# I need pet costume ideas, help?



## HauntedHorror (Aug 7, 2011)

I need help! I am drawing a blank in trying to come up for a good costume for my dog for Halloween... We usually go to several Halloween pet events and contests but this year I just have not been able to come up with an idea I think will be good and somewhat original... I have been trying since summer to think of a good one but no luck and the events are coming up... So I am asking on here to see if any more imaginative people can help me think of something good to do!
It could also involve 2 pets as well(see below).

Here is my dog:










Here is one of her previous costumes:


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## scareme (Aug 29, 2006)

How about a hell hound and an angel kitty. By the way, your girls are dolls. Hey, they could be baby dolls.


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## HauntedHorror (Aug 7, 2011)

I did an angel costume with my previous dog Ginger, but I think it was too commonplace so it wasn't that popular. :/ Maybe it would be better with a devil too though...

Ginger:


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

Xena, Warrior Princess - that's the costume for a German shepherd

Or perhaps some armor along the lines of this:

http://organicarmor.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/luc2-300x244.jpg


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## Buzz (Aug 26, 2011)

This is one of my favorites...


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## Headless (Sep 4, 2011)

hahahaha I love it. Not sure my dog would.


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## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

I made a spider costume for mine with googly eyes on her head. I'll post photos once I finish it.


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## Frightmaster-General (Sep 9, 2011)

Hmmm; I found this example of a German shepherd, disguised as a dalmatian:








You could also try to dress up your dog as a cat, and your cat as a dog... :biggrineton:


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

Maybe a cow, using a costume somewhat like the dalmation, but add a pair of horns.
How about Rin Tin Tin, that only requires a cavalry bandana tied around her neck.
How about the dog from How the Grinch Stole Christmas, the single antler tied onto her head.
Maybe a caterpillar with all of the extra legs and a segmented body. Using a quilted body with the legs fastened to it, it could strap around her body like a saddle does on a horse. The cinch strap doesn't have to be wildly tight, and if your dog has a harness, it would give you something to fasten it to and still let you have a leash. You could do the same kind of thing with a spider costume, with long, bouncy legs, maybe a giant black widow, or tarantula.


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## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

Frightmaster-General said:


> Hmmm; I found this example of a German shepherd, disguised as a dalmatian:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 That is hilarious looking. I don't see a dog wearing that for very long.


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## HauntedHorror (Aug 7, 2011)

Thanks for the ideas! Please keep posting if anyone else has any as I'm still looking... I like the spider idea but I don't think it is original enough since I've seen other dogs with that... I like idea of dressing the dog and cat like each other but I am not sure how well I can achieve the look/making of those costumes.
I'm trying to find something fairly unusual and interesting, not too simple so it will look good and be impressive! 

I actually like the armor idea a lot, I looked into getting my dog some chain mail a while back but it was too expensive... I am not sure if I am skilled enough to make my own armor for her costume though.

The only idea I had so far that I thought might be good was Little Miss Muffet (my cat) and the spider (my dog)...but I dunno how good that would be... I thought of some others but they either just didn't seem very good, or they were beyond my skill level to make.

What I've learned from previous costume events/pet contests to do well is it needs to:
-Be unusual or less common (if other pets have the same costume forget it)
-Be easily recognizable without having to explain it
-Not be too simple of a costume (just a hat or two small pieces isn't enough)
-Not look like you just threw it together but also not like you bought it at a store (if you make it yourself but it looks professional people will think you bought it)
-Cuteness helps, too 

I have also had good luck with being "contemporary" as in something currently popular, like my terrier dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow... But if it's TOO contemporary people just won't get it and it falls flat like when I dressed my terrier like Pikachu for a contest and the judges had never seen Pokemon. The audience knew what it was though.


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## Fangs (Jun 6, 2006)

how about a mummy costume? you could take some strips of gauze and sew them to to a couple strips with hook and loop tape or snaps underneath the belly and have some of the strips hanging down like its sort of unraveling......or a bride of Frankenstein costume? you could take a wig and spray it with hairspray--or maybe heating it would melt the hair just enough to stick together and make a dress for her. make fake bolts to attach to some clear stretchy string to go around your dogs neck.... or a scarecrow--- or a raven----or a stone gargoyle statue??? or donkey or the dragon from the shrek movies???


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## RoxyBlue (Oct 6, 2008)

HauntedHorror said:


> I actually like the armor idea a lot, I looked into getting my dog some chain mail a while back but it was too expensive... I am not sure if I am skilled enough to make my own armor for her costume though.


Take a look at this article on Instructables.com for making a "lazy man's" version of chainmail. In a nutshell, this person took a coarsely knit sweater, sprayed it with silver metallic paint, and came up with something that gives a surprisingly good imitation of a chainmail shirt for very little out of pocket. Add some hardware and a breastplate, and I think you might find you do have the skills to pull off the look of armor

http://www.instructables.com/id/The-Lazy-Mans-Chainmail-Shirt/

There is another discussion of making pseudo chainmail a la LOTR here:

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/Armor/Maille/ChainCheats.htm

There is also an index to armor and chainmail "cheats" on their page here:

http://www.alleycatscratch.com/lotr/ArmorS.htm


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## fontgeek (Jul 24, 2006)

How about doing an armadillo costume? The big, soft panels would be easy and inexpensive to produce, and easy for the dog to wear.
Cats are a tougher challenge to keep a costume on.
Maybe a tiny cat T-shirt that says "I'm a Dog" in a scratchy, childlike lettering style.


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## goneferal (Sep 8, 2010)

Here's my dog's costume for 2011.
http://goneferalinid.blogspot.com/2011/09/giant-spider.html


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## HauntedHorror (Aug 7, 2011)

fontgeek said:


> Cats are a tougher challenge to keep a costume on.
> Maybe a tiny cat T-shirt that says "I'm a Dog" in a scratchy, childlike lettering style.


Actually my cat Harlequin is quite good about keeping costumes on, but she usually only wear a costume if I need her to make a theme or pair with my dog (like for Little Red Riding Hood, or Hansel and Gretel):


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