Some dogs would hate Burning Man.
These are not those dogs.
Give them an endless desert, monumental art, bizarre vehicles, handmade fashion, bicycles, dust storms and several thousand humans behaving as though none of this is particularly unusual, and certain dogs wouldn’t simply fit in. They’d get involved.
A Greyhound might race beneath a colossal steel version of itself. A French Bulldog could end up aboard a mutant vehicle. A Poodle would inevitably discover avant-garde desert fashion. And somewhere out on the playa, there’s almost certainly a dog who left camp three hours ago and has absolutely no intention of coming back.
So this time, the dogs aren’t merely visiting Burning Man.
They’re participating.
Here are 10 dogs who went all in on the playa.
The Greyhound Who Found His Competition
Most dogs arrive at Burning Man and discover the art.
This Greyhound arrived and discovered a challenger.
With a colossal steel hound stretching across the playa behind him, he did the only reasonable thing: dropped his head, opened up his stride and raced it. Goggles on, desert gear flying and several hundred cyclists suddenly relegated to spectators, he turned one of Burning Man’s monumental sculptures into the world’s most ridiculous racetrack.
The Dog Who Didn’t Wait Out the Dust
Most sensible creatures see a wall of playa dust coming and find somewhere to hide.
This dog apparently saw a starting gun.
Goggles down, scarves flying and paws throwing up even more dust, he charged straight through it while everyone else slowly disappeared into the haze behind him.
Visibility was terrible. His enthusiasm was not.
The Frenchie Who Came Ready for the Playa
Some dogs wear a bandana to Burning Man.
This Frenchie apparently spent six months planning his entrance.
Feathers flying, goggles reflecting the playa and enough metal, leather and jewelry to outfit a small desert army, he rolled straight into the madness on a horned mutant vehicle like he’d been doing this for years.
The giant glowing art behind him barely gets a second look.
At Burning Man, that’s saying something.
The Poodle Who Became Part of the Art
At some point, matching your outfit to the art isn’t enough.
You have to become part of it.
Covered in mirrors, crystals and enough reflected sunlight to be visible from another zip code, this Standard Poodle found a towering chrome tree on the playa and apparently decided the two belonged together.
We’re not sure which one people photographed first.
Honestly, neither is she.
The Bulldog Who Claimed the Ride
Nobody remembers seeing this Bulldog arrive with the mutant vehicle.
Nobody is brave enough to ask.
Covered in playa dust, wedged inside a wheel bigger than most cars and wearing goggles that haven’t been clean since Tuesday, he has settled in like the entire machine belongs to him.
Want to take it for a spin?
You’ll have to talk to the owner.
The Cane Corso Who Brought Backup
There are easier ways to make an entrance.
Apparently, neither of these two was interested.
Wrapped in battered white, silver and enough hardware to survive the apocalypse, they walked across the playa looking less like they were attending Burning Man and more like they had just conquered it.
The question is which one is the bodyguard.
We’re not asking.
The Doberman Who Saw Burning Man Differently
At Burning Man, sunglasses are rarely just sunglasses.
This Doberman went with mirrored violet lenses, enough crystals to require their own insurance policy and a collar that suggests someone packed for the apocalypse but refused to compromise on jewelry.
The entire playa is reflected in his goggles.
Which seems appropriate.
He came to see everything — and make damn sure everyone saw him.
The Saluki Who Walked Into the Whiteout
Eventually, the playa simply disappears.
The art fades. The mountains vanish. Even the people riding twenty feet away become shadows in the dust.
This Saluki kept walking.
Wrapped in battered fabric, goggles completely plastered with playa and looking considerably more elegant than anyone has a right to look in a dust storm, she emerged from the whiteout like some strange desert apparition.
Burning Man disappeared around her. She didn’t.
The Borzoi Who Dressed Like the Art
Most people try not to clash with the art.
This Borzoi took the opposite approach.
Wrapped in yards of crimson fabric and standing beside a towering sculpture twisting in the same desert wind, she somehow managed to turn the entire playa into her own fashion shoot.
The sculpture is spectacular.
Unfortunately for the sculpture, so is the dog.
