Halloween Directory - Learning the Hard Way: The Essent

Learning the Hard Way: The Essentials of Halloween Dog Costume Design




Many dog clubs and animal organizations sponsor activities throughout the year where you and your pooch can bond. This is especially true at Halloween, when you and your dog will have an opportunity to take part in costume contests, parades, and other events to show off your creativity. Our local Humane Society, for example, has a "Howling Party," while our dog club has its annual "Fun Fair." Other organizations put on dog parades. The best part about all of these events is that you are able to show your dog off in costume!

Even if you are staying home this year and waiting on trick or treaters to come by, consider having your costumed dog go with you to the door. Or, if you have trained him to open the door to greet guests � even better! If this is the case, your dog should also be trained not to jump on guests when they arrive. A well-costumed dog greeter might have neighborhood children running away before they get their candy should he jump upon them.

Before I became a dog owner, I thought it was silly, unfair, and perhaps a bit inhumane to dress dogs up for Halloween. Since those days, I have become a dog owner and now realize dogs love to participate in all activities (except a trip to the veterinarian). Participating together in Halloween festivities with your favorite furry friend is another opportunity for you to cherish your time together.

WORDS OF WISDOM ABOUT DOG COSTUMES:

Over the years, I have learned a few lessons about dressing dogs up for Halloween. Every year when Halloween approached, I would work feverishly trying to create the perfect dog costume. Spending hours sewing together parts of old-fashioned mops, I attempted to make my terrier into an instant Komondor (a.k.a. Hungarian Sheepdog). For a day, I wanted him to feel like one of those amazing dogs with a Rasta-style hairdo. When people spotted him, they would exclaim, "Hey it's a dog in a dog costume!" But, I really thought, It's a dog in a people costume!