particular, KNOWS which ones are HIS and he will snatch HIS and run away so he gets to wear it. They absolutely love to be dressed up, will put their heads through the necks and are very patient while they are being dressed, trying to help. They will rummage through any crinkly bag that contains fabric to see if there are clothes for them.

They also don't mind the top knots, which keep their hair out of their eyes. When we first got Brody, the way he was clipped, he could hardly see. He has a short little muzzle and the hair 'fans' out in front of his eyes, plus he has very silky hair so the 'visor' the previous owner's groomer had cut just flopped down in front of his eyes...and double blinded him. I snipped the top muzzle hair first so he could see while I grew out the top knot. Now I am letting the top muzzle hair grow and as the groomer also says, "it's just at an awkward stage right now," but I wet it down and shape it around his muzzle to help 'train' it, and he seems to know what I am doing and is very still and licks the water off my fingers. Hopefully, it will stay down naturally, like Mia's, when it gets long enough.

I personally have not ever had anyone say anything bad about me dressing my Yorkie-Poo or Yorkies. If the worst 'abuse' a fur baby has to endure is a warm or cute garment, bring on the 'clothed' abuse. ;) With all the other hideous and cruel things people do to animals, those who complain about a bit of fabric are ill-informed and uneducated as to what harms an animal and I hope they learn the differences before they get a pet of their own.

Yep my boy gets dressed everyday! Its too cold to not be dressed and he is extra cute with clothes on!

I don't dress him everyday, but I do put his hair up in a little clasp to get it out of his eyes. I've had many mean comments, most coming from my brother. But if I'm not hurting him, and the sweaters keep him warm, they can say what they want. My boy and I are happy. Kaji is naked 80% of the time. Especially during the summer.

Well... I plan on doing it!

i'll put a sweater on meesha if its cold in the house, she likes it, she'll help put her head through and help put her paws in , never fight sweaters.now anything else is so hard to get on her. i'll put her in dresses for some photos and she tolerates it for a whIle but then trys to bite or wiggle out of them. I'm scared to put clothes on Meesha if i'm not there to watch her like hawk, and if it dosen't seem comfortable to me, i'll tkae it off her. I'm scared of it chafing her, i'm scared of her getting caught on something while playing, or getting hooked on something and choking her,anyone else scared of this when it comes to clothes? i would love to always dress her up but it scares me...meeshas going to have to start wearing her hair up soon, that is going to be soooooo hard to get her use to it, she yelped and squiggled when i tryed to put an elastic in her hair, flip clips work for now. but ya shes naked most of the time but wishing she was dressed up lol

Hot Rod didn't and still doesn't like to have his head/face brushed or combed out so I cut his topknot (:crying:). Maggie doesn't mind it too, too much as it keeps her hair out of her face. She will let us know when she wants the jaws clip or bow out of hair by rubbing her head against the sofa. She will keep it in most of the day but by dinnertime she's ready to have it out.

Both of mine have sweaters and coats for the cold weather. I keep t-shirts on them in the house if it is cold. We can hold the shirt up and if they want it on they will come over or hold their head down so we can put it on them. If they don't want it on, they turn away...sometimes they run from us. lol

My Yorkie is almost always in a sweater during winter! Plus he goes almost everywhere with me so, it's nice if we're outside.

Charlie doesn't have enough hair for a top-knot ....I'm letting his hair grow out now though, so he may have one in the future..?! :-) We live in Texas so I don't dress him daily. But in the winter months he loves and needs a sweater! I also found that he loves pj's after his bath... He is so small and gets cold easily.
He is my 4th "baby" - I have one that just graduated from college, 1 in college and a sophomore in high school. My children tease me about doting on Charles so much and tell me it's a "mid-life" thing!?? Haha....maybe....??!! In any case, he sure is fun!! And I'm loving that he will never leave me to go away to college!!

That last part made me laugh. I don't have kids, except for Kaji. I love that he's my faithful and loyal companion. :D

-15F here this AM.
We don't dress our dogs, except for mornings like this. I think it'd be more cruel to not dress for mornings like this, than to dress him.

He's got a nice thinsulate jacket for days like today. Considering boots...

