Dog Kennel Guide

With so many pets these days commanding almost equal standing in a family as everyone else there has been an explosion in the number of shops (both online and on the high street) providing services and products designed specifically for dogs.  The upper end of this market is mostly supplied by upmarket dog boutiques who sell ranges of designer dog clothing and accessories.

If you want to be able to buy an item for your dog which you know is of high quality, stylish and made from superior materials then a designer dog boutique should be the first place that you look.  These places have a huge variety of accessories and so take away all the hard work of researching different, good quality shops for different things.  They sell everything from designer dog jackets to plush beds and, if you become a loyal customer, will sometimes even source more unusual items especially for you.

Buying from a dog boutique will help to ensure that the accessory that you buy is comfortable, well made and, very importantly, chic.  By purchasing from them you will pretty much be getting everything that you look for in a good fashion or furniture shop when buying items for yourself.  You don’t even need to worry that your dog is too large for accessories sold in most pet stores as you can shop in a specialist big dog boutique who understand what owners of larger breeds such as Great Danes and Wolf Hounds need and want for their pets.

Items sold can be divided into several categories:

Furniture – This includes things such as a dog kennel and dog beds.

Clothing – Including practical day wear, evening wear and fancy dress outfits.

Feeding – Not only food and water bowls but feeding mats as well.

Toys – Not just your standard balls and chewy toys but more interactive and unusual toys also.

Walking Accessories – As well as your usual collars and leads you can get harnesses and dog carriers.

Grooming – Brushes, combs, clippers and all the shampoo and body wash you could want.

On top of this some boutiques also sell doggy treats, ID tags and spa treatments.

You may feel that you would prefer a shop that you can visit when buying some of these items but dog boutiques online have very good returns policies if you find that you don’t like something when it arrives or it doesn’t fit your pet.

One of the newest and most innovative areas in dog accessories to surface in recent years has been in the production of dog clothing.  Though it has long been possible to buy dog coats that will keep a dog with fine fur or low levels of body fat warm even in the coldest temperatures, there has recently been a surge in places where you can buy a huge variety of different types of clothes.  These range from quirky witches’ outfits for Halloween to an ever practical dog raincoat for those days when the sky seems to be permanently open and any trip outside is risking a drenching but you don’t want to leave your poor dog in his dog kennel.

Waterproof dog coats have many special design features to make them perfect for keeping your dog clean and dry even in the heaviest downpour.  When searching for a coat to buy for your dog the following are features that you should look for:

• Easy fastening buckles so that you can put on and take off the coat quickly and adjust the size to fit your dog exactly.
• Reflectors to ensure safety.  After all, if it’s raining then visibility is likely to be quite poor.
• Breathable fabric.  Though it’s quite possible to buy cheaper dog raincoats they are generally made from non-breathable fabric and so your dog will sweat and become uncomfortable.
• Taped seams.  If the seams aren’t taped then they will soon start to let in the water and render the coat useless.
• Easy care washing instructions.  The coat is likely to get muddy from splashing through puddles and so you want to be able to pop it into the washing machine to get it clean again.

During particularly cold weather you may find that you need more than just a dog raincoat for your pet.  Though the material will help keep your dog warm by keeping him dry and stopping the wind from getting through many people use fleece dog coats beneath them to add an extra layer of warmth.

As well as looking for the special features that make the dog raincoat a good one you will need to be very careful to check that the coat fits perfectly, with plenty of space for movement without letting it flap about.  Not all coats have a chest panel but this is essential if you want to protect your dog’s chest and abdomen.

There are a few situations where a dog raincoat wouldn’t be recommended.  One is if you are hiking over very rough ground where he is needing to climb and scramble as you wouldn’t want him to get caught and he needs to be able to move as freely as possible.  The other is if you are on board a boat.  Though it might be tempting to put one on him whenever you put on your slicker, in stormy weather you will need to be able to put his dog life jacket on as quickly as possible.

For many years the traditional way to keep control of a dog while out for a walk has been to use a collar and lead.  While this is still the most popular method of handling a dog, there is a relatively new piece of equipment used by many pet owners.  This is a dog harness.  If you are the owner of a small breed, such as a terrier, who generally uses a dog carrier so as not to put undue strain on the neck of your little pet then you will benefit particularly from a small dog harness.

In its most basic form a dog safety harness is two rings of fabric (a smaller one for round the neck and a larger one for around the torso) joined together by two more fabric bars.  The main advantage of this over a collar is that it stops all the pressure from being put onto your dog’s neck and spine by spreading it out but it also reduces the likelihood of choking and makes it more difficult for a dog to escape by slipping out.  They are also particularly useful for training and for controlling boisterous dogs so that you will no longer need to leave them in their dog kennel as you will be able to put more of your weight into pulling the dog back without throttling him.

Because of the increasing popularity of the small dog harness the producers of dog clothing now often put a reinforced button hole into the clothing so that a lead can be threaded through and attached to it.  Another option is to actually buy a dog harness vest.  These are prettily designed dog vests which also double as a harness when it is time for walkies.

Of course it is not just small dogs who use these harnesses.  A large dog harness is often worn to give owners more control of a particularly strong dog or by assistance dogs such as guide dogs.  These generally give the owner a handle to hold so that they have a more sensitive feel of their dog’s movement.

One final type of harness is for securing your dog within your car.  The harness is plugged into one of the seat belt sockets and has extra padding so that, in the case of an accident, your dog will be safe.

