Let’s face it, Halloween is really just a great excuse for us to dress up our pets and laugh at them. But look at this adorable dog here – you just know he loves the attention! And so will you when your dog is the hit of the costume party this Halloween. (If you can keep the costume on them.) Note, costumes are not for all dogs. Dress your dog in a costume that fits his or her temperament – or none at all!

Here are 10 DIY dog Halloween costumes (+ a dog video):

1. Chia Pet.  Shelter dog Kitai, aka The Cutest Dog Ever, may have passed away in March, but he still brings a smile to our faces with costumes like this one. His caretaker says she used plastic aquarium plants “that you can buy in pairs that are square mats” to create a Chia affect. The terra cotta legs were made of cotton fabric. For detailed instructions, visit Kitai’s website.

2.  Nun Costume. It’s time for your dog to repent for getting into the trash and chewing up the bath mat. According to her owner, Mark, he made a pattern first, then cut out the felt. He hand stitched it, sewing a piece of cardboard inside the 2 inch seam of the whimple (hat) to give it a stiff brim. He bought the ruler and rope at a craft store and hot glued them to the front. Pinking shears were used to give a triangular edge. “Then I used Velcro to provide a comfortable fit for the dog, allowing for plenty of room around the neck and front legs. The back legs are completely free.”

3. Pup Corn. The Costume Works website has a Halloween Costume costume contest that’s worth entering. Of course you’ll be competing with such clever costumes as this one. Its creator, Tara, says, “We popped some plain pop corn, lightly sewed one layer onto a fabric beige scarf and then hot glued the extra layers of pop corn to give that over flow effect. We used red and white construction paper and transformed our large lobster pot into the bucket.”

4. Cotton Candy. Ashley got creative with this costume. She took some poly fill (or “pillow fluff”) which her husband sprayed with pink and blue spray paint. “Next, I cut the gift wrap so that it was open on both sides. I added the hole punch circled to both ends and used a box cutter to make a slit in the middle for the ribbon. Then I cut circles on one side and reinforced them with tape. This was where his front feet went. Then I used a maker to write “cotton candy” on the back of the bag. Lastly I ran the ribbon through the holes.” Sweet!

5. Bunch o’ Grapes. Designer Doggie Stylish says, “The supplies for this costume are pretty cheap. You’ll need some cheap purple broadcloth, purple balloons, some green felt, velcro, needle and thread, zip ties, a flexible measuring tape, a marking pen, scissors and a some sort of string. I already had the zip ties & velcro, but I got all the other supplies for about $5.00.” She does warn, however, that “This isn’t a costume for a fearful dog. I had a balloon accidentally pop when I was fitting the costume.”

6. Cave Dog. Ashley made this hilarious costume with some cheetah print fabric. “I used Velcro to connect it under his tummy. Next I cut layers off a mullet wig to make if fit him better. I hot glued a piece of black fabric to the underside of the wig. Then added some Velcro to it so it would stay on his head. I added a bone necklace and put a bone on his mullet wig.” Yabba dabba do!

7. Bucket o’ Chicken. Your dog will look finger lickin’ good in this ridiculous outfit. And when we say ridiculous, of course we mean that in a good way. Decorate a red bucket with the Colonel’s famous logo. You can pick up a similar chicken outfit in the Target dollar bin or Pet Store, or make your own with a white cap and some yellow and red felt. C’mon, don’t be chicken!

8. Spaghetti and Meatballs. Mama Mia, your dog will be serving up the laughs with this costume! Costume creator Lynn says, “I used a red t-shirt as tomato sauce. For his costume, I took a string mop and dyed it yellow for spaghetti. The meatballs are styrofoam balls painted brown and hot glued on to the spaghetti. His headpiece is made with some extra pieces of mop and another ‘meatball.'”

9. Jelly Belly. Melayne tells us: “I took a large plastic bag (the ones made for gift wrapping baskets) and cut two holes in it for my dog’s front feet. Then I reinforced the holes with felt circles. I cut the end of the bag off so that the costume could be slid on to my dog. I weaved ribbon through both ends of the bag – one ties around her waist, the other ties around her neck. Then I stuffed the bag full of ‘jelly beans,’ or balloons. I used the balloons that they use to make balloon animals. I would blow it up a little and then tie it off on both ends and cut the ‘bean’ off, then I’d repeat. Each individual balloon gave me 4-5 beans. Then I hand painted speckles on the balloons to resemble real Jelly Belly jelly beans. For the hat, I used the excess from the bag. I cut out a strip of black construction paper and stapled it into a circular form. Then I stapled plastic pieces all around it and stapled ribbon around to make it pretty. You could also use glue, but staples are more secure. I printed off Jelly Belly logo and glued it to the inside of the back of the bag. That’s it!”

10. Gumball Machine. Everyone’s going to want to get their quarters out for this one. Costume creator Erin used a cardboard box, some tinfoil, a plastic container for the top and some plastic balls to create this one-of-a-kind costume that has our mouths watering.

 And now – get into the Halloween Spirit with this video of a dog in a spooky spider costume. (Warning – it may be too scary for younger viewers!)

 

 

What are you dressing your dog up as this Halloween?