How do spoil your dog?

[LoveFall]

My little guy sleeps mostly in his very furry cuddler bed beside me but on the floor. He is allowed on the bed if he wants also but that is usually in the morning for a bit after DH gets up.

I am spoiling him completely rotten. Lately it has become colder and I cover him with a little fleece blanket with a dog bone pattern.

I realized it was really bad last night when I woke up to the sound of him drinking from the bowl of water I put beside his bed as he often wants a drink around midnight.

I looked over and the little prince was lying in his bed drinking from his bowl!

Do you spoil your dog this much or am I crazy?

I do - mine sleeps in our bed, has 2 advent calendars this year and expensive food to cater for his allergies. He gets birthday presents and a Christmas stocking. He also has a Saturday treat and a special breakfast on Sundays. I know I’m mental but we love him dearly. He is a rescue and I see it as our duty to fill his last years with as much love and fuss as possible and I don’t care what anyone thinks!

@Greencauliflowers I love this ❤️

I spent last night with DDog1 cuddled into my chest and DDog2 sprawled over my feet. It was chilly here last night and my butt was sticking out of the super king bed. DH snoring in his 4ft width , while the 3 of us used the other 2 feet. Did I move them? Hell no! ( they are fully adult Labradors , so not exactly small and light)
Today, while filling my freezer, I knocked out a liver cake; then at dinner- steak for DH & I, plus a third for them to share tomorrow.
But, to paraphrase @Greencauliflowers, it is my lot in life to make their time on earth as lovely as it can be.

2 of mine share bedtime stories every night with ds6...

Oh my gosh my heart ❤️🤩🤩🤩🤩

They are our bestest friends

Bella gets a Sunday sausage. It started when dd would have a sausage cob for breakfast each Sunday, she's gone off sausages but I grill one for Bella regardless.
I also play white noise for her all night although that's more for my benefit as it seems to stop her getting me up at 2am.

Roast or slow cooker chicken for breakfast and tea on the kibble instead of wet dog food… or tuna in sunflower oil. They circle the kitchen when either is being prepared. Try to do it as a weekly treat. Plus the usual cheese, ham, dog treats… and yes always a blanket on the bed

He sleeps on the bed. My bf has very interrupted sleep when he stays at mine (we don’t live together) but I’ve told him the dog on the bed is non-negotiable 😂 he loves natural yoghurt so I get it in for him (I eat it too). I sometimes make him a ‘pudding’ of a blob of yogurt and crumbled up natural dog biscuits if he’s begging for food in the evening. He’s on bougie subscription food to keep his weight down and acts like he’s being starved

Today I took my boy to the pet shop and he got to choose a new toy. He also gets a duck wing for dinner on a Saturday with tinned fish and his Sunday treat is a hairy rabbits ear.

Mine sleeps in the bed- he waits on the pillows while I brush my teeth then gets under the covers when I do 😁😁 he gets premium food and lots of bones and treats. His daycare asked me this week if he could have a sausage sandwich at the end of his walk so it's not just me 😂😂 he's very active and if anything underweight but he definitely lives the good life!

Deluxe teddy bed for day time sleeps. Sleeps besides me in bed. I buy custard creams coz she loves them . Has a couple of spoonfuls of porridge in the morning . I love mine to bits

Expensive food
Rabbits ears
A frozen stuff Kong daily
Spot of the sofa next to me of an evening
Loads of fleeces in his bed (in our room!)

Genuine question: Do you think your dogs are happier than working dogs who may live in barns/kennels and are fed normal and probably fairly cheap dog food?
Im asking because Im genuinely interested. I've come form a farming background where dogs lived in barns/boot rooms and some made it into the kitchen when the weather was very cold, many slept on straw/hay were fed cheap dog food/scrap of human food. I saw happy very healthy well behaved dogs who had a job in life which they clearly loved, and they adored their owners.
Walking my own non working dog the other day I met our local sheep farmer he has 6 collies of all ages I've never seen a bunch of happier looking fit healthy dogs, they sleep in the barn at night I very doubt they get kongs/fleeces/deluxe teddy bed although they may get the crumbs of the odd custard cream or some similar if the farmer is out and about eating one .

Working dogs are probably happier - they have plenty to keep their minds and bodies occupied and they know they’re helping their favourite person. I feel like I’m almost trying to make up to my boy that he’s not living a life on the hills herding cows and sheep.

I agree working dogs are happier. I think my ddog is lonely as she's an only dog but I do take her out to play with other dogs every day.

