Editor’s Note: This is a guest post written by Nicole Kesson of Chazhound.com

What’s the first thing you think of when you plan to get dressed for a tailgate party? You put on a team jersey, right? If you take man’s best friend with you to meet your friends to tailgate a game, don’t forget about what Fido is going to wear.

Seriously, what could be cuter than a Labrador wearing a Florida Gator’s bandana around his neck or a Chihuahua wearing a University of Kentucky t-shirt?

Now we’re not talking about the “Tailgate Tested, Tailgate Approved” product known as the Tailgate Companion. You’ve seen those commercials, right? The Tailgate Companion is an apron that straps onto your dog’s back and is able to hold condiments, tongs and, most importantly, your beer.

Instead, we’re talking about letting your pooch show his team spirit and pride just like the big boys do. Can you imagine taking your bulldog wearing a team jersey to a University of Georgia Bulldogs game? What about having your St. Bernard sport the team colors for Siena College? Have you seen Smokey, the little dog that runs around with the Tennessee Volunteers leather-clad frontiersman sporting an orange Volunteers vest?

How about organizing a pet parade during the tailgating party? All the people who brought pets sporting team colors could parade their prized pooches through a lane and have people vote for the dog with the most team spirit. After all, you have to find something to kill time while the food’s cooking, right? Or what about organizing some games that the people and their pets can play together? How about tossing around a Frisbee with a team logo Frisbee? How about races?

A real fan wears team colors, so why shouldn’t a real dog fan? What dog would want to be caught dead at a Georgetown Hoya game without wearing blue and gray or a Southern Illinois Saluki game without wearing maroon and white?

If your dog just isn’t into clothing, there are lots of other ways to dress your dog in team colors for your next tailgate party. Some dog owners go so far as to spray their team’s colors (temporary color) onto their dog’s hair. You can buy a leash and collar in your team’s colors. You can buy bandanas in your team’s colors. They make little team helmets for dogs.

Dogs are loyal through and through and if you’re a loyal fan, they’ll want to show off their kinship to you and your team. Let your dog show off the colors of your favorite team on game day to make you proud. He knows how important your college team is to you and he will happily sport a college shirt, collar or bandanna.

What if the two of you dress alike and wear matching t-shirts or jerseys? What if you take photos of dogs dressed up like their owners and supporting their teams? What if you hold a contest for the dog with the most team spirit?

Whatever you choose to do, be sure to include your dog’s team spirit into your tailgating plans. Have fun!

Written by Nicole Kesson at Chazhound.com, the dog bed store, find products like shock collars.