The People's Friend

Join in our Talking Point – should pets ever be dressed up?

Should pets ever be dressed up?

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CHRISTMAS is a time for dressing up and having fun. Most of us love getting out the glad rags and applying the party make-up, but how far do our festive preparatio­ns extend to our pets?

This year alone, pet owners in the United States were estimated to have spent around half a billion dollars on dressing up their pets for Hallowe’en. Photos of pets in costumes are shared widely on social media, and – judging by the number of “likes” they receive – it’s clear that people love to see them.

Even before social media, it wasn’t unknown for folks to pop a hat on a pet for a quick snapshot in a moment of harmless fun.

And pet garments have been around for years. A shivering greyhound might need a cosy coat on a winter’s day. A reflective jacket for walks on dark nights is often sensible.

These days you can walk into any pet superstore or go online and choose from a huge range of elaborate fancy-dress costumes for your beloved companion.

Want to make your pug look like Superman? There’s an outfit for that.

Dress up your dachsie as a hot dog? Yep, you can do that, too.

But should you? Can you dress up an animal and allow it to keep its dignity?

A loving owner will usually be in tune with their pet, and even a loyal, obliging dog will have ways of showing it’s not happy.

The animal’s interests must always be the main concern: no pet should be expected to wear something that makes it uncomforta­ble – physically or emotionall­y – simply for its owner’s entertainm­ent. ■

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