Dog Accessories
Kirsten Hawkins
Dog ownership carries with it the burden of a number of other
purchases. In order to properly care for a dog and to comply
with certain local laws, the owner must have a number of dog
accessories in his or her arsenal. Some of these items are
necessary, others are merely conveniences. It is important to
know exactly what you’ll need to properly care for your dog.
The Essentials
Most of the truly necessary items for dog care are fairly
obvious. If you’ve got a dog you’ll need bowls for the dog’s
food and water. Mid size to large dogs have a habit of moving
their food bowls around the room as they eat. This can make a
lot of noise and have the frustrating result of requiring the
owner to hunt around for the bowl at feeding time. The problem
can be solved by using a heavy ceramic bowl that is difficult
for the dog to move around. A sturdy plastic bowl with a rubber
lining on the bottom can be useful as well. The rubber on the
bottom prevents the bowl from sliding around as Rover enjoys
his meal.
For taking the dog on walks you’ll need a leash and a collar.
These can be as simple or as elaborate as you’d like, but of
course you’ll want to take the size and strength of your dog
into account when selecting them. The collar can (and should)
be adorned with a license tag or at least an ID tag that
provides your name and contact information in case your dog is
lost.
If you live in a big city like New York (Manhattan), Chicago,
or other urban area, you’ll need to purchase that miracle of
modern doggie convenience the “pooper scooper.” Most cities
have laws against owners simply allowing their dogs to “foul
the footpath” or leave little Poodle Bombs all over the city
park. In some cities there is a hefty fine for such crappy
behavior.
Optional Accessories
There are literally thousands of optional items available for
people to purchase for use with their dogs. Some of these
items, like the gravity refillable water dishes and food bowls,
serve a very useful purpose, others – the dog bandana comes to
mind – serve no real purpose and are merely decorative or just
plain silly.
One item that some owners do find very useful, especially those
that live in a hot climate, are “dog booties.” While they may
seem like a simply precocious and relatively useless item, they
do a good job of protecting the sensitive pads of a dog’s feet
from rough terrain, rocky areas, and hot pavement. Those in
cooler climates may not understand, but in some places,
particularly the desert environments of cities like Phoenix,
Las Vegas, and Albuquerque, the summer pavement can literally
become hot enough to fry an egg. You wouldn’t walk barefoot on
such a surface and neither should your dog.
Kirsten Hawkins is a dog lover and animal
expert from Nashville, TN. Visit
http://www.doghealth411.com/
for more information on dog health, the care of dogs, and dog
travel.
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