Pamper Your Pooch? — Yes! Says Charlie Bear

Charlie Bear here — Happy Valentine’s Day! What better way to show your love than to shower your dog with attention and affection? Okay, I know this is supposed to be a time for men to buy romantic flowers or silky lingerie, or for females to fix a special dinner for their man, but we all know you love us dogs the best, right? Don’t we give the sweetest kisses, snuggle the closest and longest, and greet you at the door with tail wags and wiggles? Don’t be afraid to spoil us. We love it.

Dr. Jon of PetPlace has some ideas for you on how to pamper your dog. Here they are (along with my two-cent comments on each one):

1. Have a photo-shoot. – Dogs love attention, so put them in the spotlight. Not sure where to start? Here are some tips: Take your dog outside, in a place where there is plenty of natural light. Don’t be afraid to get a little dirty – to capture the best shots, you’ll need to get down to your dog’s level. Don’t forget to put down the camera once in a while to pet and praise your dog for being a great model. A photo-shoot can be a lot of fun for both you and your dog, and it will capture memories you can keep forever. I like this idea because I LOVE pictures of me. Don’t you?

2. Give your dog the spa treatment. – Dogs get stressed out just like people, and nothing eases stress better than a nice day at a spa. There are plenty of doggie spas with a range of prices where you can take your dog to be treated like a king for a day. Or you can do it yourself: spend some time grooming and brushing your dog. He’ll love the extra attention, and his fur and skin will look and feel better. I’m not crazy about the doggie spa days, but I tolerate them. Mom Peep loves how I look and how soft I am when I come out of there, so I put up with it.

3. Take your dog out with you. – We can’t be with our dogs all the time. Our dogs have to sit and wait for us to come home every day when we’re at work. So the next time you plan on eating out somewhere, find a restaurant that is dog-friendly. Your dog will enjoy some new sights, smells, and sounds, and meet some new people. Yes! I love new places, new sights, new smells. Especially the smells.

4. Teach your dog some tricks. – You might not think of this as pampering, but it is. When you teach your dog tricks, you are spending time with him, praising him, working out his mind, and giving him yummy treats. What could be better? I totally agree. I’ll do anything for yummy treats.

5. Don’t just feed him dog food – give him gourmet meals. – The ultimate way to pamper your dog is to feed him food fit for royalty such as with Cesar’s canine cuisine. Cesar’s gourmet dog food is juicy, tender, and covered in mouth-watering sauce and dogs love it. Mom Peep tends to shy away from sauces on my food. Seems big dog Rex didn’t tolerate stuff like that well, so I get the residual effects of no fancy food in my diet. That’s okay though. I like the extra stuff she does give me that isn’t covered in sauces.

You can pamper your pet without making him spoiled. Trust me, your dog will love the attention. I love all the attention I can get: from the FedEx delivery guy, the gardener, the neighbors who love me up when we take a walk. Bring it on.

Until next time,
Dr. Jon

Thanks, Dr. Jon, for bringing this message to all the Mom and Dad Peeps out there. I’m sure they got the hint that they can pamper us pooches ALL THE TIME, and not just on February 14th.

Woofs & wiggles to you all, and Happy Valentine’s Day,
Charlie Bear