dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

If youโ€™re a dog owner like me, youโ€™ve been thereโ€”you come home from work and your dogs have been super sweet and not destroyed anything (for once), so you want to treat them to something extra special, but how, and where? Well, fear not, your prayers have finally been answered: in the form of Dog House in the inner-north Melbourne suburb of Collingwood. Here, you can spoil your pooch in more ways than youโ€™d ever imagine.

Opened by Charles Fernandez and Anuj Yadav, Dog House is the result of 12 months of council negotiations, researching dog nutrition, developing recipes, and formulating a signature range of dog food. It was an idea which was initially sparked by one of their dogs getting ill from poor quality dog meat, and further motivated by a goal of having their dogs be able to enjoy all the things that we humans get to enjoy at cafes, all while their humans get to enjoy cafe things alongside them.

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

advert but first coffee cookbook now available

 

Upon entering Dog House, thereโ€™s a retail shop with all sorts of dog paraphernalia to the left (clothes, toys, accessories), and a huge cabinet of delicious looking food to the right that resembles a cross between a butcher shop and a bakery. Only upon closer inspection does it become clear, however, that the contents of the cabinet are solely for canine consumption.

Just past the large front space there sits a much smaller cafe space, providing treats for peopleโ€”here they use Rosso Roasting Company, serving espresso-based coffees, with lattes and the like starting at around $3.80. There are also pre-packaged sandwiches and some sweet treats to sustain the humans who accompany the ecstatic dog clientele.

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

When you walk through the venue to the seating space, it thoroughly hits home that this is a cafe unlike any other. Private boothsโ€”constructed out of pallets and other brightly painted materialsโ€”make up the seating area. Essentially, these are dedicated pens for dog customers to be able to enjoy their puppycinos with uninterrupted abandon. There is, of course, a not-so-cheap price tag associated with the amount of thought and care thatโ€™s gone into the products at Dog Houseโ€”most items cost around $7 and upwardsโ€”that said though, many people are choosing to have dogs over having kids these days, so thereโ€™s no harm in splurging a little (at least you donโ€™t have to send your dog to universityโ€ฆ yet).

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

Once youโ€™re all set up in your booth, you can get doggy cupcakes, ice cream, fresh meat from reputable butchers, and even puppycinosโ€”made of lactose-free milk, whipped with egg, and topped with carob dust (itโ€™s a pretty decadent time). Beyond the consumables, Dog House offers some interesting stuffโ€”especially dog weddings (and, of course, divorces). When I went in shortly after they first opened, theyโ€™d already had a number of enquiries (I myself started picturing my own dogs, Stevie and Wednesday, in adorable doggy veils).

dog house melbourne collingwood victoria cafe rosso roasting company coffee sprudge

Of course, Dog House is just one of many additions to the Melbourne coffee landscapeโ€”sure, there are plenty of places you can go to get a world-class filter coffee, or try the newest in cold nitro brewingโ€ฆ but how many places can you go where you can buy your dog a birthday cake and have them wear silly hats, and itโ€™s totally expected and normal?

Dog House is located atย 195 Johnston St, Collingwood, Melbourne. Visit their official website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Eileen P. Kenny is a Sprudge.com staff writer based in Melbourne.ย Read moreย Eileen P. Kenny on Sprudge.

New Rules of Coffee banner advertising an illustrated guide to the essential rules for enjoying coffee