0 DoggyStyle: Saving Money by using Human Products for our Dogs

When I first adopted Miss M I was overwhelmed by some of the things I thought I needed: stuff for her to eat from, stuff for her to sleep on, and stuff just to hold her stuff.
And I was overwhelemed by how much some things cost.
 I quickly realized that some things were much more expensive because they were made specifically for dogs. Since then, I've learned how to save money by buying human things and using them for the dogs. Here are some things that have worked for us:

Using Serving Bowls as Dog Bowls:

We wanted to find a large sturdy bowl that wouldn't move when they ate, but all of the cute ceramic dog bowls I found were really expensive. It was only after a visit to CB2 that I realized we could just use one of their serving bowls as a dog bowl. Plus, they were only $7! We have the older version, but the Frank Serve bowl seems similar to the ones we've been using.

Using Floor Pillows as Dog Beds:

I was shocked to see how much cute dog beds cost, but seeing that our big pups naturally loved curling themselves up into tiny pittie balls I realized they were fine with 20 inch floor pillows. We've been able to pick up some inexpensive floor pillows from Ikea and we have them scattered around the house so they always have a place to sit. We've also realized how sometimes our pups actually prefer the $15 floor over their more expensive dog beds.

Storage Canisters as a Dog Treat Bar:

We've seen a lot of fancy and expensive dog treat canisters made just for dogs. Though we were able to buy three canisters for the price of one dog-specific canisters. Which is good news for Miss M because we were able to make a home dog-treat bar we wrote about here.

Child's Puffy Vest as Mr. B's Coat:

We had been searching for a dog coat with a furry hood (because that's what all the 'cool kids' in Chicago have), but we couldn't find anything to fit our large dogs. We saw a child's Columbia puffy vest on super-sale, and we realized the kids' size 10/12 fit Mr. B perfectly. We did have to make a slight alteration, pinning up the bottom so he wouldn't pee on himself, but it fit him perfectly otherwise. The hat was also bought from the Kids' Department at Old Navy.

What are some other ways you've been able to use 'people products' for your pups?

Also:
Mr B's (cheap!) personalized toy bin
Getting 5 looks from one dog coat
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