Thursday, October 14, 2010

DoggyStyle: Our Dog "Closet"

When I first adopted Miss M, her only worldly possessions were her collar and 3 toys. We actually lived well like this for awhile where I didn't buy her anything else. It wasn't until that winter, when she was so cold she would shake uncontrollably and refuse to go outside that I decided to go outside my comfort zone and buy my dog a winter coat.
And it was that one purchase that opened the floodgate of buying dog goods. Suddenly I was now comfortable buying snow booties for her webbed feet, quick dry towels for her baths, a doggy backpack for her travels, and a collapsible bowl to put inside it. When Mr. B entered the picture, we started buying two of everything.
 Not to mention all Mr. B's costumes to make him an "approachable pit bull".
And while you see us having all kinds of fun with our dog accessories, we also became overwhelmed with finding places to keep everything. Living in the city, space is at a premium and suddenly we were overwhelmed with all this extra stuff. After miserably living in among what resembled an aisle of PetSmart, we realized hooks and storage bins were the solution. We picked up a couple of similar bins that we kept on the ledge next to the entrance  to keep all their stuff sorted while still looking presentable.
 I was lucky enough to find these on sale at Target, but I also like this from Target, this from Target's John Derian collection, these from CB2, and these from The Container Store.
 They keep their possessions organized and out of the way, so we don't have to feel too bad about having so many dog things.What are some other solutions you have found to store your dog stuff?

29 comments:

Anonymous said...

Miss M is too cute in her winter coats! We're bad parents and don't buy the Duo much. Neither of them have any clothing. The cold doesn't seem to phase them and I don't know if Ollie would even let me put him in anything!

Heather said...

Fortunately for us, we have tons of extra kitchen space. The dogs and cats have pretty much a whole 6 foot cabinet dedicated to all things animals. Extra dishes, leashes, toys, bones, treats (I get LOTS of free treats from school and extra free food as well so it is great storage space), and winter coat/sweaters for the animals when Illinois winters get cold, etc. That way all their stuff is out of sight... but they know where the treats are and we often catch all four of them together staring up at the cabinet hoping for a treat...

kissa-bull said...

they are both just bursting with approachableness . good job.they are truly great ambassadors to the pibble breed.
kisses to the pitties
sandra

jet said...

I love that wall mounted coat rack, I'm looking for one of those for the dog-tack (harnesses, leads, spare collars)...

Kate said...

We mush up all their stuff in two small wicker baskets. We keep buying stuff and we keep cramming it into those baskets, so now they're overflowing. Your way is much better :)

Unknown said...

I don't normally buy things for Koda but with Sophie she has several little sweaters that she can wear when she runs out and in for her bathroom breaks, she isn't a fan of rain or snow while Koda loves them both

Corbin said...

I love Miss. M in her adorable winter coat!!! I'm slowly gathering a wardrobe of my own... mom hasn't figured out a good place to keep it yet! lol
-Corbin

Those Elgin Pugs said...

Oh this is great!!

I love their coats!!
I have winter coats for mine and I have little hooks by the back door I hang them on during the winter months. During the summer, I just lay them in the closet nice on the shelf.

I fold all their costumes too and I have some of their dresses hung up... (I am a self proclaimed pug nut)
I hang up their harnesses and leashes and even have a storage bin for their poop bags... Rob says I have OCD...
I just like to keep their stuff nice.

Very cute post and Miss M and Mr. B are adorable as always!!!!

Hugs!!!
Pugga Momma

Anonymous said...

Miss M is ever so stylish! And I never, ever gets tired of looking at Mr. B in that turtle outfit.

We have a box near the door where mom and dad keeps all our stuff. And when it's time to G-O! somewheres, I run over to the box and slap it with my paw - just in case they forgot where they left our collars and leashes and stuff.

Wiggles & Wags,
mayzie

Mel said...

Love the puffer jackets! What kind of quick dry towels do you use? We've just been using regular towels and have been living with wet towel smell until we do laundry.

jen said...

I was wondering where you got those bins from, I love the style and color!
We keep our toys scattered all around the house, but you are inspiring me to get a bit more organized and creative!
Seriously, you a great sense of style:)

Anonymous said...

Those coats are positively adorable! The turtle - it is a turtle right - may be the cutest coat I have ever seen. I would love to buy something like that for Shiva, even though she's an all-weather kind of dog. Now that would be the perfect Halloween costume!

Right now we store most of her toys in a milk crate that we put by the fish tank in the living room. It's not very appealing to the eye, I admit. The rest of them are kind of all over the place. In closets, on tables. We really need a new system.

George The Lad said...

You winter coats look great, I might have to get one me self!
Mom says my things take up so much room!!! no they don't I only have one toy box! oh, and the, and the!
See Yea George xxx

Two Pitties in the City said...

