Pet Halloween Costumes: Cute or Scary?

Wednesday, October 10, 2012 - 12:00pm
Chihuahua Bee Halloween Costume

With Halloween just around the corner, you might be tempted to make your cat or dog a star by dressing him up in the cutest mini-sized costume you can find. But wait—is trick-or-treat apparel really safe for your furry friends?

Our experts suggest putting your pet in a costume only if you’re sure he will enjoy it. Some pets love the limelight: wearing a costume and posing for pictures is a blast! Others prefer to stick to their birthday suits for all occasions, and being dressed like a pumpkin for their pet parents’ amusement can cause unnecessary stress.

If you decide to have your pet wear a costume, here are some helpful safety tips to keep in mind:

  • Your pet’s Halloween garb should not constrict his movement or hearing, or impede his ability to breathe, bark or meow. Be sure to try on costumes in advance—and if your furry friend seems distressed, you’ll want to ditch the mini-pirate hat and vest.

  • Examine your pet’s costume and make sure it doesn’t have any small, dangling or easily chewed-off pieces that he could choke on. Also, ill-fitting outfits can get caught on external objects or your pet, leading to injury.

  • IDs, please! Make sure your dog or cat has proper identification on underneath that cute costume. If for any reason your pet escapes and becomes lost during Halloween festivities, a collar and tags and/or a microchip can be a lifesaver.


For a complete list of animal safety guidelines for this spooky holiday, check out our expert Halloween Safety Tips for pet parents.

Tell us: Are you planning to dress up your pet for Halloween?

Tags: 
Pet Care

Comments

Sat, 10/13/2012 - 15:31 — rosie's mama (Visitor)
I wud never dress my pet in a costume, there is no way any dog or cat would like that....it's strictly for the humans.

Sat, 10/13/2012 - 20:23 — Tracey (Visitor)
Please! Abuse! If they don't mind, then its OK. My one little chiweenie hates to have anything on but her birthday suit, which is fine, but my pom loves to wear clothes. It just depends on the dog. Obviously,if they are uncomfortable, then don't do it. It's just common sense.

Sat, 10/13/2012 - 23:06 — Jinkle Seagrave (Visitor)
Both of mine could easily go as homeless. Big sign around the neck "will work for food"

Sat, 10/13/2012 - 23:53 — MsKat (Visitor)
ONLY if the animal is OK with it and it is comfortable, not too hot, and safe as per the guidelines ASPCA just posted, then go ahead and dress the pet. They like being included in family activities, and if the rest of the family is having a blast dressing up, the pet may want to be included in the fun. Might not know what the fun is, but when its human puts a costume on and everyone fusses over it, the pet will love the attention. Some pets really do love clothes, especially really small or thin-furred breeds. No matter how cute the costume is, let the pet make the final decision on whether to dress up or not.

Sun, 10/14/2012 - 09:17 — happajulez (Visitor)
I work at a hospital and there is a group of ladies that have permission to bring dogs in to the hospital for pt's healing therapy but for Halloween they dress the dogs in costume that i feel is unsafe and cruel to the dogs. They have them in masks, body costume as well as around their legs. Is this unsafe and cruel or am i just being to sensative? If unsafe whom may i call in my community to report this to?

Sun, 10/14/2012 - 10:58 — A (Visitor)
Some of you who think dressing your dog up is cruel must have bigger dogs and/or live in warmer climents. I have a maltese and live in PA, my dog would freeze if I didn't put something on her. It's the same as you wearing a hat in the winter since all no shed breeds have hair not fur which means no warm undercoat. You people are probably the same people that think it's wrong to put a leash on a kid which I also used to do as a safty precaution with my son. As with the kid leash I also belive the dog clothes need to be on a case by case basis, but people shouldn't judge what others feel is the right thing for their family and pets.

Sun, 10/14/2012 - 12:51 — J.B. Lahey (Visitor)
I dress my dog up every year. Usually a t-shirt with a halloween design. My dog Likes clothes. He gets excited when i'm about to dress him up. I only put it on for his walk in the afternoon and for photos. Some people enjoy halloween and want to celebrate it with their pet, just like you would a child BTW. Anyone who thinks that is abuse, hasn't actually seen an abused dog. Save your outrage for actual abusers.

Sun, 10/14/2012 - 14:31 — Elizabeth (Visitor)
If God wanted pets/animals in costumes, He would dressed them Himself!! All I put on my dog is a harness/leash and maybe a bandana. And don't forget the reflectors!!

Sun, 10/14/2012 - 14:37 — Elizabeth (Visitor)
If God wanted pet/animals dressed in Halloween costumes, He would have dressed them Himself!! All I put on my dog is a harness/leash and/or a bandana. Happy Halloween to you all!!

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 01:15 — Lori D. Haage (Visitor)
I have 6 cats and 2 dogs. I am going to make each one of them a stretchy Halloween collar so that all of my kiddos will be wearing matching outfits. My ll year old Hannah will wear her usual Halloween sweater and greet the children as she does every year (and just loves it)! Since 3 of my cats are black, they will be carefully tucked away in my bedroom, but I will take a picture of them all before the evening is over. My chihuahua, Matilda, is not a happy camper when people are at the door, so no other costume for her (other than her stretchy Halloween collar) and no helping to answer the door. The safety and comfort of each of my individual pets is paramount!

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 15:35 — colby Primmer (Visitor)
why lock your cats in your room?!

