100 Halloween Costume Ideas for Dogs
Halloween has gone to the dogs! If you landed on this post, you are looking for Halloween costume ideas for dogs (or just want to see what others are doing). You’re in for a treat…and maybe a few tricks, too. According to the National Retail Federation, in 2015, Americans spent about $350 million on costumes. For every $3 we spent on a kid’s costume, $1 will be spent on an outfit for the cat or dog.
Safety First
First and foremost, please with wheat-free dog biscuits on top, do not force your dog to wear a costume if he is unhappy, never make a dog uncomfortable, and be extra cautious about elastic, tightness, and any sort of restrictions a costume might impose.
To save you the guesswork, here are 5 things to be sure you do so that the dog is not unhappy or in harm’s way. Oh, and by the way, if entering a contest, judges frown on the entrants where the dog is not a happy camper:
(1) If your dog is wearing a costume, make sure he likes it, that it’s comfortable, and that he is familiar with walking in it. Never make a dog dress up if the dog is not happy about it. One sure way to lose is a contest is to put a dog in a costume where he is unhappy, uncomfortable, and just generally not pleased with the situation. My dog wears clothes and is used to it, so this was an easy transition for me. My previous Cocker Spaniel was a year-round clothes wearer for the nearly 15 years she shared this life with me.
(2) Ensure you have the right size of clothing or costume for your dog and that there are no elastic bands, tight areas, nor snaps or buttons that can rub, irritate, or scratch your dog. Dogs should have room and the apparel should not be too tight that it prohibits or restricts any movement.
(3) Some dogs are just not into clothes, and this is perfectly okay. You can bling a dog out with fun collars and leashes or a bandana.
(4) Some dogs, like people, can have an allergic reaction to certain fabrics or materials in fabric. If a dog gets a sudden and continued case of the itches, remove the clothing to avoid problems.
(5) Use the same techniques to get a dog used to clothing or a comfortable costume that you would for something like the an anti-anxiety/Thundershirt. Let your dog wear the clothing in the house for a few minutes. Even if you start with 60 seconds and reward for good behavior, this is a start. If the dog shows a complete disdain for the product, never force them and remove immediately.
Personally, I act like my dog just won Westminster Kennel Club Show and throw a verbal party, “Yay Dexter, good boy, Dexter.” My dog is play motivated, so when he has a piece of clothing on we play ball for 5 to 10 minutes. Suddenly, wearing clothes means playing ball. If the clothing is something heavy, such as a sweater, playing and sweating might not be a good idea.
BONUS HINT: Some costumes are best for photo contests, where a seated position and backdrop are used. Photoshopped photos are excluded from a lot of contests, including ours. Use your best judgment when creating a costume, as some are best modeled in a sit stay.
Here are the 100 Halloween costume ideas for dogs broken down by cat…er dog-egory for your convenience:
Scary Dogs
Dracula, Devil, On a Platter, Cannibals, Three-headed dog, Ghost, Zombie
Duo Dogs
Frozen princesses, UPS man and package, Thing 1 and Thing 2, Flowers in a Pot, Scuba Divers, Curly Fries, Mr and Mrs Dracula
Group Dogs
Wizard of Oz, Papal Conclave, Princess/Cop/Fireman, Football Players and Cheerleader, Star Wars, The Voice original judges, Vikings
Classic
Pirate, Wonder Woman, Chef, Marilyn Monroe, Ty Beanie Baby, Beetlejuice, Frog
Girlie
Princess, I Dream of Genie, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Angel, Minnie Mouse, Cute Witch, Ariel from the Little Mermaid
Funny
Clown in car, Barkarita, Mad Hatter, Alligator Dog, 50 Shades of Gray, Elvis Dog, Cabbage Patch Kid
Foods
Lobster in a pot, Lobster on land, Taco, Banana Split, Hamburger Stand, Boston Cream Pie, Campbell’s Chicken Poodle Soup
Other Species/Animals
Bunny, Dinosaur, Cow 1 and Cow 2, Dog as a Cat, Spider, Winnie the Pooh Bear
Fall Themed
Scarecrow, Fall Harvest, Scarecrow version 2, Perfect Halloween Scene, Scarecrow and Pumpkin, Mardi Gras Halloween, Pumpkin Patch
Super Heroes
Superdog, Ghostbusters, Captain America 1, Batman and Robin, Batman, Captain America 2, Wonder Woman
Horror
Dracula, Zombie and Zombie Fighter, Werewolf, Devil, Dracula, Frankenstein and Bride of Frankenstein, Dracula version 2
Clever
Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma, Wolf/Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma, Game of Operation, Students and Teacher, Magician and Assistant, Assault and Battery, Boom Box
Careers
Cheerleader, President (Abe Lincoln), Boxer, Doctor, Football Player, Jesters, Tennis Players
Famous Characters
Snow White, Lone Ranger and Tonto, Cookie Monster, Dr. Who, Snoopy and Woodstock, Yoda, Headless Horseman, Little Shop of Horrors, Harry Potter
Cereal Killer
Bonus: And of course, here is our little man, Dexter, as a “Cereal Killer”
If you made it this far, yay! Here’s a wagging bonus: How to Win a Dog Halloween Costume Contest
Now that you have ins-paw-ration, enter the Fidose of Reality 2016 Dog Halloween Photo Contest! Have fun and all treats, no tricks, and lots of tail wag safe fun to you and your pack! What’s your favorite from those above or did we miss your favorite?