Two Pitbulls--I had bought some type of microfiber quick-absorbing towel kind of like this one: http://www.amazon.com/FURminator-Super-Absorbent-Microfiber-Drying-Towel/dp/B001S2R73C
It dries pretty well, but for some reason the towel just smelled so terrible I stopped using it. Baths became such an issue for us, now we just ship them off to Petsmart.

houndstooth said...

We're rather lucky! We have an old coat closet in our entryway that has a closing accordian door. We have some shelves in there that we keep the dog coats on and there are lots of hooks for hanging up leashes and stuff. We also have an old dresser in a spare bedroom that holds all their collars and a few other odds and ends.

Kari in Alaska said...

we have bins that fit perfectly into our ikea bookshelf

Kari
http://dogisgodinreverse.com/

JacksDad said...

Fortunately, Jack 'disassembles' most of his stuff right after we give it to him, so we find that the trash can is an excellent storage place.

Lola and also Franklin, too said...

I've got no clothes. I kind of like the cold. It's heat that bothers me. However, I have managed to acquire enough collars and harnesses that my leash rack runneth over. Way over. I love Miss M and Mr B's outfits, though. Maybe I'll have to reconsider clothing.

lotsa licks, Lola

Kirby, CGC said...

You guys are awesome to wear coats, my mom said to me, "see how cute they look Kirby." Mom will be getting my winter coat out soon. Actually it was angel Max's but Mom said it will fit me just fine, he also had sweaters which mom is also pulling out soon...ughh!

Woof!
Kirby

Kirby's mom here-
congrats on finishing the Marathon! It looks like you were having some fun along the way too.
thanks for sharing all the pics.

Kirby's mom

Granite State Pet Sitting said...

That have to be the cutest things ever. Love the coats. We use to have a place down the road called the Self Service Paw Wash which you just paid $10.00 to use the tubs and dryers and shampoo. It was the greatest thing ever if you just needed to take the pups for a quick bath.

Dexter said...

I like the idea of dressing up Mr. B. in outfits that make him look less scary. Very smart and fun too.

Slobbers,
mango

Wyatt said...

So, you 2 are fashionistas!!
Love your coat collection.
We have winter parkas, but we never get much of a chance to wear them, because we have lots of fur and it never gets that cold here :(
So, our lonely parkas are hanging with the people coats.

Wyatt

Anonymous said...

I don't have much dog stuff for the guys, other than their water bowl, a few toys and of course cookies! The bowl stays on the kitchen counter when not in use; cookies are in the cupboard and in two treat containers (one in my office and one on the kitchen table); the toys are wherever the guys leave them on the floor. I did break down and buy them tee shirts for Halloween. We'll see if they'll wear them though.

parlance said...

Interesting post! I had a look at all the links you included. I just love storage containers!

Road Dog Tales said...

Hmmm, Mom & Dad are lucky we let them store some their stuff in OUR house! BOL

The Road Dogs

ForPetsSake said...

I love how you use your space! We, too have a small home and I'm always trying to make the best of the space we do have...Where did those hooks come from? I love that they fold out!

Rescued Pittie Family said...

That is so awesome!
As always I just love the pictures of Mazzy - she is just a doll!

We are fortunate to have a two-car garage so we have lots of storage space for rubbermaid containers full of doggie winter clothes and Halloween costumes. (Just like my winter stuff is packed out there.)
Unfortunately with LuLu and Abbey being so young we are going through the growing-out-of-everything phase so clothes don't last but a month or so.
Next year when everyone is full grown we'll have more rubbermaid containers.
You know I never thought about how blessed we are to have so much space...

FANCY the Red Standard Poodle said...

Hi, just came hoppin by! Love your clothes and can see in Chicago with almost no fur you'd need something! Now I'm well endowed with a double fur fairly waterproof coat and living in the Southeast, my problem is staying cool. Now I get lots of toys and my Humans are SO CHEAP they use old peach baskets to store them on top of my crate. Really! The Humans love your blog, so maybe they'll take a hint!
Y'all come by now!
Hawk aka BrownDog

Sightless said...

Love love love the costume.

Charlie won't bear to wear anything (sometimes he'll accept his booties) so I let his hair grow out in the winter time (doesn't stop me from buying him clothing, though!). Emma has loads and loads of jackets and sweaters, and she usually needs to wear ALL of them to stay warm outside. I keep their stuff in a huge chinese bag in the closet by the front door. And on hooks by the door, and on top of all the crates in the apartment, and in 2 other bins. And then I wonder why I can't find anything!

BTW, maybe try throwing the microfiber towels in the wash? I have one too and love it.

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