Sosyal Dogs Fashion Tips

Bruno

Greta Garbo and Monroe, Deitrich and DiMaggio… Grace Kelly, Harlow, Jean, pictures of a beauty queen… They had style, they had grace, Rita Hayworth gave good face… Ladies with an attitude, fellas that we’re in the mood, don’t just stand there let’s get to it, strike a pose, there’s nothing to it… Dawg.

Nonee

Okay, so maybe that’s not exactly how that song went. But admit it, regardless of the fact that it’s called a catwalk, Sosyal Dogs have been earning the right to walk the ramp for some time now. From shirts and skirts, to vests and jackets, to shoes and hats, name it, they’re available for your little pooch. And some at prices that rival those of your own clothes, mind you. Sosyal indeed.

But as in us humans, fashion is a tricky thing for dogs. So is your dog a fashion do or a fashion don’t? Here are some tips.

A Poodle
Spotted at Bonifacio High Street

Do Get the Right Fit

Clothes too tight can cut off circulation and be uncomfortable. Clothes too loose may cause your dog to trip or may get caught on furniture and other things. The worst I’ve seen is a dog running around in a meant-for-a-man basketball jersey, and the front of the jersey was constantly wet with pee because of the poor fit. Not sosyal at all.

Do Dog-proof It

Conan

We all know how much dogs love to chew, so watch out for bells and buttons and whatever else there may be that your little pal can pull off and chew and swallow accidentally. In Bruno’s case, they had to forego the supposed cuteness of an entire Santa Claus outfit last Christmas, because he kept attacking the little fur ball at the end of the Santa hat. A small sacrifice for your best friend’s safety.

Don’t Force It

Charisma

Fine, dressing up dogs is the cutest thing, but seriously, is that a reason you can never ever trump? I once saw a puppy forced into pairs of puppy shoes, barely able to stand, let alone walk. Cute as it was, it just seemed cruel. Remember, your dog can’t talk, so be sensitive enough to see, feel, and know when he’s no longer comfortable.

Don’t Burn Up the Runway

Belle

Your dog can’t control the weather. And neither can you. Now certainly, in some cases, wrapping him up can keep him safe from the cold. But realistically, we’re in the Philippines. It can get hot and humid. Add to that the fact that your little friend already sports a full-body fur coat 24 hours a day. So have a little mercy. You may have to sacrifice fashion in lieu of the heat.

Snoopy

Do you have any other tips you’d like to share with the rest of our readers? Let us know! But for now… Don’t just stand there, let’s get to it. Strike a pose, there’s nothing to it… Dawg.

Dog Exercise Tips

So you’ve got the dog. And she is as Sosyal as ever. Pampered, cared for, and loved. What more can she need? I think I speak for most dog owners when I say I’d want my best friend to be with me for many, many years. And to have that, I’d need to keep her healthy.

Belle, Conan, and Charisma (all shih-tzus)
playing at Eastwood Mall

When it comes to keeping healthy, dogs are like people I guess. They need to eat right, get enough rest, be best friends with the vet, get their shots… and one other thing… Yep, our little pals need exercise too.

There’s more than a handful of ways to give your dog the workout he needs. Here are just some of them…

Walk!

Dogs love to walk. Around the block, at the mall, wherever. They get to encounter other places, other objects, other people and other dogs even, which helps them become more friendly. This may be the most common of all exercises, and perhaps the most convenient. You don’t need any special equipment at all.

Selfish (shih-tzu) strolling
at Eastwood Mall

Run!

Running a course with your dog is one way to do it. Though this will require you to be capable of running at pace with your dog as well. Yep, they do love to run. So if you have a wide but safely enclosed field or yard, then take your dog off the leash and watch her take off!

Catch!

Whether it’s throwing a ball or tossing a frisbee, playing Go Fetch, is another one of a dog’s favorite games. Just make sure he’ll be running in safe terrain, and that whatever it is he’s catching is made of safe and dog friendly materials.

