First, and most importantly, I need to apologize to Willie. I needed a photograph for this blog and I exploited Willie to get it. While Maggie played with a neighbor’s dog, went on a long walk in the woods, and worked sheep at a friend’s, Willie got to 1) lie on the rug and 2) put on a Superman costume so that I’d have a picture for the article.
When I went to buy a costume for the photo, my local, large pet store (Mounds) was almost out of them. The shelves were basically bare. Lots of empty shelf space, suggesting that lots of people had bought Halloween costumes for their dogs and cats. (Costumes for birds? Please tell me there aren’t any…). According to the National Retail Federation, pet owners spent $350 million dollars on costumes for their four-legged family members. That’s a lot of green stuff.
However, I’m not as interested in the economics of it as I am in wondering why people enjoy dressing up their pets for Halloween. It does seem to be a good example of how the life of our dogs has both been enhanced and denigrated by our thinking of them as family members. The benefits to dogs are huge: More attention paid to their health and comfort, more consideration of their emotional and physical health, more fun “hobbies” for them like agility, flyball, etc. However, as a group of us will discuss in the CAAB chat on October 28th, (free if listened to live, a fee if downloaded later) there are some downsides: More restrictions of their freedom, less time investigating the great outdoors, and a different set of expectations imposed upon them. For example, in the 1950’s, if my dog growled while eating her dinner when I approached her bowl, I was told, “Stop bothering the dog.” Now a growl over a food bowl is a behavioral problem to be treated, and some veterinarians argue that “resource guarding” is a medical condition that can only be treated by a medical professional. Don’t get me wrong, I personally don’t like dogs growling over food bowls, and all of my dogs are conditioned to look upon intrusions while eating as opportunities, rather than threats. However, the fact remains that our expectations of dogs have changed greatly, and not always in ways that make life easy for dogs. I can’t think of anything that better exemplifies our changing perception of the social role of dogs as the current splurge in dressing them up for Halloween.
I have to be honest about dressing up our pets: I’m not a fan. Perhaps my feelings are influenced by my own experience being dressed up as at the age of five as a housefly, complete with huge wings that made it impossible to move and a mask that I couldn’t see through. My mother spent weeks creating it (it was brilliantly done if I remember correctly, she was a great seamstress). I was, however, frightened and claustrophobic. It is one of my worst and earliest memories.
Okay, granted, I’m a wuss. But what about the family Labrador dressed up like Batman? Or the Persian house cat dressed up as a mouse? Are they having as much fun as their owners? I suspect that many are not. On the other hand, I have to admit, after a brief period of time, Willie ignored his costume and was perfectly happy to play ball while wearing it. Here he is looking quite perky. Relatives of mine have one cat that seems to enjoy being dressed up, and one who clearly goes into shock about it. So, I’m trying to have a open mind about it here… help me out. What do you think? Have you ever dressed up your dog or cat? If so, how did your pet behave? Did you pay careful attention to their response? Any good dog or cat costume stories?
One last thing about Halloween: Please, please don’t torture your dog by leaving them loose in the house or yard if you have a lot of Trick or Treaters. Put the dog in a cozy crate or their favorite back room, or put him in the garage, or drive away with her and keep the porch lights off… Anything to keep your dog from being distressed by multiple doorbell rings and/or monsters at the doorstep. (Dogs really don’t get the costume thing, honest.) Like July 4th, this is a holiday that can be awfully hard on a dog, so do what you need to do to avoid your dog wishing that dogs still lived outside and out of our crazy houses.
MEANWHILE, back on the farm: What a glorious weekend! Perfect weather–sunny, cool and dry. We need more rain, but still, we spent most of Sunday outside, and it was heaven. Poor Willie didn’t get to enjoy much of it, his shoulder is far too bad right now to allow him to run hard in play or work sheep, but he did get lots of attention when we were inside, and is soaking up all the belly rubs he can.
Here’s Maggie enjoying a long walk in the woods on a perfect fall day:
Ellen Jefferies says
I think it is tragic for the dogs that their owners have been taught to treat them like people and to condemn all doggie behavior as evil. For example, in one of your books which is obviously from an earlier age, you counsel against “playing tug” with your dog because it is a forerunner to aggression which should be a serious “no-no” between dogs and people, especially the owner. Now at the agility trials we attend, I see almost everyone “playing tug” with their dogs and guess what, their dogs are biting them. I have concluded from observation that this kind of aggressive behavior is penalized (and then only reluctantly) only if the handler needs more than 5 stitches or the dog goes after the judges face. Certainly this kind of behavior in AKC obedience or conformation would result in permanent disqualification. It has left me scratching my head in despair because it’s obvious that the poor dogs have not been adequately informed of the new rules.
