Last week, I admitted to letting the side down on the style stakes and revealed how Basil was starting to cringe at my dog walking attire. In my quest for a more put together 2014, I’ve decided to raise my game by taking inspiration from stylish dog-owning individuals. 

Step forward Wendy H Gilmour of UK fashion blog, Thank Fifi and owner of Finnish Lapphund Mr K. Here she shares her style know-how to avoid stepping out to walk your pup looking like the proverbial dog’s dinner. Over to you Wendy …

After working from home for several months, style standards have slipped and my inner tomboy has taken hold. While this approach may result in comfortable and warm dog-walking attire, Basil is probably feeling none too proud and I’ve got his stylish reputation to withhold. 

Inspired by the ‘teachings’ of my wise friend and editor of fashion and style inspiration blog The Occasional Fashionista and in a bid to be more put together 2014, I shall be look to other fabulous dog-owning beings for inspiration starting with these five celebrities and fashion bloggers …

Come tomorrow morning there will be little escape from the fact that the Christmas holidays are officially O.V.E.R!

This time last year I was balking at the prospect of returning to work. I’d fallen out of love with my job and ultimately my career, was desperate for change and longed to spend more time on Barkarama and with Basil. Fast forward to the second half of the year, I finally made the leap, got busy creating Barkarama 2.0, enjoyed more hours with B-Boy and signed up as an Independent Stylist for jewellery brand Stella & Dot. Money has been tight but I don’t regret my decision for a second and thankfully I have a very supportive boyfriend. Enjoyment aside, it’s been a great opportunity to re-evaluate my professional path and give me the head-space I so needed.

Perhaps, like me, the Christmas break has left you questioning your current career too? Maybe it’s always been your dream to work with dogs? It’s never too late to make a change so here are ten careers working with dogs to help inspire you to switch from the Nine to Five to the Nine to Fido …

We take a fly by the seat of our pants approach to Christmas – we’ve not finished writing our cards, we’ve still not put our decorations up, our Christmas dinner location is TBC and we’ve not even started our shopping yet. If your take on Christmas is similar to ours or you still need to get some last few bits, help is at hand with our selection of last minute gifts for the dog lover in your life …

Sorry for a few days of neglect; we’ve been under the weather with a yucky cold and cough. However, we’re not letting the winter lurgy dampen our festive spirit, which is why today we are mostly loving these stunning ‘Collection of Christmas Dogs’ greeting cards by artist Ros Shiers …

This Sunday sees the start of the official countdown to Christmas. Depending on how keen a festive bean you are, it might also mean that you are putting up your tree. Or perhaps, like us, you prefer to wait a few more weeks to get into the full swing of the festivities? Regardless there’s always room for an extra decoration or two, which is why we are shopping for Christmas decorations with a canine twist …

The encounter between Art Sea Craft Sea and Barkarama at this year’s Discover Dogs was pretty special. Our jaw dropped, and the face of their creative genius, Stacey Chapman, lit up!

To quote Stacey: “Seeing your jaw drop was one of the highlights of my life! It is the kind of reaction any artist would ever dream of, so thank you for your life enhancing reaction!” When you see Stacey’s dog designs, we’re pretty sure you’ll be equally impressed …

Any guesses why we are particularly lustful for the latest installment of dog-themed apparel and accessories from designer Marc Jacobs? Yes folks, that is indeed the squishy mush of a Boston Terrier you see before you, inspired by Marc’s favourite BT Olive.

Now as someone who spends most of their dog-walking hours explaining that our dog Basil is not a French Bulldog when they point at him and say ‘ooh I love / want one of those dogs’ or ‘my friend has one of those’, we’re thrilled to see the American Gent take centre stage. Not that we don’t love a Frenchie, just to be clear. Now back to the collection …