Craft Fair idea
 

Just saw this , probably been around for ages, but new to me. Saw a lady out walking. She had a carrier for her little dog. It was a quilted band , a little wider than her shoulder, it had a pocket for her to carry her doggie. Looked like it was made from black canvas/ duckcloth. At first I thought it was some kinf of purse, till I saw the dog.

The tiny dogs seem to be all the rage. Think the popularity of the totes/carriers is to take them into public places they really shouldn't be. IMHO whether 2 lbs. or 200 lbs., a dog needs to be allowed to act like a dog. No wonder so many of these tiny dogs are so neurotic. All that energy and no place to get rid of it.

I adopted a 14 yo Pom from a rescue in March. Now Toby doesn't always act like he is 14 yo but he has some rough days. He has arthritis in his right front leg and towards the end of the day he will limp a little more than in the morning. We took him camping in Michigan back in June. We went to visit family in a small town. It was the city wide garage sale and we knew that Toby wasn't going to be able to walk all that distance. Before we left to go camping, I found a really nice Graco child's stroller at a garage sale for $20. It has the reclining seat, storage underneath and 2 drink holders!. Toby was the talk of the town, riding around in his stroller! Everybody stopped to meet him and he just ate it up! We looked at the dog strollers and found that even the basic no frills models to be too pricey and not as nice as the child's stroller. He also has a booster seat in the car so he can look out the window when he is going for a ride. It holds him in and will make it safer for him if there is an accident. I refuse to carry him as long as he is able to get around. When he gets tired or his leg is really bothering him, that's when I will carry him.

I have a friend who works in management at a large grocery chain. People are always bringing in their little dogs whether it is inside their jackets, purses or bags. The people get very defensive and rude when asked to remove the dog from the store. It is a violation of public health code to have a non-working animal in any public building. One woman, after making a huge scene, threatened her that if she took her dog out to her car and someone stole it (the dog, not the car) she was going to come back and get her.

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that is cute dog in the stroller. he looks happy. there is nothing wrong in spoiling your pets. not at all. as far as taking them in a grocery store i don't think that is very nice. i went to a flea market here and saw this woman let her dog take care of his number two business. a big dog mind you, and was walking away. i asked her . you are going to clean that up aren;t you, she did. wasn;t happy about it but she did.

I know a lady that takes her dog for long walks and it is too much for the dog. She got a stroller and now the dog walks as long as it can and then rides. They both get their much needed exercise!

Pets are theraputic for us. Its ok to treat them well if thats what you want to do. I give treats to the dogs I see when driving in my neighborhood.

Well said. So much better than animal abuse

Seems to me something extra to wash and de-flea?

that is so sweet that you did that for your dog with arthritis.

OMG, we have gone to far, for sure. I LOVE my dogs but I would never take them into a public place where they are clearly not allowed. Grocery stores, absolutely NOT. I think we have lost the concept that they are pets & not children. I love my pets just like family members (maybe better than some family members LOL) but I do know that they are my fur babies NOT my babies.

I don't take my dog into stores where there is food because of health laws; however, you would never have to wipe the handle of the shopping cart off with a wippie because of germs from my dog. Some of the things I've heard being found on those cart handles because kids ride in the carts. Yuck! Last week I watched a young man (maybe 12) squeeze bags of candy crushing the candy (like p-nut butter cups) while waiting in the grocery checkout line. His mother was right there paying him no mind. My doggie would never do that! And the kids that "touch" everything. If you think about it you would wear gloves every time you go shopping. One place for germs...the key pad on the credit card machines at the checkout. Kids in carts have access to those and I've seen some really disgusting things there. My doggie wouldn't touch those either. Why not? Because I would not ALLOW it. I love little people but wish parents paid more attention to them and what they are doing. If I have a choice between and little dog in a cart and a little person....well, its all in how they are trained and monitored.

I know some people that leave their dog in their car year round with the air or heat running. I hate people that leave their dog in a hot car with the windows down a little.

auntpiggylpn: you are a sweetheart and thank you for the gentle lesson.

We have three small dogs--that's Curley in my avatar--and we own one of those dog strollers. I don't use the stroller for walking them because we have a large fenced yard, but it comes in extremely handy for trips to the vet. I use a pet carrier for the car ride and the stroller folds up nicely in the trunk. It's a lot easier to wheel the dog in rather than using the carrier. While we're in the waiting room, the dog is up off the floor, safely contained at seat level and not being exposed to all the germs that have been tracked in on the floor by everyone else's sick pet. He/she can be near me, but is not all over me which is really nice if we have a long wait. The dogs love it and it makes vet visits so much easier for me!

You think I could make a carrier for my dog who is my avatar. Right now he weighs 101 lbs so maybe he should carry me in a sling?

Or you could get a saddle and ride him!!!! :p

Aw, shucks! I'm just me!!

Awe, I have a neighbor who walks her cat in a screened in stroller! I ain't never in my life seen nuttin like dat!

I walk my cat on a leash. not far though, but she loves "going out".

So adorable !! That all he needs...shade, comfort seating and easy riding!!

Slings are also helpful for large dogs who are older, or have a physical injury and have a problem squatting to do business. I have used a towel slung under my older girls belly to help stabilize her after she had knee surgery. Dogs with hip displaysia can have problems squatting and would benefit from the additional support.

My Aunt had to buy a stroller for her dog (Bichon/American Eskimo mix) when he had contracted lyme disease from a tick bite. She liked to take long walks, and he could only walk short distances before he would simply plop down on the sidewalk, in too much pain to continue walking. So there really are reasons that some people buy those dog strollers - they're not all just spoiled doggies!

I agree, animals of any kind do not belong in the grocerie stores and shame on people that do bring them in and don't care about the health sanctions and as far as dogs in strollers, they get tired also, just like a small child.