Meanwhile, we do TEACH our dogs not to growl over their food, bones or toys, but teach is the operative word. We once taught our male rottie (old style, from Germany, when they were still used for serious police and military work, who would happily have used his teeth if he felt it appropriate) to assume a submissive on back throat exposed position when I said “dead dog”. I taught it to him with a pound of bacon cut into tiny pieces by feeding it to him like a pez machine when he’d lay on his back while my husband trimmed his nails and I chanted “dead dog”. He loved “dead dog”. But if I teased him by calling him “bun wabbity” he would be mortally offended and would rumble away until I stopped. He never bit anyone, but that was because we respected what he had been bred to be and never put him in a position where he would need to.
Trisha says
Ellen, thanks for the comment. And for noting that my “don’t teach a dog tug” is from an earlier age indeed. I actually now think that tug is a great thing to teach a dog IF it is used as a way to teach impulse control. I don’t go to Agility trials much now, so I can’t say that dogs are biting their handlers more than before. Agility competitors… what do you think?
Chris from Boise says
Also – keep cats indoors with no chance to dart out the door on Halloween. (We only get a dozen or so Halloween visitors, so we use the evening to practice Ding Dong Den: when doorbell rings, run to your crate to find a pile of Really Good Treats waiting. Our dogs love Halloween!)
Costumes – not my thing. My dogs are happy to be dogs, and we try to respect and honor their dogness.
Kristin says
I see teeth/body contact at agility trials both during and just after runs. Some occur because of obvious frustration by the dog in not recieving the correct information in a timely fashion (or at all) from the handler, some contact is made at the end of the run as the dog is looking for their “reward”. I know of people who have taught other behaviors, such as leaping into their arms or finding their leash, as a way to extinguish biting at the end of a run.
Michelle says
Funny you should bring up this topic. This past weekend I was walking my dogs and an off leash dog in a dinosaur costume started to approach (no humans to be seen anywhere). My dogs went on red alert very quickly and did not let the Dino/dog come within 30′ of us. They are not overly fond of being approached by dogs when they are on leash anyway, but the ferocity of their alert startled me. They did not recognize the thing as a normal dog at all. I actually could tell the dog was not malicious in it’s intent, but my dogs certainly could not read the dog language of the approaching dog at all. I had not ever considered how much a costume masks dog language prior to this incident.
Lila says
I will admit, we got costumes for our dogs.
Marley is used to wearing a sweater because she gets cold easily (even here in Florida) so she didn’t mind putting on a costume at all.
Badger doesn’t even like putting his harness on, and he doesn’t like having his paws handled (I’m working on those issues…) so he didn’t much like putting on the costume with tighter head and leg holes. He didn’t have much of a problem with the one that had bigger, easier leg holes and velcro at the chest and belly. Once he was wearing either of them, he took a minute to adjust and then seemed fine.
I think it really depends on the dog. We won’t dress Badger up unless it’s very easy to put on. His skin is also easily irritated, so I don’t want anything that could chafe. I do want to get him a light coat, though, because he’s small, his belly fur is very thin, and it’s seemed like he’s chilly sometimes.
Andy says
I think if a dog is used to viewing dress-up as a kind of motivated “work” (much like wearing a backpack or service vest can signal that they’ve “clocked in”), they can enjoy it. There are also dogs that seem to enjoy tactile stimulation + people cooing over them for whom dress-up is a big party (I mostly think of dopey bully types I’ve known). However, I do think it’s unfortunate that so many people dress their dogs up without considering the dog’s feelings…
No great story to tell, except to say that if you try to put a Batman costume on Cecil it will wind up on the floor and you may get sassed pretty rigorously. I like him more for this. He does not suffer in silence, unlike my dear and stoic Duchess.
