Is it cruel to make your pet wear clothes?

I think it depends on the pet. My dachshund had a whole wardrobe. He loved to wear his clothes and got excited every time he saw a new clothes come out of bag. He had a glow in the dark vest for his night time walks and enjoyed wearing as much as taking a walk. If we needed to take off his clothes , we had to be careful because sometime he would snap at us. Putting on a sweater or shirt would change his attitude and put a bounce in his step and an extra wag in his tail.

Now if you have to fight you pet to dress him or it is clear they just do not like wearing clothes it is a bit cruel.

In my personal opinion, animals do not look any better wearing clothes and I do not really understand why someone would make them wear clothes. However, I do not believe that making your pet wear clothes is cruel unless you make them wear clothes in extreme situations.

For example, if you were to make your dog wear heavy wool clothes and then take them outside when its very hot outside, I would see that as cruel. However, in the other extreme, clothes can help sometimes, if you are taking your dog into very cold temperatures, maybe giving them some clothes could help keep them warmer and more comfortable. And also there is another extreme of making your dog wear a ridiculous amount of clothes for the sake of 'fashion' or entering them in contests.

However, in the general case, making your pet where clothes is often unnecessary and not a good use of time, regardless of whether or not it seems like a good idea or something which you should be doing.

Sorry but I am not a lover of having to dress up ones pet. An animal is an animal not a substitute child or a piece of dress decoration as a woman would wear a piece of bling. I doubt that it bothers the animals that much unless it hinders movement, none-the-less, for me a big no no.

I think it says something about the owner, like they might have issues of some sort. You always see empty-nesters dressing their "babies", aka little dogs. The animals usually look so uncomfortable.

On the other hand, I think a nice hanky around the neck can be a great accessory for a pooch.

I do believe it depends on the animal and the weather as well. I've heard people say their dog really loves wearing a sweater, and if that's the case I guess go for it. There are of course legit reasons to put them in a sweater sometimes, I've read that if it's around 40 degrees or below it's best to have a chihuahua in a sweater when you're taking them outside. I do this for my dog, she has very little fur on her tummy for example, I'm sure it'd be quite chilly for her. However, I know she otherwise can't stand being in clothes, if I put a sweater on her in the house she tries to dig down into blankets frantically, which doesn't make much sense to me. She even shakes her head around if she has to wear a collar. Since I have a fenced in yard, she mostly goes outside there, so I barely ever make her wear anything since I know she hates it so much. So that being said, if your dog hates it and you're dressing them up constantly, I think it is a bit cruel.

I don't like it personally, I think it makes them look ridiculous and is often uncomfortable for them. My dogs would curl up in a blanket by their own choice if they were cold. They would always try and squirm out of any clothes my sister would try and put on them. I don't blame them as it was probably tight and restricted their movement.

I did hear that there was some sort of comfort blanket sweater thing you could put on dogs to calm them down during storms though - not sure how effective it was though.

I guess it depends. Clothes definitely aren't meant for dogs and other pets. Although, I can understand dressing your not so furry dog in something warm when it's below freezing outside.

Hmm I think neck scarves or neck accessories/small hats that don't cover the ears ought to be the extent of it except coats for cold weather. Cats in particular usually have really thick fur especially in the winter so they're fine in the snow for a while as long as they have a warm snow-less place to come back to.

I don't know much about dogs tho. We've never had dogs and when I met my boyfriend they only have cats and still only have cats.

I feel similarly, that clothes for cuteness purposes are demeaning and just not nice. I do get clothes for practical purposes though. Doggie coats for winter walkies just makes sense. I would feel terrible if my dog got sick or started shivering because its core temperature dropped too much during a walk.

In a similar vein, I knitted my cat a little sweater to wear when she sits in the windows in the winter time. Is it cute? Oh my goodness, yes. But its there so that she can sit in the window and watch the birds without having to rub against the radiator every ten minutes or so to warm up. She's not hugely fond of it, but on really cold days, she brings it out for me to put it on her

I don't force her to wear it if she doesn't want to, though. I also made sure that it would be easy for her to take it off herself, which she usually does immediately after window time.

On the other hand, I have heard stories about animals that actually like their clothes. My mom's old boss had a dog that would bring out the outfits she wanted to wear pretty regularly. I suppose if the animal genuinely enjoys it, its okay.

