Best in Park Australian hand-crafted accessories for dogs

This amazing photo of Sydney French Bulldog Chabal on the Milk & Honey Photography blog today had me thinking about getting a dog again. We miss our Miniature Schnauzer Molly so much!

For many of us, our four-legged kids are spoiled as much as our two-legged kids. (In fact, our four-legged girl was our first kid!). So for those of you looking for something special for your family dog, check out these beautifully handcrafted products from Melbourne's Best In Park.

These are classic pieces for the pooch in your family - timeless, traditional, and ever-so-chic. There's nothing foofy about these collars, leads and accessories for dogs - not a diamante in sight (much to the man in the house's relief). Best of all? All goods are designed by Best In Park, and are hand-made by their clever craftspeople in Australia

You can find Best in Park dog accessories in the online store.

Are you getting your pooch anything for Christmas? I'm keen to know!

Images: Best In Park

Hip Products: PretaPawte pet collars

It's our miniature schnauzer's birthday today (Happy 13th Birthday Molly!). I thought she'd like a new collar, but she's definitely not the diamante kind of girl. Luckily, Brisbane-based PretaPawte make very stylish collars for dogs and cats that are less about the bling factor and more about the chic factor.

PretaPawte uses 100% cotton designer fabrics and durable hardware and cat collars come with a jingle bell. The only trouble is trying to pick one!

You can find PretaPawte pet collars on Etsy and at various markets. Read more about Pretapawte's latest designs, market appearances and cool finds for pets on the blog. And you can become a PretaPawte fan on Facebook.

Images: PretaPawte

Trends: The Pet Economy

The pet-economy phenomena sweeping the US is huge in Australia also. We live only 10 minutes walk from Cafe Bones - an outdoors dog-friendly cafe in the middle of the Hawthorne Canal off-leash dog park on the the border of Leichhardt and Lilyfield in Sydney. The menu includes coffess and cafe food for humans, and biscuits and pupaccino's for dogs! Even our local Lilyfield Organic Farmer's Markets are in on the pet-craze with 2 dog food-only retailers with fabulous products. The Delibones Barkery sells gourmet pet treats in neat packaging, and Baliz Woof Woof sells organic dog wholefood (not dried) and assorted products.

Image: Cafe Bones