The first time I saw a small dog tote in use was at the grocery store. I was checking out and the woman in front of me had what looked like a large pocket book – suddenly out of the corner of my eye, the side of the pocket book moved! That was no pocket book, it was a small tote with a tiny yorkie inside!
The dog was cleverly concealed inside the tote, but the side had a small opening so the he could poke his head out – it was too cute! She went through the entire store and no one seemed to notice her little dog riding comfortably in the bag.
A tote is a great way to take your dog with you when you are on the go. Of course, it works only for smaller dogs that don’t weigh a lot, but totes come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. If you don’t want a big bulky bag, you can get a smaller pocket book style designed specifically to fit your size pet.
Prices for dog totes start at around $40.00 but you can get expensive designer versions as well. Most totes are large, but they do come in smaller sizes. You can get a myriad of colors and patterns and many have little appliqué bones or use a dog themed fabric.
When buying a tote for your small dog, you‘ll want to make sure it is comfortable for both the dog and you! Make sure you get the right size as you don’t want your dog to be too big to fit comfortably in the bag, or too small so that he can’t fit his head out.
Safety is important as well, make sure it has a safety strap to attach to the dogs collar and proper ventilation – most totes have an opening on the side for the dogs head. If you want to use the bag for travel with your dog, make sure it is airline approved as many are.
And don’t forget about convenience either. Make sure your tote is washable and that it has pockets for a wallet and keys so that it can double as a pocket book.