The Jack Russell Who Refused to Leave
There are moments when even Burning Man seems to be telling you to go inside.
This was one of them.
With a dust devil tearing across the playa, debris flying sideways and everyone else reconsidering their immediate plans, this Jack Russell planted all four paws in the sand and held his ground.
Goggles down. Ears sideways. Zero intention of retreating.
He’s a terrier. The dust devil picked the wrong dog.
The Chihuahua Who Arrived With His Own Wings
Being five pounds apparently wasn’t dramatic enough.
So this Chihuahua added several feet of feathers, gold, mirrors and enough jewelry to make walking entirely optional.
Photographed from ground level, he suddenly looks less like the smallest dog on the playa and more like some newly discovered desert deity.
The wings are enormous.
The ego is bigger.
The Great Dane Who Finally Met Someone Bigger
Great Danes aren’t accustomed to looking up.
Then Burning Man happened.
Standing beneath a colossal metal figure with enough silver armor of his own to make this feel suspiciously like a planned meeting, this Great Dane finally encountered something on the playa capable of making him look small.
They stared at each other for a while.
Neither appeared willing to move first.
The Dalmatian Who Disappeared Into the Art
Black. White. Spots. Stripes. And several thousand lights.
By nightfall, this Dalmatian had found a glowing sculpture that matched him so perfectly, he did the only sensible thing and dressed accordingly.
From a distance, it’s difficult to tell where the dog ends and the artwork begins.
Which may have been the plan.
At Burning Man, camouflage works a little differently.
The Ridgeback Who Walked Into the Sunrise
Morning on the playa doesn’t necessarily mean the night is over.
Sometimes it just means you can finally see what you’ve been walking through.
Covered in dust, goggles filthy and desert gear looking considerably less fresh than it did yesterday, this Rhodesian Ridgeback emerged through the golden haze as the sun climbed over Black Rock Desert.
Behind him, the art slowly came back into view.
Another night survived. Another day beginning.
The Afghan Hound Who Stayed Until Sunrise
Somewhere around sunrise, Burning Man becomes a different place.
The lights fade, the crowds thin and an Afghan Hound in flowing lavender suddenly appears beside a giant metal moon as though this is all perfectly normal.
Hair blowing. Couture trailing across the playa. Not the slightest indication she’s ready for bed.
Some dogs leave the party early. This was not one of them.
The Dog Who Found the Dress Code
Apparently, nobody told them Burning Man didn’t have a dress code.
White, silver, mirrored goggles, enormous boots and enough flowing fabric to make the desert wind part of the outfit, these two arrived looking considerably more prepared than everyone else.
She brought the fashion.
The dog brought the attitude.
The Boxer Who Found the Party
Some dogs came for the art.
This Boxer came to lose his mind.
With neon wrapped around his chest, goggles bouncing on his forehead and a giant glowing jellyfish rolling through the desert behind him, he hit the playa at full speed and never looked back.
Dust flying. Lights everywhere. Absolutely no interest in calling it a night.
He didn’t attend Burning Man. He attacked it.
The Dog Who Understood the Assignment
There is dressing for Burning Man.
And then there is arriving as though the playa has been waiting for you.
White feathers, mirrored goggles, shredded fabric and enough silver to catch the Nevada sun from several miles away, these two didn’t simply coordinate their outfits.
They coordinated their entrance.
Somewhere, a regular collar and leash are feeling deeply inadequate.
Until the Dust Settles
Burning Man was probably never designed with dogs in mind.
Then again, very little about Burning Man appears to have been designed with anything conventional in mind.
Over the course of these images, our dogs raced sculptures, disappeared into dust storms, dressed like the art, claimed mutant vehicles, stayed out until sunrise and discovered that even a Great Dane can occasionally feel small.
Some arrived in couture.
Others ended up covered in several pounds of Nevada.
All of them went all in.
And perhaps that’s the thing about the playa. Whether you’re standing beneath a 50-foot sculpture, dancing beside a glowing art car or simply trying to see through goggles completely coated in dust, doing Burning Man halfway seems to miss the point.
If you’re going to go to the desert, you might as well become part of it.
