Bitch, you look fierce!

People who like dogs can be neatly divided into two categories: those who would and those who wouldn't put clothes on their pet. I've always been firmly in the latter camp, but then last week we got back from a walk and our dog was shaking so pitifully that I knew something had to be done. However, I'm going to continue to tell myself that I am not one of them, despite massive evidence to the contrary (below). It turns out there is an alarming range of doggy apparel and it took me some deliberation. She's not exactly a little frou frou lap dog - she picks fights with scraggy Alsatians twice her size - and so I had to find something practical but a little bit stylish - after all I didn't want her to look silly in front of that cocker spaniel she fancies from up the road (who usually sports a rather fetching stripy coat himself).

In the end I settled on this:

She might try looking a bit more grateful, though, as it could have been a lot worse -