A.. DogPony? What the . . .? O_O

[MsTwilight]

They may not suffer physically but they do suffer mentally. My dog knows when he has to go to the groomer and get shaved. He knows he doesn't look the same afterwards and gets depressed when he doesn't have all his gorgeous blond locks.

[Yurusumaji]

They may not suffer physically but they do suffer mentally. My dog knows when he has to go to the groomer and get shaved. He knows he doesn't look the same afterwards and gets depressed when he doesn't have all his gorgeous blond locks.

Sounds to me like your dog just doesn't like the act of being groomed. Dogs don't have a sense of appearance. I'm sure the loss of gorgeous blond locks bothers you more than him. 

[hyenacub]

Yeah the article does say they only do this with dogs who don't mind or even like being groomed.  C:

[LadyMoondancer]

Okay, don’t hate me poodle lovers, but I don’t think that’s any worse than the “lion cut” they give them for shows.  Man, does that look dumb with the big bouffant hairdo.  Especially on the big standard poodles.

I think things like this are fine as long as animal-safe dyes are used and the owner only does things like the false lashes and anything else that could be harmful if swallowed or irritating to wear for a short time, while they monitor the dog.  I know a MLP collector who has dyed her white dog as a Pokemon and given him a mohawk , etc, and her dog seems to enjoy the extra attention he gets!   If a dog gets depressed or “embarrassed” by that sort of thing then, yeah, the owner should stop doing it.  Depends on the dog, basically.

[Emfen]

Dogs should be dogs.
My grandma's dog is one of these "spoiled" dogs and he has suffered. I know he's very nervous and edgy, and have attacked a few people before due to this. I feel bad for the dogs that are being dressed up, no matter if the dye is danger free. Dogs do suffer mentally from this when they do not get their natural needs satisfied, you can tell on dogs like the tea cup dogs they are those who are prone to getting stress and such easily due to being kept in bags/being dressed up. I don't bother about training or such stuff, but when the dog gets dressed up like this.. no no. There's a difference between a vest for weather and an elvis wig, if you get me. 
My 2c

I do plan on getting a dog sometime in the future, but not for playing "be my baby" with it but to be a special needs dog that can snap up allergy attacks and such.

[Wilford B Wolf]

i had a rot shep who KNEW when halloween was coming and would go nuts..id tigerstripe him or zebra ..and he would climb up in his tree to show off...so yeah..i coulda done this with him and he would have LOVED it

dogs have personalitys like we do and some love dressing the part....i think its pretty cool.

now someone mind vectoring that 2 tone blue and adding a wolf paw cutie mark for me..i found my ponysona

[okapishomapi]

Imho, the dog doesn't look like he's in pain - his mouth is open, ears are forward, etc.

i cant see his real ears

I just assumed the pony ears were on his real ones ^^

[hathorcat]

"The creative grooming craze is popular in the US - where many people tend to think of their dogs as a kind of fashion accessory."

I think thats one of those dangerously generic and misinformed statements - its no annoying when newspapers do that! I think the ill informed remark originates from the fact that this "craze" did start in the states. Although it seems to be increasingly popular over here now as well.

I have seen this article before and it an odd one. My dog loves the attention he gets from dressing up [but I mean maybe in a hat or costume for charity not dying him purple] - every time I go in a certain drawer where a dog superman costume is kept he actually gets excited! Its weird...

To each their own I guess and as long as the dog is happy enough and well taken care of and loved. For some people and their dogs this is just going to be a hobby for them...kind of like collecting ponies!

[Tulips]

I'm a dog groomer but I'm going to keep this short (believe me, I could go on forever lol). I'm all for colouring dogs as long as they enjoy the process. Some dogs hate being groomed altogether so I wouldn't recommend it for them and if an owner tried to insist I'd simply refuse. I've never done full body art (and definitely not for one of these shows that have pony and ninja turtle dogs, that's a bit silly) but my own dog has had a red tail for so long he wouldn't look the same if I let it go white. My dog is not a fashion accessory, he's a terrier and if I tried to cart him about in a little bag he'd tear it to pieces. However one funny thing I've recently discovered is that he has a fashion sense, lol. He hates wearing jackets even though he gets cold in winter, so I bought him a couple of cheap functional warm ones and splurged on a fancy denim one, he runs away when he sees anything but the denim one. lol

Aside from all this, working in dog groomer you see some dogs that are horribly treated by simply never being brushed (and don't even get me started on plucking ears) and left to become filthy and matted to the point that they are in constant pain. If an owner cares enough about their dogs appearance that they keep them in brilliantly groomed condition I think they deserve to have a little fun with it, try a few different styles and colours if they wish. Dogs don't judge each other on appearance, they could care less if they're bright blue.

[Shenanigans]

I watched a show about this one time. There's all sorts of designs, not just ponies. While the dyes don't harm the dogs, they have to stand up and be "groomed" in this way for quite a while so I imagine it is a bit of discomfort when they want to lay down. I do like to dress my dogs up in clothes though I have to dress my chihuahua up. She's had red mange since she was a baby and is almost bald around her neck, stomach, and legs. She has to have something covering her skin, poor thing

[babylicketysplit]

oh wow   so much color LMAO

[Jenn77]

  ..Oh wow I don't know weather to be fascinated or frightened..At the moment I think I am going to go with the second option.. Jeepers Creepers 

I went and clicked on the other link that they had to offer and there where dogs done like tigers and pandas.. I have to admit even though it is not something I would do,it was interesting looking.

[FairyDust]

I remember seeing this one on a tv show quite a while ago.  Husband remembers it too.  I don't remember what it was called though.

[CrimsonEtClover]

Our poodle Lolita Von Lambert HATES getting her hair done, but when she comes home, she knows she looks beautiful, and she gets excited about her new look. She gets a hairdo I like to call "The Phillis Dillar".  Obviously the dogs enjoy the attention, or they just wouldn't be good candidates for this.

[hyenacub]

he runs away when he sees anything but the denim one. lol

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