The shop
Dog Bandanas With a Message
Some dogs need the walk to come with instructions. This is where you put them: a personalised dog bandana with the message embroidered across the front, so it is read before anyone reaches a hand out.
More about these
DO NOT PET, for the dog who is working, or sore, or simply not in the mood. NERVOUS, which does more in six letters than an apology does in a sentence. IN TRAINING, so the stranger with the treat asks first. ADOPT ME, for the foster who is between homes. Or your phone number, stitched large, for the day a lead slips out of a hand — a bandana stays on when a tag has already come off the collar.
Whatever you write, I will wear it. I cannot read, so I stitch exactly what I am given, and I will not correct a spelling in case the spelling is deliberate. Up to three lines, in letters, numbers and spaces. A longer line is simply set smaller so all of it fits.
The words are embroidered, not printed, so they do not crack, peel or fade in the wash — a message is no use if it stops being legible in March. Plain, strong colours read from further away than the busy ones, which is worth thinking about if the point is to be seen from the other end of the park. Five sizes, an elastic band rather than a knot, and every one made in Prague after you order it.
Questions
Questions I get asked
How do I measure my dog?
One number, and it is the neck rather than the head: lay the tape low round the neck, where the collar already sits, and read it off there. The sizes run from 22 cm to 63 cm round. The band pulls on over the head on a covered elastic, so it has to clear the skull before it settles on that line — between two sizes, take the larger one.
Is it safe on a walk?
On the cap a cord runs through the folded back edge, so it draws in to the head. The bandana pulls on over the head on a covered elastic band, so there is nothing to tie. None of it is a collar, a harness or a lead — leave the real collar on underneath, and take the hat off when the dog is left alone.
Can I write on all three, and how long can the line be?
All three take stitching, and it is free however many pieces carry writing. There is no letter limit: a longer line is set smaller so that it still fits the panel it is stitched on. Letters, numbers and spaces are all fine, and I stitch exactly what you type.
I typed it wrong. Can you change it?
If nothing has been cut yet, yes — reply to your order confirmation; your line is printed on it. Once the needle has been through the cloth, no: thread does not come out without leaving the holes behind. It is stitched exactly as you type it, so a typo copied faithfully is not a fault. Read it twice before you pay.
What will you not stitch?
No slurs, nobody else’s brand, nothing threatening, nothing sexual and nobody’s name but your dog’s. It is a dog. I cannot read it, so I am not the one deciding — there is a list, and every line is checked against it. Fail it and you get an email and the full amount back the same day, not a quietly softened version of itself.
When will it arrive?
Ready in 1–3 working days, counted from the order landing. Nothing here is made before it is asked for and nothing is held in stock, so there is no shelf to pull from. After that the date belongs to the post, not to me — I do not print an arrival date, and the carrier’s own estimate is at checkout.
Where do you ship, and what does it cost?
Across the European Union, out of Prague, tracked. One parcel however many pieces are in the order. What it costs is on the Shipping policy page, listed by country, and the checkout confirms it against the country you pick.
What if it does not fit when it arrives?
Anything with nothing written on it comes back: tell me within 14 days of it arriving and post it back unworn, with the tag on. You pay that postage. Once it carries your words it cannot come back for a change of mind — nobody else asked for that line, and EU law allows that only because you are told before you pay, which is what this is. Faulty is different, written on or not: I remake it or refund you, and that postage is mine both ways.