an’s best friend in recent years has taken on a new title from best friend to child. For those of us who want a baby without having a baby, a fur baby is the next best thing. Just about anything you would do/have for a human baby you can do/have for your fur baby.

To get things started right for your new addition, throw a puppy shower. This is a time where your loved ones can meet your new loved one and shower you both with gifts. Gifts can include many items customary for a baby shower like binkies, strollers, little clothes, diapers etc. This is just the beginning for you and your fur baby’s life as parent and child.

All the emotional needs that this new union may meet does not take away the needs of the fur baby. According to petmd.com walking your dog helps to keep your pet healthy, agile and limber. Walking is a way to keep your four-legged baby’s legs from buckling when they hit they floor by helping them maintain a healthy weight.

Halloween is fast approaching which means costumes. Dogs, once non-participators, are now victims to the costume craze. Fur babies in their costume gear plague the timelines of many and they are starting to become the main attraction. All fur babies are included in the charades, big and small, decked from head to paws in their owner’s favorite characters or objects that project their idea of the epitome of cuteness.

DogtoberFest, a festival for dogs and their owners, took place Oct. 3rd. It was hosted by Mack Road Partnership, an organization dedicated to promoting Mack Road businesses, located on Mack Road here in Sacramento. They held multiple dog competitions with a dog costume competition being one of them. In the Best Costume Canine Rosie, a Chihuahua won third place dressed in a costume constructed of part plastic and part cloth to give the allusion of a bag of Jellybeans. On her Instagram @rosienfriends- yes Rosie has her own Instagram- she posted that it was “pawsome” and that next year she hopes her owner will put more time into making her costume.

Doggy clothes fill the racks of pet stores across the nation. Though cute and beneficial for certain breeds in certain weather conditions, they can actually be bad for the health of dogs. Always research to be sure that clothes are a good idea for your breed of dog and for the weather in which you wish to dress them in. If you’re not careful, you can nearly microwave your fur baby by causing them to overheat. Also, if the clothes are restrictive, it can have an affect on a dog’s emotional well-being. If unable to perform normal dog behavior, the dog could undergo emotional distress.

Fur babies are nice substitutions for the real thing, but let’s not forget that they are fur babies and unlike real babies, they have needs specific to their kind.

Personal feelings aside, their well being should come first; that’s just being a good parent, right?