From Dog House to Spa: The Ultimate Pampered Pooch

          Back when I was growing up, taking care of the family pet was a walk in the park.You took them for their shots once a year and when they looked or acted poorly you took them to see the local vet.  They ate Gravy Train for dinner and slept on a rug or in a basket.  Children went out to play and Rover followed them all over the neighborhood. 

Speed forward fifty years.  You can still buy Gravy Train but there is also Chef Michaels’ gourmet stew in small tubs, no left-overs for fussy eaters.  Bakeries that cater to the canine palate have sprung up across America from big cities to small towns.  Birthday parties as well as weddings complete with dresses, tuxes, rings, cakes etc. can be catered and orchestrated.

If you have an uptown kind of dog, you can find collars with jewels that cost more than my daughter’s college education.  And of course you can buy the most chic outfit to show it off.

It used to be you went off with your girlfriends for a spa weekend.  Now you can have a spa weekend with your pooch.  She gets a blueberry facial, massage, aroma therapy and a swim.   If you live in the city and work, you can send your best friend out for a good run with an athlete or send them to doggie daycare.

   Want to spend more time with your doggie?  Take a yoga class with him/her.  When the owner is relaxed and feeling good, the pet relaxes and a strong connection is made between the two.

If you live in California, you can subscribe to Dog TV.  They show a variety of shows to relax the anxious dog, stimulate the sluggish dog and entertain.  At some day care and boarding centers, they show dog friendly movies and give aroma therapy.  

For pet lovers who don’t have a pool, you can join a swim club for dogs.  One of our local vets has a bone shaped pool behind her clinic.  She hosts dog swim parties a couple of times a summer. 

Have a best friend, who is a little large for a pool?  Take him to a dog beach and play together in the sand.

There are as many extravagances for dog lovers and their constant companions as there are breeds.  That’s all for today, I have to go massage my Angel while her blueberry mask sets.  Then we’re going for a swim.  What do you do to pamper your furry loved ones?  Tell us in the comment box.