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“While as humans we might enjoy choosing new outfits and dressing up in fun costumes, pets don’t share our enthusiasm as ‘clothes’ often make them feel stressed and uncomfortable. There are some really important things to consider, which owners may not think about when they first see a funny outfit to buy for their pet,” PDSA Vet Nurse Nina told Bore dPanda.

“Clothes can be quite restrictive and can get in your pet’s way when they try to do normal things like walking, going to the toilet, grooming themselves, or even communicating with you through their body language. Clothes might make your pet feel itchy, too hot, or even choke them if they get tangled up or caught on something,” she warned.

“Wearing clothes isn’t natural for pets and it can cause them stress. Dogs might show they’re stressed by licking their lips, yawning, or panting, whereas cats may paw at themselves, lick and try to remove the clothing. Alternatively, some pets may just freeze or try to hide away,” Nina noted how dog owners can tell if their pets are stressed and uncomfortable.

“Ask yourself if your pet can still communicate effectively whilst wearing clothes. Communication is very important for animals. If your pet is dressed up, other animals may struggle to read their body language properly, and could act aggressively towards them. If your pet is already stressed from being dressed up, they might act differently around others too,” the PDSA representative told Bored Panda.

“Importantly, and this may seem an odd question to ask yourself, but is it respectful to your pet to dress them up? As owners, we love and protect our pets, and desperately want to keep them safe—we wouldn’t want to see them come to harm of any kind. Dressing a pet up could open them up to ridicule and mockery, as well as expose them to risk from other animals,” the animal health expert suggested that owners should think long and hard about dressing their pets up at all. 

Meanwhile, the vet charity enlightened us about the relationship between dogs and human food. In the 2022 PDSA Animal Wellbeing (wonderfully named PAW) Report, 60% of owners said that they regularly give their pets human food. According to the PDSA, it’s essential to be aware of the potential dangers of feeding them what we eat and to resist those puppy dog eyes.

“It’s important to remember that some human food can pose a real threat to our furry family members,” PDSA Vet Nurse Nina said. “Chocolate, for example, is toxic to pets, due to a chemical called theobromine which can make them extremely unwell, and may even be fatal in rare cases. Some sweets can also be dangerous to dogs if they contain the sweetener xylitol (birch sugar), which causes dangerously low blood sugar levels and liver failure—dogs must be treated urgently, as delay in treatment could have fatal consequences.”

The vet nurse stressed that it’s absolutely vital that owners “keep these human treats, along with any wrappers, well away from prying paws.”

“It’s also important to understand that a lot of the food we eat tends to be relatively high in fat, salt, and sugar. While this isn’t great for us, the smaller size of our pets can mean even more serious consequences, with upset tummies or, longer term, weight gain leading to increased risk of diabetes and other weight-related complications,” she warned.

“But we understand that lots of owners like to give their dog something a bit special as an occasional treat and although your dog might not understand what a sweet treat like cake is, most of them enjoy a treat just as much as we do. Making doggy cake is popular as people can use ingredients they have in kitchen cupboards instead of needing to buy lots of new ingredients just for your dog,” PSDA Vet Nurse Nina said.

“Remember though, giving your dog too many treats can be adding a lot of extra calories that they don’t need especially if they struggle with their weight already, and in a lot of cases some extra fuss and attention would make them just as happy as a treat! We’ve pulled together some recipes here which you could try.”