So hilarious !!
Snorts,
Lily & Edward
What a great collection of costume ideas! We skip costumes, mainly because both dogs hate them. I wish they liked dress up more! I am going to make them wear Cubs jerseys tonight though.
These costumes are fantastic! I don’t know why but I love seeing dogs dressed up as cows, lol! The golden dressed as the operation patient is too funny! We always wait until the last minute to put our costumes together, these are some great ideas!
What great costume ideas! My personal favorite is Harry Potter. Super simple but immediately recognizable!
Those are some adorable pups! Penny is going to fall into the food category this year! 🙂
There are a lot of really creative ideas here! I love Halloween and although I don’t dress my dogs up, I really love seeing dogs who enjoy wearing their costumes.
The food costume ones always strike me as being funny!
Too cute! I love that you broke them into categories, very clever. I’m afraid my dog will just be wearing a Halloween sweater, she doesn’t like the fuss of a costume but she’ll still be festive!!
OMG! My mind is spinning with ideas for Ruby. We tend to think in themes and have my daughter’s costume and Ruby match or go together in some way. My daughter wants to be the cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland so Ruby might be the Mad Hatter or maybe Alice. Though I also really like the taco costume in your post!
Love Dexter’s costume! All the costumes are so creative and amazed at how elaborate some of them are. I’ve never dressed my dogs for Halloween, but 2 of them absolutely love their clothes ❤
I’m glad you raised the safety issue – it’s about what our pets are comfortable with. Cats are very different to dogs when it comes to dressing up.
No costume for Madam this year, she is miserable wearing them so am stepping back 🙂
These are awesome!! Sadly, Zora and Simon, my two labs, are not fond of costumes despite how adorable I think they are but Piper, my pit bull LOVES to dress up a bit. I love pit bulls in tutus so I think Piper might be sporting a pink tutu and a princess hat this Halloween! 🙂 PS I LOVE the “cereal killer” costume!
I can just imagine trying to put one of our cats in a costume. Paul says we can’t afford the increased insurance premiums MOL!!!! These look so much fun for a playful dog though!!
Those duo dogs were a hoot. When I read 100, I was thinking you were going to post 100 different tips and I thought you might be crazy. hahaha Loved the photo groupings.
These are fantastic! I love how you grouped them by theme, that’s really helpful. Actually, I just got some inspiration for my dogs’ potential costume from this!
Love & biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
First the NRF stats are crazy! Ok SO much inspiration here and we haven’t picked out costumes for the hounds yet. Typically I’m super boring and the doxies wear hot dog costumes but now I see that Campbell’s soup can costume! The Arby’s curly fries are hilarious!!
Wow! What an incredible, comprehensive collection of costumes. I have to say that the superheroes are my favorites. ♥
These are so fun! I love pet costumes, though I’ve yet to have a pet that will wear one. Human costumes have devolved into cheap lingerie, so it is nice to see the creativity that there is in pet costumes! I may just have to try a costume on my Dexter this year (it will be his first Halloween) and see if he would like to dress up. Your Dexter is always super cute on Halloween. The Cereal Killer costume is hilarious!
I loved this post and the pictures some of them had me in splits
Wow! This is the most comprehensive list of costumes ever! And I love all the pictures! I’m thinking of doing a “couples costume” with one of my Chi’s this year 🙂
What are your thoughts on human/ dog matching costumes?
For photo contests, they usually do not do as well….for in person, judges don’t usually pick them either unless there is a specific category for pet/human. This has been my experience.
Wow! What a great collection of dog costume ideas! I always dress up my pups. I don’t think they are big fans but hey, they look cute for a quick photo at least!
Maybe this is the biggest collection for Halloween 😮 This is so interesting to watch ^^
Thank you for sharing! Bookmarked for the next year!