Jump!

Ginger (brown toy poodle) meeting
a dog-friend at Eastwood Mall

It shouldn’t take much effort to get a dog to jump. It’s not hard to imagine a dog bouncing off the walls almost literally. It’s safer though to have them jump unleashed, to avoid accidentally choking your dog. Just start them off slow and low, and you’ll soon see them set their own bar.

Kick!

Okay, so maybe they won’t be kicking, more of nosing. Another game, but with balls not exactly meant to fit in their mouths. Playing football with them shouldn’t be too alien of an idea. Don’t you ever wonder why the Philippine football team just happened to be called the Askals?

Workout!

There are actually pet gyms in the metro, with equipment like treadmills, hurdles, teeter boards, and more! Plus PTs… Personal Trainers, or Pooch Trainers to perhaps be more accurate. The Vets In Practice wellness center has just one of these pet gyms, which is where we met Yaya Sari with Aria and San Mig.

VIP Pet Hotel and Wellness Center
in Mandaluyong City

VIP pet gym

San Mig (Schnauzer) on the treadmill

These are just a few ideas to get your doggie moving. He can also hike, pull weights, run obstacles, and even dance! But whatever your choice of workout, always remember to respect his limits, keep him hydrated, give him time to rest, and of course, keep it fun… for both of you.

Remember, this exercise thing won’t just be strengthening your little pooch… but your relationship with him as well. That’ll take the work out of working out, and make for a truly Sosyal Dog!

Pure, Cross or Mixed Bred? Sosyal Bred!

Understanding how dogs are classified is not exactly easy. Not even for me. But it’s not something some research can’t shed light on. So join me in my journey of figuring out the ins and outs of the different kinds of dogs.

The way I understand it, is that there are three major classifications of dogs: Pure breeds, Cross breeds, and Mixed breeds.

Pure breeds are precisely that… pure. Meaning a pure breed dog of a certain breed comes from purebred parents of the same breed, and in turn reveals an entire ancestry of many generations of that same breed. For example, pure mommy Labrador and pure daddy Labrador will bear purebred baby Labradors. With Pure breeds, you’re sure that no characteristics of other dogs get thrown into the mix. What this does is that it preserves the gene pool of the breed, so that that breed, in our example a Labrador, will still always look like the Labrador we’ve always known.

There is a long list of recognized breeds of purebred dogs, most of you may commonly know, like the Beagle, the Chihuahua, the Dalmatian, the English Bulldog, the Pomeranian, the Great Dane, the Saint Bernard, and so many more.

Bruno: A Shih Tzu and Miniature Pinscher Hybrid Dog

Cross breeds on the other hand, or sometimes also known as Hybrid Dogs, are dogs that are products of two purebreds of different breeds. For example, a purebred mommy Shih Tzu and a purebred daddy Miniature Pinscher will give rise to a cross of the two breeds, what may be called a PinTzu. Our guest doggie, Bruno, is actually a PinTzu. With cross breeds, the look of the dogs, even coming from the same litter, may vary. Bruno, for example, got the body size of a Shih Tzu, with the leg proportion of a Pinscher. Bruno got his semi-long wavy fur from the Shih Tzu side, while some of his siblings from the same litter are shorthaired from the Pinscher side. So with crossbreed dogs, it’s going to be like a box of chocolates… you’ll never know exactly what you’re going to get.

These days, the list of different Hybrid Dogs is slowly being recognized. Some examples would be a Dachschund and a Yorkshire Terrier making a Dorkie; a Shih Tzu and a Poodle making a Shih-Poo; a Pomeranian and a Shetland Sheepdog making a Poshie; and a Pekingese and a Toy Fox Terrier making a Foxingese. Naming cross breeds seems fun, doesn’t it?!