I dress Gizmo alot. Espcially considering I'm too cheap to put the house above 65 degrees in the winter time. :p
In fact, I just ordered him another outfit from Sherry.

Betty Boop and I ran down the street yesterday to get a burger at the local diner drive-thru. Of course, Betty Boop was all decked out in her finest with a bow in her hair, too. When we got to the window of the drive-thru, the lady had a fit about how cute she was in her little dress and bow. She called the other 4 people over to the window to see her and, of course, they all thought she was the cutest thing they had ever seen!!:D They left the inside counter unattended for a couple of minutes just so they could talk with me about her!:D

She gets excited when I open her closet because she knows we are going somewhere (most of the time). Like someone said earlier in this post, she even almost dresses herself by helping me!

During the summer, it is just too hot in this Texas heat to dress her very often. When we go somewhere, I will put a lightweight dress on her. She can't leave the house nekked!!:eek::D

In fact, we're going back to get a drink there today just so I can show her off again in a different outfit!! lol

:D Too funny!!! I busted out laughing at my desk. Tell her to check Ross. I saw some in there for $8 as opposed to the $25 - $30 I see in the pet stores.


I dress my chihuahua and my new baby. My chihuahua is always cold, and she loves her shirts & sweaters, and when she gets tired of wearing them, she will wriggle right out of them. My yorkie baby hasn't caught onto that yet. Thanks so much to the person who turned me on to the "sock sweaters"! CoCo is going to have plenty of them.

Katie Scarlett is dressed and top knotted every day. She actually loves it! She knows when I come with the dress/sweater/etc. and brushes it's time for Mommy and Me time. She lays so still while I brush. Then she gets in the down position and stays completely still while I put in her top knot. Then when I dress her, she puts her arms in the arm holes for me. I know she loves it because it keeps her warm. The most gentle breeze can blow over her and she is trembling. I keep her nice and toasty all of the time. She is rarely what we call 'nakee' aka naked.

No top knots here, mine don't leave them alone. But I do dress mine up, esp when the weather is bad. :D

:yeahthat::thumbs_up

All my furkids have clothes and most have topknots. Sweaters, dresses, pj's, shirts, etc. They have more clothes and accessories than I do.
I started out with sweaters, coats and shirts because they would get cold. Then I started seeing all the cute dresses they have and I was hooked.

I taught mine all at a very young age to wear clothes so it doesn't bother them. I wouldn't force them to wear clothes if they didn't like it. For example even though I could get my border collie clothes I don't because she hates it so why bother with it?
Destiny however gets so excited when you bring out one of her dresses. She will run up on my bed or the couch begging for her dress and will step into the dress if you let her, lol. Hershey even gets excited and will stand in position for you to dress him.

I get it if some think dressing dogs is silly but I hate it when they make such demeaning comments. It's sad because I'm going to school right now for vet tech and you should hear what they think about dressing dogs.:(

::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:

I wonder why strangers feel compelled to share negative comments, saying we need kids to take care of, etc? I wasn't able to have children, they have no idea how comments like that make me feel. And what is with the assumption that dogs don't need to be fussed over? If you don't spend time and money keeping a non-shedding dog groomed, their hair ends up matted, tangled and painful. THAT is abuse!

When I see people with kids that are well dressed and groomed, I don't tell THEM that they need a dog to fuss over.

OK, I am finished with my rant this morning.

Mina is dressed everyday. My DDs dont say anything except how cute she is because I could just as easially dress them up,I actually did at one point. Smocked dresses,matching bow and all. All of my children are thrilled that I have Mina,the other option to a furbaby would of been a people baby.
I think that people say ugly things because they are of the opinion that if your dog is dressed up then you are to weak of mind or spirit to retort back,they are incorrect in my case. I dont get ugly but I do tell them that just because they think that it is wrong,does not make it wrong. There are things that I feel are wrong and I dont say anything,its called being polite. I have looked at someone and simply said "if you cannt say anything nice,then dont say anything at all". People dont say ugly things if my DH is with me. The only thing that I have ever heard him asked was if it bothered him that I have a fru fru dog that I take with us everywhere. "Um no" as he cuddles the baby.