However, most animals don't like it, and the clothes are there only to satisfy the human urge to anthropomorphize everything. And that, I can't get behind.

No, I don't think its anymore cruel than all those times when you were a baby and your folks would make you wear those awful one piece suits or costumes with bunny ears or tail. Parents did it for their own amusement and I get the same joy out of putting a hideous Christmas sweater on Oscar in Decemeber- just to see him react while trying to pull it off.

Any kind of scarf or ribbon around the neck is a big fat NO though.

I think it's unfair to the animal if you dress them up in clothes all the time. I think it's acceptable for a smaller breed dog to have a sweater when it goes out in the cold but only for that time period. I also think it's acceptable for a toy breed to wear something for a short period of time if they are cold.
I work at an animal hospital and I have seen animals suffer because people think it's cute for Fluffy to wear baby clothes. We had a client who's dog got very dry skin from wearing clothes all the time. His skin couldn't breath and he was always scratching. Luckily, after a talk with her she stopped and she applied a leave in conditioner to the dog's fur. This helped the skin go back to normal.

It's depending. Putting clothes on cats is pretty much impossible, but people do it too dogs constantly. I don't really like seeing doing is costumes, cause it seems a little mean, but clothing for dogs can be a good thing! For instance, my friend has a tiny yorkie. If she didn't put it's little coat on in the winter, the poor thing would probably freeze to death! It was one of those Velcro wrap around things, where these two holes for the front legs and the rest just sort of drapes over it. It would probably look like a sort of a cape if it were for humans, haha. I also know people who will have the "shirt" type clothing for their dogs; it's usually thin material and says something cute or funny on it or is done with a neat patterned fabric. They usually soak the shirt is water and the wring it out and place it on the dog to help them keep cool.

Costumes for pets is very silly to me, but all in all dog clothing can be a very good thing.

I think like some people do for a fashion statement or to be cute is very cruel. Why does a dog need shoes, hats, sunglasses, etc? My son loves Beverly Hills Chihauhau, and I always felt sorry for those dogs all dressed up from head to toe, and getting manicures and pedicures. Why does a dog need all that, it's silly. But maybe that is just me. The only time I put clothes on my dog is in the colder months, and even then, it's just a sweater for him to keep warm inside my house, as there is no insulation and outside where it is colder.

I am not a fan of dressing up pets. I think that they're animals and not our dolls, but I understand that some pets may like it so I think that as long as owners we stay in tune with the way our pets react when we try to dress them up it is ok. In addition to the two cats we also have a dog and she is the only one who gets dressed up, but that is more for function as opposed to style. In the winter she has a sweater coat and booties to keep her warm, the sweater coat actually velcros under her belly so she doesn't mind it too much, and the booties are to keep her paws from being irritated by the cold or ice melt that people put down. For the rain she has a raincoat, but that's another one that velcros under her belly and she also won't go out without it on. In the summer she has some soft cotton shoes and those are also to protect her paws from hot sidewalks.

My daughter used to dress up her dogs and all they did was chew on whatever item it was until it was full of holes and off. I try putting a sweater on my little dog in the winter when it is cold because I keep my heat down low and I don't want her to get cold, but she manages to get out of her sweater. My daughter who lives with me has a jack russell who shivers in the winter so he gets a sweater and does not seem to mind it at all.

I personally think the outfits on most pets are pretty hideous and I secretly judge you if you dress your pets up on a regular basis. On the other hand, I love Halloween costume photos of people and their pets. Most of the time, the animals don't look uncomfortable and some of them even look like they're happy (from all the extra attention, I'm guessing, plus their owners probably sound happy and excited). I'm also guilty of putting a little santa hat on my cat for Christmas. He hates it and takes it off within the next minute and we usually let him be after that, so I promise I'm not torturing him too much.

I agree, in the summer, it doesn't sound like a good idea to put extra layers on your pet when they need to sweat. Like other posters have said, it all depends on the pet.

I sometimes buy clothes for my cats, and I make them wear them. However, I only put the clothes on them for less than 30 minutes because I know that clothes really make them uncomfortable. I live in a tropical country, and putting dresses on them will only raise their temperature more. Also, personifying animals too much can do more harm than good. They might have an identity crisis in a sense that they will no longer know what they should do as pets. My friend's dog has been personified so much that she cannot be trained anymore.

