With searches for ‘Christmas Dog Outfits’ up by 70% on average in the last week, raw feeding experts ProDog Raw have highlighted how dangerous dog costumes can be when exposed to open flames. Ten outfits, bought from popular retailers as well as supermarkets were flame tested, with both ignition and full burning times recorded.
All items ignited in between one and seven seconds, with one item fully destroyed in one minute and thirty seconds. Only three of the costumes came with flammable warnings on both the outfit label and packaging, while another three had no fire safety labelling at all.
One outfit was completely engulfed and burnt the tester after just 40 seconds, while plastic fibres falling from a Christmas Pudding costume continued to burn and melted through the plastic water bucket being used to catch destroyed items safely.
Three outfits only featured fire safety warnings on the packaging, which would be thrown away so the outfit could be worn. A further three outfits came with fire safety warnings on both the packaging and the outfit label.
Most concerningly, three out of the ten outfits featured no fire safety warnings at all. Increased risk of fire hazard isn’t the only reason pet owners should think twice before dressing up their dog this Christmas. Costumes can increase dogs’ stress and anxiety levels, as well as irritate skin either due to highly processed fabrics or allergies.
Dog trainer and behaviour expert, and ProDog Raw ambassador Kamal Fernandez, said: “I actually think a lot of people probably don’t recognise some of the signs from their dog that they’re stressed or anxious,” he said. “They can be really subtle, but it’s so important to look out for the signals.
“There’s potentially a long-term impact if you keep dressing them and they don’t enjoy it, and that’s the erosion of their confidence and trust in you - it could really affect the relationship.”
Heidi Maskelyne, CEO of ProDog Raw, said: “Dogs and fire safety in the home is certainly not a new topic but as we head into the festive season it appears owners need to be hyper-vigilant if they choose to dress up their dogs as part of their Christmas celebrations.
“While dog hair and fur, like human hair, can ignite quickly if exposed to open flames, it doesn’t burn for long. When reviewing the videos the very fast ignition time of some items was concerning, but most horrifying for us at ProDog Raw was the speed at which whole outfits were engulfed in flames, with the plastic fibres in many of them creating a sticky residue which also continued to burn. Removing that from a dog if it did catch fire would be very dangerous for them and their human, and could do serious damage.
“As a nation of dog lovers we of course want them to be included in our celebrations, and we know how easy it can be to be caught up in the Christmas spirit and want to snap a cute photo for Instagram. But we hope by highlighting the very serious risk these unnecessary outfits pose to man’s best friend, owners can make safer, more informed choices this Christmas.”