Mixed breeds, meanwhile, are your typical mutts or mongrels, or as we Filipinos know them, askals or aspins. It is usually no longer known which breeds are in these dogs. Perhaps a wrinkled forehead could be signs of a Pug heritage, a small size could hint a Chihuahua ancestry, and so on, but only heaven knows.

So there. Pure breeds, Cross breeds, and Mixed breeds. I think that’ll be enough for lesson number 1. Let’s all mull over this, and perhaps delve into each one further in the future.

So where does being a Sosyal Dog factor into all these?

We’d honestly like to refrain from the tendency of branding Pure breeds as the only Sosyal Dogs. Because truth be told, any breed, no matter how pure, when mistreated and uncared for, won’t make for a Sosyal Dog at all. And on the other extreme, even if your dog is so Askal-ized that it looks like a Siamese Cat, if it’s pampered, cared and loved enough, then it would certainly still belong in the ranks of our Sosyal Dogs.

So is your best friend Pure, Cross or Mixed bred? Or is he just plain Sosyal bred?! Let us know!

A Schnauzer, a Labrador, and the Yaya Who Loves Them

This is Sari. She’s a nanny. A yaya. But she’s not just any fulltime yaya. She is yaya to Aria and San

Miguel. Aria just happens to be a Yellow Labrador… and San Mig, a Schnauzer.

Listen to Sari as she talks about caring for dogs, their personalities, their health, and just being part of

a family… and how being Yaya to these two wonderful dogs has become more than just her job… it has

become her love and her life.

Aria and San Mig aren’t just Sosyal Dogs… they’re lucky dogs as well! Cheers to Sari!

Sosyal Dogs Spotted

Yep. Sosyal Dogs get spotted. Nope, we’re not talking about the Dalmatian-type of spotted. Think doggie’s-day-out. Again, dogs are no longer locked up in cages or leashed to a tree. They go places. And not just stray dogs, mind you.

Eastwood Mall, Libis Quezon City: Pet-friendly Mall

Sosyal Dogs go places, and they go places with their human partners at that. How different have the times become? Well, look at it this way. The humans of Sosyal Dogs actually choose to go where their Sosyal Dogs are allowed to go. And what better place to spot Sosyal Dogs, than in some of the pet-friendly malls around town. Our first stop, Eastwood Mall in Libis, Quezon City.

With the wide open spaces and winding paths, plus the indoor areas where dogs are allowed as well, shopping or just strolling with your little best friend will truly be fun for both of you!

And these are just some of the Sosyal Dogs (and dog owners?) we spotted!

Charisma (Shih-tzu)

Belle (Shih-tzu)

Chokie (Chow-chow)

Selfish (Shih-tzu)

Ginger (Toy Poodle)

Delko (Toy Poodle)

Oreo (Toy Poodle)

Alvin (Chihuahua)

As you can see, Sosyal Dogs are easy to spot. So share with us the Sosyal Dogs you spot and the pet-friendly places you go to! E-mail your pictures and the stories behind them to sosyaldogs@gmail.com.

Who let the Sosyal Dogs out?! Who, who, who, who?! We did!!!

Welcome to Sosyal Dogs!

It’s 2011. And dogs are still man’s best friends. But gone are the days of Bantay being just cooped up in a cage or leashed to a tree in the yard, his only worth measured by how fierce he barked, and how well he guarded the house against any evildoers, with humans resting on their laurels that no matter how little attention they give their dogs, they will always get unconditional love.

These days, dogs aren’t just best friends. More and more, we’re seeing dog owners who treat their dogs as more than just pets, giving the same love, pampering and attention to their four-pawed pals that they would their own children. So dogs these days are more than just man’s best friends. They’re family.

So welcome to Sosyal Dogs, where we pay tribute to the unconditional love dogs are capable of, and their human partners reciprocating with pampering and care brought by the same, if not greater, unconditional love… In a world where dogs aren’t just man’s best friends… but rather where men are proving themselves to be dogs’ best friends as well.