Margaret McLaughlin says
No Halloween costumes here. I suppose it’s harmless, but it’s always seemed a bit insulting to me, a la Mrs Pumphrey. Not terribly consistent here, because I have no objection to silly tricks. Or perhaps that is the difference–one thing is imposed on the dog (or the child) by an adult for their own amusement, & learning the other is a lot of fun for both parties, even if the end goal is also amusing others. BTW, I have never taught tricks–just too busy training other stuff.
On the question of tugging dogs biting–never seen it or heard of it, tho’ I’ve been out of the ring for several years–now that my current dog is ready, my knee is not. I wish my dogs WOULD tug, since they, soft-mouthed retrievers all, would never dream of hanging onto something they think I might want. Tennis balls have been their on-switch, & using those next to the ring could get a handler lynched. I’d be willing to bet that anyone who’s getting bitten is letting the dog go way over threshold in the interest of amping up the run, & could see that backfiring big time–how could a dog who was too hyper-charged to distinguish between his tuggy & his handler’s arm possibly find the down contact?
Vicki in Michigan says
The first time I ever dressed up my dogs was at a big dog-rescue fund-raiser picnic. The person who put on the picnic is a dear friend and colleague who loves to dress up her dogs. She brought a large basket of costumes for those of us who hadn’t had the sense to bring costumes, and I felt it would be unkind to leave the dogs undressed, at least for a few minutes.
I put a kiddy-size basketball jersey on each of the boys, and expected them to hate that.
What actually happened was that both of them, wearing people clothing for the first time in their lives, treated those shirts as though they’d worn them every day for weeks, or months, or years.
lol…………………
They were completely nonchalant. “I look good in blue, don’t you think?” lol………
Having had this experience I am quite sure some of them do not mind a bit, and I bet that there are some that completely love the extra attention they get when dressed. My old guy quite liked wearing his coat when he went on walks. He knew he was more comfortable, when it was really cold out…………………
I do think dogs need to be dogs, and should, of course, not be dressed up all the time in ways that stop them from being dogs.
But I don’t think dressing them up is an inherently unfair or unkind practice. As with anything we do to/with/for our dogs, keeping track of how THEY actually feel about it is key……………
As for Halloween — my dogs have regarded trick-or-treaters with emotions from interest to bafflement, but none of them have been as disconcerted (not to say appalled/terrified) by Halloween as several of them were by the 4th of July………………….
My last thought on dressing up dogs is about my “niece,” who was a model for Hallmark cards, including one “Howloween” card. I wasn’t there when she posed, but I have it on excellent authority that she would carefully balance hats on her head, or glasses on her nose, when in the studio. She clearly didn’t hate the experience, but rather seemed to regard it as an interesting thing to do, at least. 🙂
Nina Worthe says
I’m a pretty big fan of the whole doggy dress-up thing.
But I have a bunch of rules.
One – the dog must be conditioned to wear the costume
This means preparation and training. At no point is any dog of mine afraid or forced, they get into their costumes willingly and on their own, and they look relaxed and happy as a result
Two – the costume must be appropriate to the expectations of the event for which it exists.
If my pup has to be in costume for hours, it must be cool (or warm, given winter), it must not impede movement at all, and I need to be able to take it off rapidly should need be. However, if I’m just dressing her up for a quick photo shoot, then it can be moderately limiting in movement regard, because it will come off long before the dog’s tolerance for such faffery is used up.
Three – the costume must always be abandoned if the dog is at all unhappy, and you may not be the one to make that call
I am emotionally invested in my costumes. But let’s face it, some days dogs just don’t want to pose in front of a camera or flaunt their stuff for people. So, I always ask a dog-savvy friend to help me evaluate if the dog is really ok. And if the dog is not, they can veto it entirely. And that’s ok – I’m not disappointed in my dog.
Talos, my pug, went a whole day as Bulbasaur at a comic convention. She loved the attention, the food, the showing off for everyone. The entire costume was basically a green ‘bulb’ that slipped over the lead attached to her harness, and I coloured her blue with food colouring to complete the look. Comfy and cool, ideal for a whole day thing.
She also won a costume contest as Jean b’Arc by donning a full suit of plate armour (made out of cardboard and assembled with velcro, it can come off in a snap) – but she wore the armour for all of five minutes as I took pictures, and that is as long as she’ll ever wear it.