So, no matter what type of harness you need to buy, from a car harness to keep your dog safe to a small dog harness so that your little dog doesn’t get a squashed throat, you will be able to find just what you want.

One of the biggest areas of growth in dog accessories is dog clothing.  Some of this is due to more people buying practical dog wear such as jumpers or coats for cold weather or a dog life jacket if their dog spends lots of time on the water with them.  However, the main area of growth is in designer clothing with even puppy clothes being sold in ever greater quantities.

When looking into buying puppy dog clothes it is vital that you measure your dog accurately so that the outfit looks its best.  Make sure that you measure not just the length of his body but his body and neck girth and overall weight.  This way, when you look at puppy clothing websites you will be armed with the information necessary to decide upon which size you need.

The most popular items of puppy clothes are puppy coats, which come in a huge variety of fabrics, patterns and styles.  These are ideal if your dog has a very short coat, which makes it feel the cold, or if you live in a particularly cold area and they spend a lot of time in their dog kennel, as they help to keep in most of the body heat.  It is also possible to buy more unusual items such as pyjamas, T-shirts, hats and skirts.  There are also plenty of outfits designed for specific holidays or occasions such as Christmas, Halloween or weddings and a dog dressed in a cute, seasonal outfit will get lots of attention from everyone who sees him.

Though, by and large, most pet stores only sell jackets and jumpers for dogs, the internet has allowed the creation of many ‘dog boutiques’ selling unusual and designer dog clothing for dogs of all breeds and sizes and, if you search hard enough, you will be able to find pretty much any item of wear that your imagination can come up with.

Though you may be criticised for owning a pampered pooch, puppies’ clothes are a harmless bit of fun and your dog won’t mind wearing an outfit at all, as long as it fits comfortably and doesn’t restrict his movement.  However, do be warned that these outfits don’t come cheap and so you may want to only buy a few for very special occasions.

The final downside to buying puppy clothing is that puppies, like children, grow and so any outfit that you buy may well not fit him in a few months time.  If money is an issue then you might need to wait until he has reached full size as then there is no risk of an outfit only being worn a few times.

There are many people up and down the country who love nothing more than to spend all their free time on board a boat be it a canal boat, yacht or cruiser.  Large numbers of these people are also dog owners and many of them, rather than leave their dog at home in his dog kennel, have their pets accompany them on their boats.  Though most dogs can swim rough conditions, cold water and strong currents could put the dog at risk and very young or elderly dogs may struggle if they find themselves in the water.  A dog life jacket is a practical solution that will give its owner valuable time in which to rescue it should it fall into the water and will prevent the dog from tiring too quickly.

A dog life vest is one piece of dog clothing which is a necessity for those who are going to spend any length of time on the water with their pet and there are certain features that you should look out for.

Firstly, all good life jackets are made from high visibility fabric and contain some reflective strips so that a light would reflect off the surface if you were searching for a pet who had gone overboard at night.  Some dog life jackets have handles on the top for ease of removing the animal from water from the safety of the boat and others have a chin support so that a dog who has become tired from spending an extended time in the water doesn’t drown even whilst wearing his jacket.

It is not only dogs on board boats who sometimes have a need for a pet life jacket.  Some dogs are overly confident about jumping into bodies of water, often paying little heed to whether or not it is safe to do so.  If you have a dog like this then you may want him to wear one when you are near to a river or lake and, if you employ someone for their dog walking services then make sure that they always use it too.

Basically a dog life jacket will be required by all dogs who spend time on the water with their owner.  All it would take is a strong gust of wind, a slippery deck or a rough sea to send a beloved pet overboard and it may be that all there is between him surviving or not is his dog’s life jacket.

When you first hear the term ‘Dog Clothing’ you may think that it sounds like something dreamed up by a crazy person with too much time on their hands.  However once you start looking more closely at the ranges of apparel available you will realise that most of it is of a very practical nature.

Dogs are now kept as pets in many areas of the world where they did not evolve naturally.  On top of this, with modern breeding techniques, there are large numbers of dogs who don’t have the thick coats of dogs bred for particularly cold climates or else are clipped over certain parts of their body.  If this is the case for your dog then you may want to look into the kinds of clothing available to keep him warm.

It is all very well having an insulated dog kennel but, in severe winter temperatures, a dog sweater will give him an extra layer of protection.  Small dog clothing can look a lot like children’s wear but it has been specially designed so that it fits their longer bodies and has holes for all four legs.

As well as practical clothing items there are also clothes which help to keep your dog safe. For anyone who takes their dog on boat trips with them is a doggie life jacket.  Though it is well known that dogs are good swimmers, even they would struggle in rough waters or if they had to spend a long time in the water.  Another great item is a reflective jacket or bandana so that your dog can be seen by drivers on dark nights or in poor weather conditions.

If you work long hours and so put your dog into doggie day care or employ someone for their dog walking services then you may wish to provide a waterproof dog coat so that he will be able to join in with all walks, no matter what the weather.

Though most dog clothing and accessories are of a practical nature, to keep you dog warm and dry, designer dog clothing is becoming an every larger market with everything from diamond studded designer dog collars to cashmere sweaters available for the furriest member of the family.

You may think that large dog clothing will be the most difficult to acquire but there are plenty of companies out there who cater specifically for bigger dogs and so a bit of research on your part will soon come up with results.