DoggyStyle: On Last Minute Dog Costumes

Miss M and Mr. B use method acting to become Thing 1 and Thing 2

If you can even imagine, our first Halloween together Miss M didn't even have a costume. I had never really thought about dressing her up, but seeing how every single person (and their dog!) was dressed up and about in Chicago, we looked like the weird ones for not having a costume.
So if you're like us, and you figured this out a bit late, we've figured out plenty of ways to throw together some last minute costumes, especially for those of us with larger pups.

Using Our Existing Dog Gear Creatively

Are they Breaking Bad? Or The Village People?

Once we discovered our short-haired pups couldn't handle the cold weather, we stocked up with a variety of sweaters, jackets, and snoods. And since they're already accustomed to wearing this gear, it's easy to just add on to make it a costume. Like these slush suits from Fit for a Pit and Hurtta, could become something from the Village People.
We know it can be easy to add spots and headbands with antenna to these raincoats to make a lady bug and a grasshopper. We have used their safety Doggles  as superhero outfits. And I know there must be something creative we could do with a dog wearing a backpack? (I need help with this one...)
We like how our friend Jack added a scarf to his 'dog bomber jacket' to become the Red Barron (in this video here).

Making Dog Sweatshirts Fancy

Since our short-haired pups get so cold so easily, we dress them in sweatshirts. We like the sweatshirts on their own, and we even use them as layering on really cold days. We get the Zach and Zoey sweatshirts on Amazon, and they are really inexpensive; I think nearly every dog in our SociaBulls pack has one!
We gathered quite the collection, and since we know the pups were already used to wearing them, we started making them into costumes.
See how we made the dinosaur hoodies here.
We also used our red sweatshirts for matching Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes here. 
We made these retro sports hoodies (plus how cool would these look with leg warmers!)
And for someone who doesn't really want to dress up too much, we made these iron-on sports team hoodies.
For reference, our pups are about 65 lbs, Miss M is "boxer size" and Mr B is shorter and wider and they both wear size XL. Our former foster Levi was 50ish pounds  in this photo and he was a Large in the sweatshirt.

Hats & Headbands

We've figured out hats and headbands are a really easy way for the pups to wear gear if the weather is hotter or they just don't like being constricted.
Mr. B has become notorious for his hats. You can see Mr. B by clicking on the links as: "Fancy Fedora Dog", "Cowboy Mr. B", "Cabbie Hat B" and "Happy Leprechaun".
A lot of people ask the secret to keeping his hat on....we just sew an elastic strap under his chin. We make sure it can fit at least two fingers underneath (because we don't want it to be uncomfortable for him) and it just stays on.

Miss M uses a lot of headbands in her costumes. Either as "Grumpy Butterfly", "Grumpy Ladybug", "Grumpy Angel" or "Grumpy Ballerina". Headbands are nice because they can be attached to a collar if a pup is sensitive to wearing gear. We also use an elastic strap to hold it in place. Headband costumes are also really easy to find and we've seen so many bunny, cat, and devil headbands in all of the stores.

Tip: Another way to make sure the hats and headbands stay put when you're walking around is to use a harness. Using a leash attached to a collar just pushes the hat forward too much.

Bowties & Bandanas

We know many dogs are not comfortable in costume, or maybe it's just too hot outside. We have found it's really easy to just throw on a bowtie or bandana. (Mr. B got this festive skull bowtie from SillyBuddy!)
The craft stores also carry a lot of Halloween patterns. Buying a piece of fabric and wearing it as a bandana is really easy and inexpensive.

Miss M looks festive in a black cat Halloween print.

We always remember that some dogs might not be comfortable in costumes, and we always take the time to see if the dogs are comfortable, and acclimate them to the gear before expecting them to go outside. We wrote more about it, here. 

So we would love to hear, what are some other easy costume ideas you've discovered for your pups?

Also:
Making sure there are no 'wardrobe malfunctions'
Everyday gear sure to make anyone you pass smile.
Why we wear costumes.
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