It's a (Modern) Dog's Life

Aleaxa is looking for someone who likes long walks, hanging out at the beach and maybe even an occasional "roll in the hay."

Her online dating profile reads like many posted by young women looking for a beau in the big city. But Aleaxa isn't just any woman. In fact, she's not a woman at all: She's a 5-month-old Bichon Frise.

That's right. Dogs have online dating profiles now — just the latest element of the modern pooch's lifestyle, which is becoming more like that of their two-legged companions every day.

Robert Yau, 37, the founder of the Web site where Aleaxa trolls for doggie dates, says the digital lifestyle of the 21st century has separated people more than it has united them. The result? People dote on their pets more. Yau's datemypet.com rakes in over 50,000 users each month.

"Pets have become an essential expansion of a lot of people's lives. They provide unconditional love and they've become a very important part of the family," Yau said.

The posh life for pups used to be reserved for canine royalty like Carlee, the 6-year-old German shorthaired pointer that took top honors at the 2005 Westminster Dog Show (search).

Staff at New York's Hotel Pennsylvania, where the contest is held each year, say owners and handlers often sleep on cots while the dogs lounge on the beds, which can cost up to $750 per night.

Some owners even work extra jobs to support the expense of grooming and travel to the shows.

But beauty queens and kings aren't the only spoiled-rotten pets out there. The owners of the country's estimated 73.9 million dogs will account for a large portion of the projected $35.9 billion Americans will spend on their pets this year — up from $17 billion in 1994. One big factor in the dramatic increase is the rise of high-end pet-pampering products.

And why not? If our pets are going to have dating lives as fabulous as those seen on "Sex and the City," shouldn't they look, eat and feel equally as fabulous?

Salon guru Paul Mitchell has released a line of high-end pet-grooming products — aptly named after his own dog. The John Paul Pet line (search) includes a "calming, moisturizing shampoo" that conditions dogs' coats with aloe vera gel, sweet almond oil and chamomile.

The products retail for around $12 — a similar sized bottle of Paul Mitchell Awapuhi shampoo for humans costs about $11.

If your pooch needs an added splash of alpha dog, he can throw on some Timmy Holedigger (search) ($10 for 4 oz.) or Woof Warren's Bono Sports cologne (search) ($9.50 for 4 oz.). Shimmery silver starlight and prom pink nail polishes from Lulu Jane ($7) can spruce up lady dog paws.

And if lack of opposable thumbs and higher brain functioning is a setback, let the pros do it. A visit to a New York Dog Spa & Hotel (search) location for a bath, skin condition, haircut and ear cleaning costs $55 to $65. Massages run an extra $35 per half hour.

But the pups aren't all dressed up with no place to go. You can take your dog out to a "doga" (search) class — that's yoga for dogs — like the one offered at East Yoga in New York's SoHo. On the way back you can pick up some doggie take-out like the fare Pet Tasties Pet Café serves up in Atlanta.

Even better yet, you can treat your canine to a feast every day with Newman's Own brand of organic dog food (search) or Merrick's special line of gourmet chow. (Don't tell the dogs, but cats can get surf 'n' turf and California rolls from Merrick.)

Laura Oravec, one of the co-owners of PamperedPetsCatalog.com, said spoiling your pet is just as natural as spoiling your children.

"They're part of the family; they're like my kids," she said. "Me and my husband don’t have kids and so our animals are our kids. There just isn't anything we wouldn't do for them."

Oravec's 2-year-old Burlington, Wis.-based business is expanding rapidly and is looking to open sites in Britain and Australia. She says purchases from her site average about $150 per order.

And she should know. Oravec, who owns two "spoiled rotten" dogs and nine equally coddled cats, isn't just owner of Pampered Pets, she's one of her own best clients. Her pets live the high life, lounging on waterbeds, wearing jewel-encrusted collars and eating gourmet food. Oravec says her pets love the indulgence.

"When I put a special collar on them or a special scrunchy that I got them, they actually pose," she said. "The get the extra attention for it and they know it — and they love it."

Not every dog owner is ready to whip out his or her checkbook to buy a pet a charmed life. In fact, some dog owners, like Carol Smith of Pembroke, Mass., think it's downright nuts.

"It's a dog. They don't know the difference between a diamond and a rhinestone," she said. "You could put anything on a dog and they'll pose if they're the type of animal that will pose. I mean they're not people; they have no clue."

Chris DiGuido, owner of NYCPET.com, said that pet owners' doting habits have increased since Sept. 11. And even though owners have flocked to her stores to snatch up fancy items like dog water purifiers and Frosty Paws ice cream treats ($3.50), she said the modern pet's high-rolling lifestyle can go too far.

"There are a lot of little children out there that don't have coats and there are dogs out there with fur and leather coats — we're talking $400 coats — and that's when it seems a little sad."

But if you think pet product pushers have already gone too far, brace yourself. In the fall, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based PetsMobility plans to launch PetsCell: the first mobile phone for your family's four-legged friend.

The phone will be compatible with existing cellular carriers and will contain satellite global positioning technology with an optional tracking chip and a fiber optic camera in case you lose your dog (or your dog loses you).

Of course, living in the 21st century is not without its downfalls — it's still a dog-eat-dog world. The winner of Britain's 2003 Crufts Dog Show (search), a Pekingese named Danny, was accused of having gotten a facelift but was later cleared of the charge.

In fact, a number of communities have proposed legislation to ban those types of surgeries that seem inevitable in a time when celebutante Paris Hilton is weighing in with her own line of jeweled dog collars.

Luckily, despite rumors that plastic surgeons have begun offering cosmetic surgery like facelifts and Botox for dogs, a number of veterinarians say the reports are hoaxes.

"There's nobody I know who's doing this. I haven't read of anybody who's doing this — even for dogs of the stars," said Douglas G. Aspros, a vet at a White Plains, N.Y., animal hospital. "I'd be skeptical because I don’t see much benefit for anybody, either the dog or the owner."

All in all, the dog's life is looking better every day. But if living it up gets to be too much for the modern pooch, there's always — believe it or not — Prozac for dogs.