Where Your Dog Sleeps is an Indication of How Much You’re Willing to Spend on Them

Bridgette was a princess of the 60’s. Born March 3rd, 1967, she had a big fenced yard, only went to the vet for her annual Rabies vaccinations (except for the time she ate snail poison) and slept in her heated doghouse. The heat came from a light bulb under the raised floor of the plywood structure. My stepfather was the designer/builder. I painted it blue and installed shag carpeting. It was a team effort and we proudly called it her palace. Bridgette slept in it every night, rain or shine, even in freezing temperatures. 

Mr. Biggs is a prince of the 20’s. Born April 7th, 2021, he has a big fenced yard, goes to the vet for just about everything, has health insurance, a daycare membership, gets escorted to daily dog park visits, gets annual Rabies, CIV, Bordetella, Distemper/Parvo and Lepto vaccinations. He sleeps in his dog bed in the kitchen (his choice) with his best buddy Fletcher.  

So, is your dog a Bridgette? Mr. Biggs? Somewhere in the middle? Let’s test this theory:  

“Where your dog sleeps is an indication of how much you’re willing to spend on them.” 

For the purpose of this blog, let’s consider three sleeping situations: 

A. Sleeping outside 
B. Sleeping inside on a dog bed or similar 
C. Sleeping inside on a human bed, with a human 

Then, let’s consider some optional expenses: 

• Special diet (supplements, vitamins, additives, human-grade food) 
• Daycare/boarding services 
• Medications 
• Walking service 
• Groomer 
• Obedience training 
• Dentist 
• Psychiatrist 
• Bling (sweaters, hats, sunglasses) 
• Health insurance 
• Other training (swimming, snake awareness, therapy dog, etc.) 
• Physical therapy (water, massage, acupuncture) 

Pick your situation (A, B or C) then, count the number of optional expenses you regularly use. This is not to say an A-2 dog has a better or worse life than a C-11 dog. Bridgette was an A-0 (perhaps a sign of her times), where Mr. Biggs is a B-5. Both equally loved and spoiled rotten. 

We’d love to hear how you and your dog score. Help us test our theory. We’ll average the numbers and post the results in an upcoming blog.