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You guys might remember that I have dogs. Three, to be exact (that’s Patton in the picture). Paul and I don’t have any kids yet, so these dogs are pretty spoiled. I mean, not celebrity-spoiled to the point that I carry them around in purses and buy them Swarovski-studded collars or anything like that, but they do get a lot of our attention. They get fairly frequent trips to the dog park (which is really just as much entertainment for us as it is for them). Ever since the whole pet food scare, they get rather expensive dog food from a specialty store. They don’t get to sleep with us, but they do each have their own little plush doggy beds.
The latest is that we are sending them to doggy daycare. Not every single day – no, just once to try it out. It’s a half day of grooming and a half day of getting to run amok with other dogs. They have free access to both inside and outside, there are agility courses for them to play on and wading pools if it’s nice enough outside. There’s a mandatory two-hour nap from noon to 2 p.m.
The best part? There’s a Web cam. So we can watch our little heathens and see how they behave with others. Expect my productivity at work to plummet dramatically when the dogs are at daycare.
However, despite doggy daycare and the pricey dog food and the fact that two of them are curled up on my lap as I type this, there are always dogs who are more spoiled than ours. Here are a few signs that your dog is seriously spoiled…
1. A doghouse nicer than my real house
Retail value $15,000-$20,000. Seriously. Rachel Hunter’s dogs call this charming little villa home.
2. A spa membership
At The Club in Beverly Hills, your dog can enjoy a day of yoga, aromatherapy, massages, Jacuzzi soaks, car service and personalized bedding. I’m sure it’s nicer than most hotels I’ve stayed at.
3. A canopy bed
At only $200, it’s a steal! C’mon, it’s a small price to pay for your dog’s comfort, isn’t it? The sad thing is, I’m pretty sure my dogs would be happier in an old, raggedy blanket that they’ve chewed holes in over the years. Or maybe that’s just what I’m telling myself.
4. Doggie tarot cards
Not like Cesar Millan from the Dog Whisperer, who understands dog behaviors and mind sets well enough to appear to be psychic. Nope, this is the real deal. You use these tarot cards just like the human variety to figure out what your dog (or cat, or bird… it’s not limited) is trying to tell you.
5. A $1.8 million dog collar
Forget what I said about Swarovski crystals—apparently that makes me cheap. No, if you really love your dog, you’ll buy them this $1.8 million collar studded with 52 carats, including a seven-carat center diamond. Ha. I’m picturing my dogs gnawing the crap out of this the second I got it fastened around one of their necks.
So what do you do for your pets that might be a little, um, out of the ordinary? ‘Fess up!
Comments (29)
Comment
I also have started buying the specialty dog food since the pet food recall. I have a rather large dog-run and dog house for my 2 mini-dachshunds (not to the extent of the dog house in this article, it’s just big for the size of dogs that I have). My dogs also sleep with us and get to spend the resto fo there time no our laps while we watch TV.
posted by Bobbi on 4-2-2008 at 1:52 pm
I make doggy ice cream from non-fat yoghurt, bananas, peanut butter and ice cream and he gets a cup of it every night before bed.
posted by Maria on 4-2-2008 at 1:54 pm
I put chapstick on my horse’s lips in the winter (a huge oversized chapstick) and sunscreen on the pink parts of her nose in the summer.
She also prefers fruit salad and granola bars to regular horse treats!
posted by Whitney on 4-2-2008 at 1:59 pm
My dog only drinks bottled water.
posted by Peps on 4-2-2008 at 2:04 pm
I saw a feature about yoga for dogs on ABC Nightly News just last evening. There are an increasing number of classes that are designed for humans and dogs to do together, and the first dog yoga DVD is coming out soon. Doga, is what it is called, I think. Not sure on the spelling
posted by caroline on 4-2-2008 at 2:17 pm
My cats get to sleep with me… thats basically all they get. Oh, and if they are good, they get to explore my garage (where they can access the attic.) But nothing special for them; they wouldnt understand that it was anything good anyway; they are happy tearing up my toilet paper rolls.
posted by Sarah on 4-2-2008 at 2:23 pm
I agree with Sarah - my cat sleeps with me and my dog sleeps on the floor. Cleo’s (the dog) is just as happy chewing on sticks as she is with any expensive treats I get her.
posted by liz on 4-2-2008 at 2:29 pm
I have a Scottie, and she is very spoiled. She gets to go to the store any time someone goes, where she rolls down all of the windows. She gets expensive specialty dog food too, and she gets her own couch when she wants it.
posted by Alisia on 4-2-2008 at 2:33 pm
Oh man! I want to go to doggy day care! The website is great and it sounds like a really fun place for a pet to hang out- let us know how it goes.
posted by Lindsay C on 4-2-2008 at 2:35 pm
I have been redeemed, I did much better on this one.
posted by gus on 4-2-2008 at 2:37 pm
My dog eats all natural food and treats, sleeps in bed with me and my husband, comes to work with me every day (and sleeps on my boss’s leather couch!), has adopted the two best blankets in our apartment for her personal sleeping needs, and even has a special seat for the car so she cean see out the window (she’s little!).
posted by Nora on 4-2-2008 at 2:42 pm
I am a crazy dog ‘mom’. My dogs get organic food from Drs Foster & Smith
They both sleep in the bed with me and I make custom dog coats for all the dogs in my and my sibling’s families (2 Mastiff’s 2 great danes, various danes that my niece fosters, 1 pomeranian, 1 small rag muffin of undetermined breed, 1 mastiff/shepard mix and my 2 as well). I may start making dog coats to sell!
They are the best!!
posted by JaneM on 4-2-2008 at 2:44 pm
I give my dogs water and food. They LOVE it! And sometimes I throw an old tennis ball around.