My dog wont like it. I know this because he doesnt even like cuddling in blankets. I have never tried putting him in clothes, thus. In fact, most animals don't like being dressed and don't feel comfortable in clothes. I don't understand why humans try to make animals be the way they themselves are. We have evolved not to roam around in our bday suits. Other animals have evolved to prefer not having extra suits. They don't force us to strip down and walk around, do they? We could respect their wishes likewise.

No It is not cruel action to wear clothes to pets but it is trendy and stylish and pets looks good in the clothes.

My pets would really dislike being dressed up. I do think it's for the owner's satisfaction rather than anything for the pets comfort or health.

I lived in Japan for a couple of years as a result of my husband's work, and over there it's pretty remarkable how much they love dressing up their pets. I heard from a friend (so don't quote me on accuracy) that there are significantly more pets than children in Japan, so I guess to a degree people are possibly living out that idea of dressing your child in cute outfits and instead doing that to their pets. There were seriously stores all over the place which I originally thought must have been kids clothing stores that were actually for pets. They even sold things like puppy cardigans and puppy soccer jerseys and things like that. I'd never seen anything like it.

I don't think I'd ever dress up my animals anyway - even in spite of the fact that they wouldn't like it themselves, I just don't really see it necessary. If I had a chihuahua, like someone mentioned, and lived in a super cold climate then sure, I can see the necessity in it. But my pets are indoors anyway, save for potty breaks, walks, and supervised yard time! If it was a particularly cold day I wouldn't be leaving them outside anyway just to shiver and be miserable. Also...some of those pet outfits are insanely priced! For something that doesn't benefit my pets health and well being I would call it an unnecessary expense.

Having a Great Dane, and trying to fit clothes on him has always been an interesting chore. If the pet clothing they make in stores is too small for him. Putting that stuff on him would be cruel! Now, I have however, put a scarf on him in the winter time when we were outside playing in the snow. I have also taken one of my husband's sweatshirts and cut it to fit him. But this was just to insure he wasn't too cold while being outside. There was also on time when my daughter was little, that she put a tutu on him. It was very cute, and funny, but not something we encouraged her to do.

The way our bodies are made contrasts with that of animals to which category pets belong. We humans have a body design that is amenable to wearing clothes since our skin is basically exposed to the elements. Pets either have feathers, a coat of fur or a thick skin which essentially represents their clothes. I once dressed our pet dog in a shirt and could see how bewildered and confused he was trying to shake off the shirt. He was in distress. I think dressing for animals should be restricted to light neckties for decoration and identification.

Clothes on pets are cute. However, we live in a tropical country and putting on clothes will make our dogs uneasy and uncomfortable. In fact, that's our mortal enemy with our dogs - the hot weather. But when we go to the mountain city called Baguio City, it is a cold place of temperatures ranging from 10 to 20 degrees, it is imperative for our dogs to be clothed not only when strolling outside but also during the night. That's aside from the blanket that we cover them with for they couldn't sleep with the very cold temperature in the bedroom.

Personally only if the weather is too hot, the dog already has thick fur and the owner decides to dress it up with matching shoes, I call it torture. I saw this girl bring her Shih Tzu at my son's school and just looking at it made me uncomfortable. I don't have the heart to see my own dog suffer heatstroke. It was a school recognition day and the hot sun is already out at ten in the morning and the girl looks like she attended a fashion event which her dog got dragged into. I think a pet owner's priority should be the needs and comfort of the dog.

It depends on the clothes, the pet, and the weather. If you live in excessively cold area, I understand putting shoe or boots on you pet's feet to reduce frostbite. I also understand when owners will give them a vest or a coat to keep them warm. The only time I get really concerned about animals wearing clothes in hot weather. I've seen a labrador whose owner liked to not only dress him up in clothes but in layers even if it is over a hundred degrees out. That is where I think it's cruel. If it's hot out or extremely humid, animals shouldn't be forced to wear clothes unless they have a health condition where they have trouble regulating their temperature. On the movie, Legally Blonde, the main character's dog used to like wearing a tutu. I don't mind that because most of the fur wasn't covered so it wouldn't interfere with sweating in the hot weather and made the dog happy.