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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Winterizing the Puppies

I have two doxies, Oliver and Dudley, and I treat them like my children. I'm one of those dog lovers that you look at and think are insane. But, in my defense, I've only pulled out shirts and sweaters on holidays. This year though, after bringing Dudley inside from going potty in the snow, I realized that his belly was REALLY cold.

I decided to call the vet and ask what she thinks about coats for them. Is it possibly a good idea? The vet says yes! Dudley and Oliver don't have any hair on their bellies and since they are so low to the ground, they are really susceptible to frostbite.

So, I decided to make them coats. Here's the breakdown:

  • $2 for a pattern for a dog coat
  • $2 for a clip for each coat
  • $4 for "strapping"
  • $2 for "d" rings
  • $0 for fleece (we used a couple of old fleece blankets!)
  • $0 for Velcro and other notions I had laying around
Total cost: $10 for two dog coats!

My big thing was making the coats cover their bellies and that I could hook them up to them like they were harnesses. I have success! I originally was going to put the "d" rings on the clips in the middle of their backs, but that didn't work so I put a piece of the strapping up by their necks on the ribbon (I used that to keep the fleece from stretching) and attached the "d" ring to that. I also had to add about 6 inches to the pattern to make them long enough. Overall, I'm happy and I think they are too!


What do you think?

4 comments:

  1. Those are TOO cute, Steph! I love them. How resourceful of you. As long as their pee pees can still hang out for their job, the belly covering is a fabulous idea. Now you've got me thinking about poor Henry...

    Also, your album layouts are turning out wonderfully! I'm glad you like it so much. Great work.

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  2. Thanks! Making sure they could still pee freely was a trial and error thing. I just put them on and fitted them. I ended up putting a dart on the belly part so that they fit a little closer to their bellies and didn't hang down in the "stream zone." Haha, I really didn't want to have to deal with THAT. :)

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  3. Great job! Your doxies are adorable, and I'm very impressed with your sewing abilities.

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  4. Hi, I just found your blog and wondered if you would share what pattern you used to make the coats. I am constantly trying to find a coat that would cover my furbaby Lily's bare belly.

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