As Halloween approaches, a lot of people talk about family or couple costumes that they can do together. But dogs are part of our families too. Over the years, dog owners have gotten creative with their outfits to invent an owner-canine costume.
There are character reference costumes, such as having your dog dressed as E.T. while you be Elliott. Then there are generically funny costumes, such as making yourself the wounded surfer and your dog the shark. Whatever the variation, we have all the best owner-dog costumes for your upcoming Halloween!
Hot Dog!
Most dog owners have seen hot dog costumes that transform their pup into an American staple food. With a few costume additions, you can turn this suit into a duo: a hot dog and a concession stand owner.
With the simplest method, you just need to find a vender hat and apron. You can wear casual clothes underneath, and you'll look like you're selling lunch to New Yorkers. You can even make most of this costume yourself.
Bloom Through Your Costume
Dressing up as a garden for Halloween doesn't work well unless it's a group effort. Fortunately, you can find the cutest dog outfit that completes the look. A dog bee costume sells for $10 on Amazon and at Target.
If your dog dresses up as a bee, and you dress up as a flower, your Halloween costume will be the cutest on the block. You can also make it a group effort by having others dress up as gnomes or other flowers.
Want S'more Fun?
If you have a group of three, this costume is for you. Everyone knows that the iconic s'mores trio consists of graham crackers, chocolate, and marshmallow. Even if your dog isn't white, they'll look adorable as a fluffy marshmallow.
You can easily DIY this costume, too. Wrap a king-sized pillow around your dog with duct tape (make sure they're still comfortable!) Then, construct cardboard triangles for your chocolate and graham cracker suits. You can find a tutorial on the Little Sloth blog.
Don't Jump In The Water!
"Look out! There's a shark in the water!" is what your friends will say if your dog goes swimming in this costume. To pull this off, get your dog a shark costume for under $20, or just a fin. Shark, done.
Then, cut up a cardboard surfboard and wear a swimsuit. You'll be a surfer who was attacked by your "shark." You can make this costume more bloody if you want to, or grab another friend to dress as a lifeguard.
E.T. Looks A Bit Different
If your dog can fit inside a bike basket, you can pull off this E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial costume easily. Simply wrap your dog in a white blanket. We can't guarantee that your dog will stay in the basket, but you can try to keep them there.
To look like Elliott, wear a red hoodie and jeans. You'll have a fun Halloween costume and get to ride your bike while trick-or-treating. That'll get you candy a lot faster.
Who's Going To Clean Up All The Wrappers?
People with extra fluffy dogs often joke about their pets mopping their floors. This costume turns that joke into a reality. It's deceptively simple to turn your dog into a mop; you can tie several felt strips to your dog's collar, and they'll be sweeping in no time.
Depending on where you want to take this costume, you can either dress as a janitor or a maid.
Try A Dogtini
We can't leave out the poor pooches stuck in their cones. Fortunately, dog owners have come up with clever ways to incorporate the cone into their Halloween costume. This James Bond Halloween costume turned the dog into a dogtini.
This is a cute, simple way of incorporating your dog into your Halloween getup. And you don't even have to go the James Bond route. You can dress up as another food item and be happy hour with your dog.
They're Off To See The Wizard!
If your dog isn't a costume fan, consider an outfit that requires little to no dog clothes at all. Anyone will recognize a Dorothy costume from a mile away, especially if she has Toto with her. And you don't need a terrier to pull off this Wizard of Oz look.
If you want to redefine this costume, you can dress your dog up as the Cowardly Lion. Just find a lion mane online and make your dog extra fluffy.
With This Costume, You'll Never Lose
Gamers will dig this costume. Mario fans have dressed up their dogs as items and other characters from the game. The chain chomp outfit is extra adorable, considering that chain chomps are basically the "dogs" of the Mario universe.
Mario fans have plenty of options for dressing up their dogs. They can have their dog look like a shell, karts, or even Bowser. And the owner can put on any Mario character costume they want.
K-9 Unit In Training
Halloween police costumes aren't new. But they become a lot more fun when you have your K-9 around to sniff out candy crime. Police dog outfits sell for around $15 on Amazon and Party City. Some of them even come with little hats!