She's spoiled by getting new toys even though she tears them apart, by having bits of sausage and cheese for her training treats, and by getting this expensive yak chews to keep her occupied. She also has lots of friends in our village who give her treats whenever we go past!

@poodlefan

Genuine question: Do you think your dogs are happier than working dogs who may live in barns/kennels and are fed normal and probably fairly cheap dog food? Im asking because Im genuinely interested. I've come form a farming background where dogs lived in barns/boot rooms and some made it into the kitchen when the weather was very cold, many slept on straw/hay were fed cheap dog food/scrap of human food. I saw happy very healthy well behaved dogs who had a job in life which they clearly loved, and they adored their owners. Walking my own non working dog the other day I met our local sheep farmer he has 6 collies of all ages I've never seen a bunch of happier looking fit healthy dogs, they sleep in the barn at night I very doubt they get kongs/fleeces/deluxe teddy bed although they may get the crumbs of the odd custard cream or some similar if the farmer is out and about eating one .

I think certain breeds of dog would definitely be happier living the working life for sure. I don’t think it would suit my pug though! Having said that I do give him quite long walks and ensure his weight is steady and take him to open muddy spaces that some owners of toy/lap breeds don’t.

My darling sleeps in the bed, and has more than me. Coats cos he doesn't like the rain. Halloween he gets presents for dressing up & the house is decorated. At Christmas he gets a minimum of 30 presents, he now has 3 stockings, an advent calendar & a Christmas jumper (new one each year). For his birthday again 30 presents a made cake due to his allergies and a trip out. We drive him 2 hours for an half hour swim in a doggy pool once a month, then drive 2 hours home. He has a dressing gown if he gets wet. Ridiculously expensive food for his allergies. A baby sitter cos can't be left alone. Roast pork & steak for every walk and 3 treat tins in the kitchen. We pay upwards of £20 for him to use secure paddocks for exercise too
Just realised how crazy I am writing it down

She’s allowed on the furniture if a Human does not require the space. That’s about it, really
Lots of appropriate exercise, brain games, training, decent dried food, something to chew……she’s a beautiful, smooshy-nosed little Lab Princess, but she has to know her boundaries.

Mine sleeps in our bed and is allowed on all the furniture.
I sell natural treats as part of my business and deliberately stock things I know he loves, so he always gets his favourites.
He gets his own mini roast dinner every time we have one.
We take him to breed meets occasionally so he can run around for hours in enclosed fields with other beagles. The closest one to our house is almost two hours away
He comes to work with me everyday and on the days he can't, he goes to his "grandparents" (my in-laws) where he has his own soft, fluffy bed by the fire and a cupboard full of toys, treats and food. IL's do not have a dog of their own
When he comes to work with me (I'm a dog walker) he comes in to one clients' house and she has a box of treats just for him, and he gets one every single day, lol.
He sits shotgun in my car (with appropriate seatbelt/harness and no air bag) so he can see where he's going.

My old girl is asleep on a bed upstairs, it’s a bit chilly here so I sneaked up and covered her with a blanket, very quietly so I didn’t wake her

My darling sleeps in the bed, and has more than me. Coats cos he doesn't like the rain. Halloween he gets presents for dressing up & the house is decorated. At Christmas he gets a minimum of 30 presents, he now has 3 stockings, an advent calendar & a Christmas jumper (new one each year). For his birthday again 30 presents a made cake due to his allergies and a trip out. We drive him 2 hours for an half hour swim in a doggy pool once a month, then drive 2 hours home. He has a dressing gown if he gets wet. Ridiculously expensive food for his allergies. A baby sitter cos can't be left alone. Roast pork & steak for every walk and 3 treat tins in the kitchen

Absolutely mental. It's a dog.

I'm well aware of that but to me he's my baby. To be fair thr majority of his toys end up being donated to the local animal shelter and the food is a must due to his allergies

So if you think working dogs are happier why buy your dogs stocking Xmas jumpers/dressing gown (really?) advent calendars and let them sleep in your bed?
Working dogs don't get any of this.
Are you not giving your dog things it neither wants or needs? Its not just that working dogs are having their "minds occupied" they are happy sleeping in barns and eating cheap dog food. I doubt any lie awake and night hoping their owners are going to give them an advent calendar at the beginning of December or dress them in a dressing gown if they get wet. When and how did the line between dog and human become so blurred that many stop treating there dogs like dogs (which it appears fro the above comments some acknowledge makes them happier and healthier) and treat them like people in furry suits?

If that's directed at me I didn't say working dogs are happier. Looknmy dog is happy and I'm happy so go piss in someone else's cornflakes

And the dressing gown is a drying coat ffs