Halloween Costume Guide: Costumes for Larger Dogs

While I never thought I'd be one to dress up my dog, once I realized how costumes make our dogs that much more approachable, and help people understand the true nature of pit bulls, we have taken any chance we can to 'suit up' our pups. While there are plenty of pre-made dog costumes, we've realized these usually aren't big enough or can't accommodate how 'busty' our pit bull-type dogs are (we got lucky with this one turtle costume).
One easy fix we found: we shop in the kids section! Here are some things we look for to make easy dog costumes:

Wings & Tutus

We like the 'partially-clothed' costumes which don't need to fit over our pooches' chests to fit, and we have found a whole slew of wing-themed costumes in the children's costume section. These are simple for the pooches to wear with the elastic just slipping under the arms. I have noticed that some of the kids' wings might use 'straps' which aren't as stretchy and need accommodations, so doublecheck there is plenty of space for your dog to walk. Miss M has sported many a pair of wings dressing as: an angel, a St. Patrick's Day fairy, and the lady bug.
We have also bought a tutu in the kids' costume section of target which can easily slip over their waist. We also loved seeing this dog-friendly tutu tutorial from Pitlandia  where they show you how to make a  dog tutu that leaves the stomach area bare so the pooches don't get itchy.

Headbands and Tiaras

The wings usually come with some type of headbands with antennas, and we have also seen cute devil, cat, and bunny ears on headbands. The headbands can usually go on the pooches neck, in front of the color, and we secure them with elastic (but not too tight!).  We found Miss M can also wear this garland, and a tiara, and we just secure a ribbon around the bottom so it doesn't slide off. Here she is in the tiara.

Hats

 We have discovered Mr B's head is the same exact size as a little boy's head. We buy him little boy hats and secure them with an elastic band that goes under the chin (not too tight!). He has worn a little boy's fedora, top hat, and here you can see the difference as he is wearing a regular-size cowboy hat.

This year we are very excited to go to this Halloween parade at Ruff Haus with a slew of other dogs walking together in costume. Though we're still thinking of what we should wear.

What type of Halloween things are you doing with your pooch?

Also:

-We always remember some dogs aren't comfortable in costumes. Here is how we prepare our pooches to wear costumes. 

-What does Halloween look like from the dogs' view?