Any police costume will match this dog-owner outfit. If you want to add another person (or more), have someone dress up as a criminal, and your dog will be on the hunt!
Taco-Bout A Great Costume!
You've heard of hot dogs; now get ready for taco dogs. Taco costumes for dogs sell for around $16 at Party City. How does this become a couple's costume? It does when you transform yourself into perfect side dishes.
You can dress up as a lime slice or a tequila bottle, and you'll create the perfect Halloween happy hour. If you want to mimic the hot dog vendor pairing, you can also dress up as a server at a Mexican restaurant.
Thing One And Thing Two Are Here
If you have more than one dog, you're probably searching for a costume that involves all of them. If you dress up as the Cat in the Hat, you can fit your dogs into Thing 1 and Thing 2 costumes. Plus, you can easily make it yourself!
All you need is a red suit for your dog. Cut out white circles and write "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" before sewing them on. Then, buy your dogs some blue wigs, and they're ready for Halloween!
Daenerys' Fierce Dragons
It's not too late to set aside that Game of Thrones costume. If you have to dress up as Daenerys, slip some dragon wings on your dog. You don't need a pet lizard to look like the Mother of Dragons for a night.
If you're not a Game of Thrones fan, you can still turn your pup into a dragon. Dress up as Hiccup or Astrid from How to Train Your Dragon, or keep it vague by wearing a magician costume.
Order Up!
Here's a spin on the hot dog-vendor costume. If you own any food costume for your dog, you can dress up as a chef. Viola! That's an immediate and simple Halloween costume that's sure to spark a smile.
This costume designer dressed his dog up as a turkey, but you can use any food dog costume to pull off the look. Many of these dog outfits cost less than $20 on Amazon, Party City, and Chewy.
It's So Fluffy!
Remember the movie Despicable Me? In it, Agnes receives a giant stuffed unicorn from the fair and says, "It's so fluffy, I'm gonnie die!" You can dress up as Agnes for Halloween with your dog as your "fluffy unicorn."
Agnes's costume only requires a hair tye, overalls, and striped shirt. For your dog, you'll need a white and pink unicorn suit. Dozens of unicorn dog costumes are available online for less than $20. It's one of the easiest costumes on this list!
As If The Movie Up Couldn't Get Cuter
Remember Dug, the dog character in the movie Up? Dogs are a staple of that movie, and you don't need a Golden Retriever to make a great Up costume. Dress up as Russell, and you'll look great!
Several dog breeds were in that movie, so if you recreate the dog collar, you're good to go. You can tie a miniature house to your dog and string balloons on it to make the reference more obvious. And make sure your dog doesn't fly away!
Any Dog Can Be A Dalmation For The Day
Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations is one of Disney's most iconic villains. Some people may think that you need a dalmatian to pull off a 101 Dalmations costume. But you can buy a spotted coat for any pooch to become a dalmatian for a day.
To make this costume yourself, grab some spotted fabric and wrap it around your dog. Secure the suit with buttons or duct tape, and you have your makeshift dalmatian.
No Costume? Deliver With This
There's an old joke about how dogs often chase the mailman. With this costume, your dog can become the mailman. Or rather, the truck--the dog's owner will look like the mailman.
For this costume, all you need are crafting skills, cardboard, and paint. If you don't want to craft, you can find dog UPS suits online. Most of them make the dog look like they're holding a package, so both you and your pet will look like UPS delivery people.
Oompa Loompa, Doompety Dog
Here's Willy Wonka and an Oompa Loompa, looking like they both stepped straight off the set of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Both of their costumes look terrific and pretty darn authentic, too. Gene Wilder would be proud to see this tribute to the character he played so well.
The only thing that would make this any better is if there were multiple pups dressed as Oompa Loompa. But this sweetie is doing just fine on his or her own!
Wednesday Addams And Pugsley
What a cute play on the name "Pugsley!" This woman chose to go trick-or-treating while dressed as Wednesday Addams from the Addams Family franchise of television shows and films. And in her arms she's carrying her “older brother,” Pugsley.
Although the pup looks a little more like a French Bulldog than a pug, he has some definite pug similarities and this costume would be cute no matter the dog’s breed. Well done.