She hams it up, see for yourself:
http://i1370.photobucket.com/albums/ag254/Nina_W/JeanBarkPlayful_zpstiyzggpj.jpg
I see far too many unhappy and stressed dogs in costume, and this breaks my heart. But then, you see so many unhappy dogs at vets, or dogs that you can’t do basic husbandry things with (grooming, nails)… we do far too little to accustom our dogs to the lives we want them to lead.
Karen says
My dogs wear small vests for racing and lure coursing, and racing muzzles, so they have good associations with dressing up – so simple costumes are not a problem. My little 15-year-old fossil of a dog also wears a lightweight vest most of the time in the fall – in the chilly weather, a lightweight covering isn’t objectionable. But the costumes I’ve used don’t cover their faces. At most, I draw heavy dark eyebrows on the red dogs. That’s usually good for a laugh!
Sarah says
I have to say, I’m a huge fan of Halloween and a huge fan of my dog–and since my birthday falls on the day before Halloween we tend to celebrate it by doing something Halloweeny + dog. Last year we dressed Chara up as an orca in a homemade costume (fins and a tail attached to her harness). She was about six months old at the time, and we took it as an opportunity to get her used to having things be attached to her/flop around her. As we’re avid backpackers–and we adopted a large, active dog specifically so that she could join us on extended trips–it was a great way to get her used to what wearing a backpack might eventually feel like. We introduced her to the costume gradually, and positively reinforced her for ignoring it. From the beginning, however, she was more enthused by the costume than anything–tail wagging, play bowing, bounding around. We also took her trick-or-treating, armed with clickers and a bag full of dog treats. Chara did tricks for treats (her treats, not candy), and we were able to expose her to all sorts of “scary” looking strangers in a fun atmosphere. She had a total ball, and didn’t blink an eye at the costumes. That being said, however, I think going trick or treating and wearing a costume could be a really bad idea for some dogs. Chara is highly social and highly confident, and we knew it was a situation she would thrive in.
Kat says
I used to think dressing up dogs was terrible but two things opened my perspective. One was a friend with pit bull type dogs. Her pampered pibble princesses wear feather boas, tutus, etc. quite often; as she points out it is hard for a dog to look scary wearing a feather boa and tutu. The photos of her dogs dressed up show two happy dogs that appear quite pleased with their finery. The other thing was in one of Jean Donaldson’s books where she’s talking about a puppy socialization/training class and the exercise for the week was to handle every part of the puppy but no one did it so the next week she had a costume contest and everyone spent the week getting their puppy used to being dressed up.
When Ranger was taking swimming lessons (it’s a long story but it was supposed to be Finna doing water exercises as part of rehabbing her leg) I made him a ‘bathrobe’ out of a beach towel because no matter how long I spend with the blower he is still damp for quite awhile. Since he was swimming (indoor tank of nice warm water) in January I wanted him to stay warm and a towel would soak up the water that was wicking out of his undercoat. He wasn’t a huge fan of wearing a bathrobe but he tolerated it without complaint. The striped towel that became his bathrobe always reminded us of the kids dressed in towels to be the shepherds at Christmas Pageants. Last year at Halloween on a whim we entered him in a costume contest held by the local pet supply store. I added a large plastic candy cane wrapped in brown duct tape and some squeaky sheep toys and he won first prize in the Howl a ween costume contest. First price which turned out to be over $100 of mechandise–talk about reinforcing for me. Ranger enjoyed the contest because he likes groups of people and attention. We all had fun so we’ll go back again this year. This year I’ve attached a long garland of leaves to his tracking harness and he’ll be going as a ReTreever which should be Treemendous fun if you can beleaf it. (Yes, there will be a punnishing description written out.)
Finna will probably never wear anything more than a harness because for her it is traumatic even to be toweled off after being out in the rain. And wearing clothes isn’t something that she needs to do or that we’d especially enjoy doing with her. My conclusion about clothes on dogs is that if you and your dog enjoy it I have no issue.
YV says
I admit that I dress my dogs up. Mostly I think that they are ok with it as I start them as babies so it really is no big deal. I enjoy doing it & they enjoy the attention. I also admit to playing tug with my dogs & they don’t bite me. In my opinion humans take life too seriously. My Norwich & my Border Collie know better–especially in their snowman sours.
Nic1 says
Hi Trisha, I am a bit concerned about the safety standards to which some of these costumes are manufactured. Kids walking around with pumpkin lanterns and live flames and themselves and dogs dressed up in highly flammable material…..yikes.