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 01:47 — Nikki (Visitor)
I think what "The Experts" wrote regarding pet costumes is dead-on. The owner ought to make sure to be completely in tune with their pet's comfort level in a costume, as well as being well aware of any safety hazards. Pets are living creatures with feelings, not props or dolls for our amusement, even though they're pretty good at being hilariously amusing a lot of the time! It is always fun to see a little dog or cat dressed up in a 3-piece power suit with eyeglasses perched on their snouts, but the priority should always be the animal's comfort, not our fun. If the pet likes it, then go for it. Otherwise, their being stressed out is not worth the laughs or that first-place prize for cutest costume.

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 06:52 — Guy that looks (Visitor)
I think, in my own personal opinion that dressing up dogs is wrong, but some dogs may be cold and that is the only way to keep them warm (by the way i am 12 and that is as much as i could take in)

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 09:21 — bellas mom (Visitor)
i have a 6mos old mix cat this halloween i plan to put her in a witches skirt. Its not like im keeping her all day in that skirt. I like to dress up my cat for a few mins and take pics of her then take off the outfits bc i would not want her to be miserable. I see nothing wrong in dressing up your pet just as long as its safe and their comfy. I dont have any kids and to me my cat is like my baby. Of course im not mad enough to take her outside in a stroller, i would never cross that line. I plan to get her a hareness and take her outside when weather is nice and it would be a nice lil work out for both of us. (although people will think im crazy that im walking a cat! Lol )

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 13:31 — Susan Gellerman (Visitor)
Yes, I will be dressing my dog for halloween. She loves to wear her costumes (as long as I do not put anything on her head) and she loves the attention. If the weather is warm, we sit on the stoop and hand out candy. She is not afraid of the children in costumes. I put her collar (with tags) and harness on under her costume. I put a small hole in the costume so that the leash can fit through. Safety first for all trick or treaters - two or four legs!

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 14:13 — Amanda (Visitor)
I have an 80 pound 1 year old Golden Retreiver and he MUST wear a harness when he goes on car rides. He likes to be very close to daddy and I, so he likes to clime and lay on the arm rest between the front two seats. Heaven forbid anything were to happen and he were hurt. We found a halloween costume that goes on him just like his car harness and he has been perfectly comfortable in it everytime we've put it on him. That being said, some dogs aren't comfortable wearing anything, some are. It depends on each individual dog. Yes, it may be somewhat for entertainment, but my dog is happy in his costume, we all know golden retreivers are very happy go-lucky dogs anyways so he gets really excited about his costume and the postive attention he gets. It's a little too far to say that people who put costumes and outfits on their pets are "abussing" them. I would NEVER put anything on my dog that he did not want or like. To suggest that some people do not love their animals as much as you love yours is disgusting.

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 14:23 — Lisa (Visitor)
My 7 year old Shih Tzu loves ... I should say that again...she LOVES clothes! She cries when we take them off! She has a whole wardrobe of outfits...shirts, dresses, pants, shoes, costumes, hair clips! She loves this stuff! She's totally a girl! She has 5 halloween costumes! One of her costumes I made to fit her...it was a fairy costume meant for a 3 year old child and I cut it to make it fit her. I can't believe how cute it turned out!! She loves all clothes! :) Oh exept 1 thing... she won't wear hats! I got her a witch costume and she barked and growled while trying to get it off...I took it back to the store! Lol! Halloween is a fun time for me and my little girl she prances around and literally shows off her cute little outfits! It's not for my entertainment it's for her! If she didn't like it so much I wouldn't do it!

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 15:32 — Colby Primmer (Visitor)
Why would you ever dress your animal up in clothes, i mean i can see if he doesn't try to shake it off, it might be ok, but still, the animal might get to hot, and might not fell comfortable in his/her suit, if you are dressing your animal up, then you are being SELFISH, and you don't respect your animal.

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 17:45 — Evelyn Harrison (Visitor)
Pros and Cons on this subject....who needs dog costumes? The comments here are amuzing enough. Thanks for the laughs. Keep on duking it out and I'll check this out again later for LOL.

Mon, 10/15/2012 - 17:54 — Evelyn Harrison (Visitor)
I thought "amuzing" looked wrong. It should be "amusing." So I should wear a dunce hat for Hallowe'en.

Tue, 10/16/2012 - 10:29 — shawn (Visitor)
i say both sides are right i think it okay and yet not okay.... its one thing if your pet likes the costume or wants it, but i also think that we shouldnt do it if it makes them uncomfortable so in each case its kinda like this. each side thinks thier the good/right side and the other is the evil/wrong its kinda a two way scale it depends on why how and what your doing.

Sat, 10/20/2012 - 04:15 — jimzhang (Visitor)
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Mon, 10/22/2012 - 04:08 — long hair weave... (Visitor)
I agree completely with everything you have said

Wed, 10/24/2012 - 12:24 — C Dorio (Visitor)
We will only dress up our 2 dogs for a couple of contests... which is only for less than 15 minutes. And because they get tons of treats, they don't mind as long as it's only for a little bit.

Wed, 10/31/2012 - 11:29 — Pyro (Visitor)
Ya dressing up my pitbull and going trick or treating

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Tue, 03/05/2013 - 10:56 — Leslie Muller (Visitor)
I always enjoy it when I see dogs in costumes. They are so lovable and cuddly. There are also other costumes for dogs available online just in case you are looking for other themes.

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