Hamptons Is Lap Of Luxury For Pampered Pets

Energetic, 5-month-old Mongo bounded into Little Lucy’s pet boutique on Jobs Lane in Southampton earlier this month, leading the way for his owner, Mary Bromberg, clinging to the other end of his bright red leash.

“Well, hello!” shopkeeper Patricia Hurley greeted them. “Oh, look at this little guy.”

“He’s not so little anymore,” Ms. Bromberg said, wrapping the leash around her hand for more control, noting that her puppy—an old English bulldog—now weighs 40 pounds. “He’s a big boy. It’s a workout, just taking him out of the car. I can’t walk him in heels.”

Ms. Bromberg looked down at her shoes, letting out an exasperated sigh as she suppressed a giggle. Giving the leash another wrap around her arm to keep Mongo close, she picked out a bow tie from the wall covered in pet clothing for him to wear around town.

But with a quick tug, Mongo wrestled the leash from his owner and was back on the prowl. Panting, he perused the store, grabbing toys in his jaws and shaking them playfully.

“I’m sorry, he’s destroying your store,” Ms. Bromberg said to Ms. Hurley.

“Are you testing the products?” she asked Mongo.

“We can’t go anywhere. He just takes everything off the shelves,” Ms. Bromberg continued.

“He’s too funny. He’s having a blast,” Ms. Hurley replied. “Keep him in here, he’s going to buy everything.”

Mongo practically did. The bulldog left with his new accessory and two toys that he picked out himself—as well as a complimentary cheese biscuit.

“When I opened the store about 12 years ago, I was taking a risk,” Ms. Hurley recalled after Mongo and his owner left. “The craze hadn’t really started. But then it just took off. You always think you’re the only one, and then you find out there are other people who are just as crazy over their dogs as you are.”

Some owners will go to any length for their pets—from buying them springtime outfits and beachwear to mud baths and facials. But before pampering fancy felines and posh pooches with luxurious fashions and soothing spa treatments, there are some basic necessities.

For cats, that’s a tree house with a sisal scratching post, according to One-Stop Pet Shop Westhampton owner Frank Bickley. The tree house provides cats with an acceptable place to scratch, he said, which deters them from tearing up a home’s furniture with their sharp claws.

“In their mind that’s controlled by instinct, other cats will be moving through their territory and they want to show how big they are and how good they are at scratching things,” Mr. Bickley said. “Because of that, you don’t want to hide a tree house in a back bedroom somewhere.”

Location is everything. The tree houses, which range in price from $49 to $249, need to be out in the open so the cats feel like they—and their furniture—are part of the family. They’ll never use them if they’re hidden in a laundry room or a basement, he said.

“Every cat’s an individual, and every once in a while, you’ll run into one who doesn’t care about hiding, but most cats are going to want to have a place to retreat to,” he said. “You can try to make that the furniture. Guarantee they’ll find something else. They’ll find a closet. They’ll go under a bed. The chances of them hiding in the furniture is kind of slim.”

Many of the tree houses are made to be put near a window so cats can sunbathe and people watch, Mr. Bickley said, though one of the store’s more popular tree houses has another purpose, he pointed out.

“If you want to get fancy, a lot of times, people have dogs and cats, and when you put the cat food on the floor, the dog comes over and eats it,” he said. “Then people start putting it on their countertops, which is disgusting because they’re walking around their litter box and then they’re walking around your food countertops. You also don’t want them to step on the stove and burn a hole through their foot.”

Mr. Bickley walked over to the tree house display and pointed to a 52-inch-tall model.

“This one, see that white thing on top?” he said. “It’s a special tray that fits in on top and you can feed them up there.”

While cats are busy playing on—or relaxing in—their tree houses, dogs need a place to spend their downtime, too, such as a dog bed.

“There’s no such thing as an indestructible dog bed,” Mr. Bickley said. “I know there are a couple places that advertise them, but there’s absolutely no such thing. I’ve seen dogs chew up stainless steel buckets. There’s no dog bed that will be tougher than a stainless steel bucket.”

The two factors that determine a dog bed’s quality are fabric and filling, Mr. Bickley said.

Beware companies that use a thick fabric and inexpensive filling, he warned. Four months after bringing the bed home, it will be “a thin little pancake that doesn’t have any cushion left to it.”

The simplest way to determine quality: pick up the bed. The heavier, the better, he said.

“You’ll pay more for them, but they’ll last,” he reported, noting that his store sells beds from $10 to $160. “I have one at home, my dog sleeps on it every night, and it’s four years old. It’s as good as the day I bought it.”

Just as most cats love to scratch, most dogs love to chew, Mr. Bickley said. Spread chew bones all over the house, so when the moment strikes, there’s always something acceptable to gnaw, instead of a dog bed or furniture.

“If you think about it, they’re intelligent animals,” he said of canines. “We have so many things to occupy our time and entertain us. Dogs have nothing. They don’t have fingers. They can’t do anything. The only thing they can really do as a pastime is chew something. It cleans their teeth, it exercises their jaws. It’s their hobby. It’s just a stress relief for them.”

And for pet owners who find spa treatments relaxing, some figure their dogs will find them calming, as well. Mud baths, which range from $10 to $20 in addition to a regular bath, depending on the dog’s size, are extremely popular at Classy Canine in Southampton, owner Kelly Scammell said earlier this month while grooming Teddie, a Havanese puppy.

“It’s a Dead Sea mineral mud scrub,” she said. “People like it. A lot come in and have it done once a week. They find it helps with the shedding. It has a product in it, silica, which is rough and removes a lot of dead coats.”

Many dogs also indulge in hot towel wraps that open up the pores, lubricating paw massages done with butter balm, and brightening blueberry facials, which help remove eye stains.

“Most people will do anything for their dogs,” Ms. Scammell said. “It’s a step beyond your average bath and blow-dry. It’s an enhanced experience.”

Once clean, some dogs need a new outfit or collar, and Little Lucy’s walls are lined with them. Tank tops cost $26 to $28, depending on size, and a complete outfit is usually double. Swarovski crystal collars run from $65 to $200, and pearl collars from $60 to $120.

“Pet owners want the same thing on their dogs that they’re going to be wearing,” Ms. Hurley explained. “This is a stylish town. They don’t want some old thing on their pets if they’re stylish people. It would be embarrassing,” she laughed.