About Fancy Dawgz

Handmade With a Little Love — and a Lot of Personality

Hi! I’m Renee, the owner and maker behind Fancy Dawgz.

Fancy Dawgz is a small pet accessory business specializing in handmade dog collars, leashes and fun accessories designed to bring a little more personality to life with your pet.

But Fancy Dawgz didn't begin with a business plan.

It began with a crazy puppy, a sewing machine, and a game of neighborhood hide-and-seek.

How It All Started

Back in 2018, I was a single mom raising two growing boys who seemed to get taller—and hungrier—by the day. I wanted to earn some extra money, but I didn't want a second job that would take me away from my boys every night and weekend.

One day, I came across a YouTube tutorial showing how to make hair scrunchies. A friend gave me some fabric, I bought some elastic, pulled out my sewing machine and started creating.

Then we got a puppy.

And not just any puppy.

We got one of those wonderfully wild dogs who could destroy a collar, chew through a leash and have the entire family chasing him through the neighborhood before you knew what happened.

After replacing one too many pet-store collars, I found a tutorial showing how to sew a dog collar.

I was hooked.

I had so much fun making that first collar that our crazy puppy soon had a wardrobe of about 25 of them.

And that is how Fancy Dawgz was born.

From Flea Markets to Thousands of Collars

I started small, setting up a table at local flea markets on Saturdays and Sundays. Before long, I decided to try selling online through Etsy and eBay.

One collar turned into hundreds.

Hundreds turned into thousands.

Over the years, I've made and sold more than 5,000 collars and leashes to pet families across the country.

Eventually, I opened my own online store so I could get back to what I enjoy most: creating fun, useful pet products and working directly with the people who buy them.

Today, my boys are grown and have lives and careers of their own, which means Mom is back at the sewing machine doing something she truly enjoys.

Why Handmade Makes a Difference

One of my favorite things about handmade products is that your dog doesn't have to fit into a one-size-fits-all box.

Need a different length?

Just ask.

Have a tiny dog? A big dog? A dog whose neck somehow doesn't match any of the standard sizes at the pet store?

That's exactly where handmade comes in.

Our adjustable collars are available in widths ranging from approximately 3/4 inch to 1.5 inches, with options for dogs both big and small. We can also make custom lengths for many of our collars and leashes.

Because when you're buying handmade, you should have choices.

Collars, Leashes & Plenty of Fun

Fancy Dawgz isn't only about the basics.

Along with handmade collars and leashes, you'll find fun pet accessories such as bandanas, custom patches, dog goggles, sunglasses, protective helmets and other unique gear.

Some products are practical.

Some are fashionable.

And some exist for one very important reason:

They make people smile.

There's something pretty great about taking your dog out wearing something fun and watching complete strangers smile when they see them.

That's a big part of why I still enjoy doing this.

A Note About Our Collars

Different collars are designed for different kinds of use.

Many of our decorative ribbon collars are best for special occasions, holidays, photos, outings and supervised wear. Decorative ribbon can be more delicate and may show wear faster on very active dogs.

For everyday use, our webbing and fabric collars are generally the better choice and can provide longer-lasting wear.

Of course, every dog is different. A collar that lasts one dog for years might have a much shorter life with an enthusiastic mud-puddle-diving, fence-crawling, collar-scratching adventurer.

We'd rather be upfront about that and help you choose the right collar for your dog.

Thank You for Supporting a Small Business

Fancy Dawgz doesn't have thousands of stores or a giant advertising budget.

What we do have is something we're very proud of: thousands of collars and leashes made, very few returns, lots of happy pets, and customers who come back months—or even years—later.

Those returning customers mean more to me than you might realize.

Every order supports a small business and allows me to keep doing something I genuinely enjoy: sewing, creating and making fun things for pets and the people who love them.

So take a look around.

Find something that makes you smile.

And if you need something a little different, ask me.

That's the beauty of handmade.

Thank you for visiting Fancy Dawgz.

Made with care. Made with personality. Made for your Dawg.