Dog pants online debate boosts sales at Muddy Mutts

Should dog pants cover two legs or all four?

An Ottawa company says that's the crux of an online debate that has led to a surge of orders for its dog rain pants, or, as Muddy Mutts calls them, their "underbody dog coats."

Tim Skelly, owner of Muddy Mutts, says that in the past 11 days he has sold about the same number of dog pants he previously sold in 3 ½ years.

It happened after a his company's product came up in an internet debate over whether dog pants should cover two legs or four, he says.

A photo of Skelly's dog Oscar wearing Muddy Mutts dog rain pants — which cover four legs — was posted on Twitter and picked up by news outlets in the UK, the U.S. and Canada.

'I don't think there's any turning back now'

The American television program Today ended up covering it, and that's when Skelly knew he was in a bit of trouble. Christmas had just passed and his company was low on stock.

Now, he and his Ottawa-based manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with the orders and find more people who can sew to make the pants.

"It's a lot. We're talking thousands of coats. ... The only thing we can do at this point is react the best we can," he says.

"I don't think there's any turning back now. It is going to grow and it's out of my hands and now we'll just try and carve off more time for it."