And it’s really hard to decipher the 2 words I have to type to prove I am not a spybot posting messages about my dog ‘n stuff.
posted by Tommy on 4-2-2008 at 3:08 pm
My family thinks I spoil my cats. They sleep on my bed, one sleeps on the pillow next to me, the other at the foot. They’ve got a water filter machine so the water is always circulating (my theory is it makes it taste/feel like toilet water–their favorite). One cat only likes wet food, the other likes dry, so they each get their own, plus lots of homegrown catnip. Otherwise, they’ve got the run of my apartment and porch with their individual (they refuse to share) scratching posts and litter boxes.
I don’t think they’re spoiled. Most of the things they won’t share, the food, scratchers and litter, are all things I’ve tried hard to get them to share. They just won’t. So I’ve got two of everything.
posted by jenny on 4-2-2008 at 3:10 pm
My dog goes to doggie day care at least once a week and he loves it. It’s a great way for him to learn how to socialize with other dogs.
posted by downchez on 4-2-2008 at 3:39 pm
It’s sad how much people spend on luxuries for their pets when the pets themselves are indifferent. It’s a shame, considering all the people who are in need.
posted by David on 4-2-2008 at 4:19 pm
My little dog, Fredrick Kingston, is pretty spoiled. I can’t go past a pet isle without getting him a toy, coat, or new treats. He eats only all natural dog food sprinkled with some vitamins to keep him feeling healthy. He sleeps with me, and sadly, I do put coats on him and shirts and sweaters (but they are manly looking so he doesn’t feel like paris hilton is his mom). So basically he’s my life.
posted by Heather on 4-2-2008 at 5:52 pm
They sleep on beds, couches, chairs (including a leather recliner), wherever. They have a lot of tennis balls because I steal them from my school. They drink tap water, but eat special vegetarian food, because there’s something about Dalmatians’ digestive systems that makes it a bad idea to feed them regular dog food. It’s really more of a medical thing, though.
posted by L.A. on 4-2-2008 at 6:22 pm
My cats have the run of the house. My female kitty insists on sleeping not just on the bed, but on me, and most of the time I let her. They get treats, catnip, and trips to the groomers once every few months for haircuts (ok, so that’s more for me so I don’t go crazy with the cat hair).
The only really expensive thing I’ve bought them (if we’re not counting the $3k I dropped on emergency vet bills a few months ago) is an Ultimate Cat Scratching Post, and that was well worth the investment!
posted by claudia on 4-2-2008 at 11:02 pm
Doggie Day Care is the best! I used to foster a German Shepard mix while working 50+ hours a week and going to school. He went to puppy day care 2 days a week which left him so exhausted he needed the other days to recover. Playing outside all day with his friends instead of sitting in my apartment alone… It was the best $32/week I’ve ever spent. He was so happy!!!! City animals miss a lot of enrichment and socialization due to their owner’s lifestyles. Now my foster pups go with me everywhere, but if they couldn’t, I’d be watching them on the webcam along with you!
posted by Mary C on 4-3-2008 at 12:54 am
Man… and I thought my pugs were spoiled because whenever we’re not home, they get to go to “their” room- the spare bedroom is now their room, where they have two beds and the opportunity to watch Animal Planet all day.
posted by Kelly J on 4-3-2008 at 7:51 am
I try not to spoil my dog too much, but there are a few things…
Wrigley gets to sleep in my bed and he has a winter coat, but that’s more because he shivers when it’s too cold outside. He drinks tap water - straight from the tap. He prefers to be hand fed, which is ridiculous and I try not to promote that behavior! Finally, he loves car rides, so I try to take him with me every now and then when I’m running errands; it serves a dual purpose of letting him see new things and the excitement of it wears him out!
posted by Rae Rae on 4-3-2008 at 9:33 am
My pomeranian is on a strict no scraps diet–he gets good quality kibble mixed with a little wet food, and sometimes yogurt–but that’s mostly because I can’t stand dogs who beg. He and the cat both get filtered water (but that’s about all the fancy stuff cat gets).
Probably the way he’s most spoiled is that he has beds scattered everywhere, so wherever I am doing something, he has a place to lay down near me.
posted by frumpiefox on 4-3-2008 at 11:14 am
how do you get a dog to do yoga?
my parrots eat fresh, human-grade veggies and fruits (spinach is the thing lately) in addition to their pelleted diets. my cat eats Science Diet (she won’t eat anything else), and they all get fun toys to play with. though the parrots seem to have more fun with toilet paper/paper towel rolls than the fun-looking foraging toys i get them. the turtle won’t stop growing, so he’s getting a new big tank soon.
posted by the creature on 4-3-2008 at 11:36 am
makes me sick.
posted by meta on 4-3-2008 at 12:09 pm
None of my animals are spoiled - in fact I think its a privalige for them to live with me - they could have it worse by having to fend for themselves out in the wild.
My cat drinks filtered water because she gets crystals in her bladder that cause her pain - really its just water from the britta filter that the rest of us also drink from.
My horse lives outside year round and eats grass and hay. As a special treat she gets pepermints to make her breath smell minty fresh.
My sisters 2 labs go to a boarding facility that is also a doggie daycare when she goes on trips. Those dogs are so tired when they get home it takes a couple days for them to recover.
posted by Beth on 4-3-2008 at 12:21 pm
The title of this post should be “More money than sense”
posted by 4sho on 4-3-2008 at 12:36 pm
O WoW!
posted by Dee on 4-3-2008 at 3:12 pm
Whitney, I’m figuring you have a similar problem that I had. I had a paint horse with a white nose that got sunburned all the time. Try Bullfrog sunscreen, it’s waterproof for all the dunks in the bucket and it lasts all day.
posted by Des on 4-4-2008 at 9:20 am