Poppy is a Chihuahua, so he does not grow the over-coat that most dogs get in the winter. He certainly does shed quite a bit right now due to his previously poor diet, but that requires time to fix itself. I'm more concerned with the weather affecting Poppy's well-being. I know I wouldn't want to go outside without my coat in 40* weather! Lately the weather has been hitting 65* in the morning and poppy does not seem to care. However, I'm afraid our future winter mornings may be frozen-over hell for my little guy. I read online somewhere that Chis tend to get fussy/refuse to go out around 40*-45*, but all dogs are different. Poppy does not like the rain one bit, so cold should be interesting.
I purchased Poppy two sweaters from Walmart while we were waiting for his neutering to be done. I only paid $2 a piece. How could I pass that up?! Later, I bought Poppy a Halloween costume for $11 from PetSmart simply because it was fleece and he does love fleece. I did not intend to try these costumes on Poppy until his sutures were removed. However, his attitude and energy levels seem better than normal now and I couldn't resist trying them on him any longer.
First outfit was his lion costume. It has two velcro strips - one goes over the breast and the other under the tummy. It also has a hood with a mane and holes for his ears. These holes are pointless, as my deer faced apple-headed boy shoves them off quickly to look around everywhere. The costume looks so very cute when he's in the lead for a walk because the head sticks up behind his head anyway. My boyfriend and son say that if they were Poppy they'd bite me or poop on my side of the bed, but Poppy doesn't care. All he knows is that he's really warm.
The second outfit was one of the sweaters I bought. Poppy didn't care about putting it on, but pulling it off was a WTF moment for us. I don't want to say he bit at me, but rather that he opened his mouth and tried to push my hand away from his arms. I do not blame him here! Poppy and I both HATE clothes that require his limbs be tugged. Also, the sweater didn't give as much as I'd hoped. My mother (the sewing queen) has taken both sweaters home to be refitted with fleece-lined velcro strips. I assured her they were so cheap it's ok if they get ruined and they are useless otherwise, so just go for it.
Sizing for Poppy is difficult! He's not an extra small, but slightly bigger than a small. Unfortunately, going from a small to a medium in dogs is like going from a size 6 to a size 14 jeans...or size 10 depending on the brand. It's extremely difficult to find the proper fit! I like to call what I've found so far "Bait clothes" beause they're super cheap rare finds that rake you in to wanting the more-stylish more-efficient, more-expensive clothes. These better quality clothes can cost anywhere from $10-$30 from what I've seen between Walmart and PetSmart. They're SO cute too! Resist, resist!
Poppy and my final recommendations for clothing are:
- Velcro strips or buttons are prefered. Anything that requires pulling a limb is not so great for us.
- Material that matches the chosen pet bedding is the best. For us, this is fleece. I imagine cotton 'sheep wool' or flannel may be good for other dogs. No lace, netting, or other itchies please! They're cute, but should not come in ANY contact with the body (check lining especially.
- After fitting, cut off all tags (including size and brand). You can save them, but I don't think they're important enough to leave on and itch Poppy for the sake of resale value. In the Poppy file they go!
- It is well worth it to buddy up with a sewing friend to make custom doggy clothes for you if at all possible.
Two yards of fleece, two strips of velcro, and threading are much cheaper than $10, but I would give between $10 and $20 depending on the quality and structure of the outfit. Even a non-sewer knows smaller stitches are more time-consuming than human-sized running stitches. Thankfully, my mom has sewn Barbie clothes before. Enough said about her superb skills! I intend to purchase some fleece for a saddle-like cover for Poppy to wear in the morning. We visit my parents on a weekly basis, so this may take a while for mom to complete. My mom loves to sew for the grandchildren, so she'll enjoy the perk of seeing her newest grandbaby never outgrow her creations. Bonus point - She embroiders! This will absolutely cost me more money and her more time because of threading and material testing, but I'd love the aesthetic accents from time to time. I'm so lucky to have a mother who sews as an enjoyable hobby.
I knit, so Poppy may see some button-over Hometown USA clothes in the future. I'm a bit intimidated by the sizing of a dog sweater, but I've sewn seweaters for myself and my (ungrateful) kid. If I stare at Poppy long enough this winter he'll have a sweater before the season's end...and I'll wish I had started sooner.
Maybe, if mama and I have really good success we can sell some of this type of gear at the flea market and donate extras to ur local town shelter in Eden, Nc for the holidays (Their rep is poor due to being under-staffed and over-populated). Despite my nightmare at Guilford Animal Shelter, I'm still a firm believer in spreading love to unfortunate animals, especially if this love brings joy to a new canine parent. If Maw makes clothes for dogs, I'll knit fish and mouse shaped cat toys filled with nip and safe polly for kitties. Im so far ahead of myself though. Let's see how Poppy's outfits turn out first.
No comments:
Post a Comment