Ohana Means Family
In Lilo and Stitch, Stitch acted as the family dog. So this Disney costume just makes sense. You can dress up as Lilo (or another character from the movie) and transform your dog into experiment 626.
People have pulled off the "Stitch" costume in different ways. Some used animal-safe paint to turn their dog blue. Others bought their dog a Stitch outfit to wear. Some people dressed their dog up like Stitch. Here, the options are flexible.
The Big Bad Wolf Is Really A Good Boy
Little Red Riding Hood wouldn't be famous without a Big Bad Wolf to stand in her way. While we may not have wolves by our sides, we have descendants of the wolf. Big Bad Wolf and werewolf costumes sell for $13 to $20 online, and most of them include some funny flannel.
If you want to remain true to the story, place a shower cap and some pajamas on your dog. You can even include the glasses, although who knows how long your dog will keep those on.
A Little Harry Potter With "Fluffy"
Harry Potter is one of the most beloved characters in literature and in film, even all these years after the first book came out. So it makes sense that people love to dress their dogs (and kids) up in costumes based on the story.
This costume is perfect for the parent of a young child who loves Harry Potter. It's also great without a child -- the dog's costume is so amazing he doesn't even need a sidekick.
Party On, Dog!
Former Miss Delaware Kate Banaszak loves dressing up with her dogs for Halloween, and this photo she shared went viral. The theme is Wayne's World. Banaszak is dressed as Wayne, and her Irish wolfhound, Kellan, is a spitting image of Garth.
"It was actually his personality that made me think he'd be a great Garth," she said. "He’s this goofy, lovable guy that is the BEST friend you could ever ask for, and we have a way of getting into crazy shenanigans together. When I tried the wig and glasses on him it just all came together – I looked at him and thought, “oh my god, Garth Algar lives."
Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na ... BATMAN ... (And Robin)
Robin is supposed to be the sidekick in this famous Superhero duo. But as you can see, this Robin takes the spotlight and looks oh so proud about his caped costume. We can't tell if the shirt he’s wearing is padded or if he’s just puffing his chest out with pride, but you can see how happy he is.
Batman looks great, too, and just as happy as his puppy pal.
Little Bo Peep Has Found Her Sheep
This Little Bo Peep costume would really work on its own, since the old nursery rhyme is about her sheep being missing. But in this happy group Halloween costume she has been reunited with her beloved "sheep," which happen to be a bunch of Dachshunds.
Those little weenies make adorable sheep, with their cotton ball fur and pink ears. We wish they'd stop by our house while they were out trick-or-treating.
Leia And Her Little Ewok Pal
Star Wars costumes will always be a huge hit on Halloween, and this adorable duo really nailed their looks. The woman's Princess Leia costume is spot-on, right down to the braided hair (which is the most important part of any Leia outfit), scarf, and boots.
And who’s her little friend? It’s her pooch, looking adorable dressed as an Ewok! We bet he can’t really get around in his costume but it’s super cute for photos.
Off To See The Wizard…
Oh, we really love these group themes for Halloween. This one involves not just one, but TWO dogs. The Wizard of Oz has been a favorite costume for decades and has become a classic. Here we see people dressed as the Scarecrow and the Tin Man.
Those costumes look terrific, but of course the dogs steal the show in their ensembles. They're both Chow Chows, and one is dressed as Dorothy while the other is (of course) the Cowardly Lion. So much fun!
Watch Out! It's A Dangerous Dinosaur
We're looking at a serious Jurassic Park fan here, and he’s done an excellent job putting together coordinating costumes for him and his sweet-looking dog. The man’s costume could totally be done DIY, it just needs the right hat, a denim shirt with red scarf, sunglasses and a Jurassic Park name tag.
And the pupper makes a ferocious dinosaur in his costume which comes complete with a row of spiky plates.
Beauty And The "Beast"
Here's another cute themed human-and-dog costume idea that would work on grownups or kids alike. It’s Beauty and the Beast, with Belle in her iconic yellow ballgown, and a totally adorable pup dressed as the fearsome Beast.
You could add other costumes from the movie if you had more people and/or pets wanting to join the fun. We think a dog dressed as Gaston would be so hilarious! And a small dog such as a Chihuahua could be a great Chip.