I think costumes on dogs can be a good way for dogs to get used to being handled, providing the dressing up is involved with lots of treats and fun. Most people are well intentioned and probably want their dogs to join in the ‘fun’ with everyone. However, the whole ritual of Halloween and trick or treating is definitely more like anxiety hell for my reactive dog and not fun for most dogs I know. I didn’t like it as a kid either and just didn’t participate in Halloween. Interesting that trick or treat only came to UK in the last twenty years or so, influenced by your good selves in the USA. It used to be ‘a penny for Halloween?’ when I was a child. A penny will buy you nothing these days though! Although the sugar police are in full force over here so Halloween my get banned on health grounds due to excessive candy abuse *crosses paws* 🙂
I do think Willie looks cute as Superman. Interesting pics. The first one he kind of looks like, ‘what the….!’ but he definitely looks more relaxed on the second one. Could take sheep trials to whole new level to have the dogs dressed up as super heroes. Batman v Superman but with sheep. I can just see Willie running the right flank with his cape flying… ‘SuperBC to the rescue!” Joking of course. (Do hope he is feeling better by the way).
I think if we got serious and taught our kids about the ethology and biology of behaviour of companion animals in biology classes at school, life may be more empathetic for our future dogs, cats and horses. I also think it would help some kids attune to the importance of benevolence if they understood more about how all animals learn. The grown ups of the next generation will have more realistic expectations of our furry friends and colleagues and greater behavioural understanding formed at a grass root level.
Quotes off the Internet can be a bit naff but I do like this by Max Planck:
“A new scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die, and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.”
I don’t know why so many natural canine behaviours are now viewed as problematic or even worse, ‘abnormal’. Is it because like you hypothesise, lots of dogs are now viewed more as family and as such are treated more like people than dogs? It may be detrimental anthropomorphism, because anthropomorphism can actually be useful when trying to understand aspects of our furry companions emotional health. Be a good PhD topic.
Mary Beth Stevens says
We have a 16 lb. mutt who would undoubtedly look adorable in a costume, but I am very strongly against them. I think dogs have their dignity, and just because we adopted her and brought her into our home, it doesn’t give us the right to compromise her dignity or turn her into a source of humor for others. She is plenty cute and funny enough all on her own. (And now if someone will give me a hand, I will climb down off this soapbox 🙂
Amanda says
Such good advice! We do not DO Halloween… We hide inside with the lights off and all critters upstairs with us as we watch a movie. I am not a complete Grinch, so I put a pumpkin bucket with candy in the driveway and refill it several times during prime hours. We discovered we actually needed to BLOCK the walkway to our front door – because apparently leaving the lights off wasn’t a clear sign in our neighborhood 🙁
Ours are little and one does not have much fur so we have clothed them on occasion when we have traveled to a much colder climate and once for a Halloween dog friend gathering. I always make sure the style of garment is such that their movement is not impeded and they both seem ok with it. We took our littlest one with us on the plane once at Christmas time and he wore a Santa outfit. It was a simple design that left him free to move totally normally, he seemed to enjoy the extra attention 😉 We definitely do NOT make a habit of dressing the dogs though and certainly would never force them to wear something that made them unhappy!
Jann Becker says
I believe Willie would be “Superdog,” not “Superman.” And from all you’ve written about him, the name (without the costume) fits perfectly.
This thing about costumes took off with the fashion for small dogs- Chihuahua, Yorkies, and their ilk. Tiny dogs are easier to get dressed up and they look “cute;” big dogs don’t enjoy the process, don’t cooperate, and look even more ridiculous than the little ones.
The point about the doorbell is well taken! Even a TV doorbell makes my guys run amok. Yes, I know we could in theory train them to like it, but when I’m here alone I want to give the impression of protection, even though my Goldendoodle wouldn’t hurt a fly.
My best costume as a toddler in Minneapolis was Miss Alaska: my regular snowsuit with a ribbon draped over it.
Mia says
I think costumes on dogs, like many things, can be right or wrong depending on how you do it.
I take pictures of my dog where he is doing different things, on mayday (which is a huge party day here) he’s wrapped in streamers and “drinking” champagne, sometimes he’s driving a car with a jacket on or lounging on the sofa watching TV in sweatpants. These are all tricks to him and he is always very happy to perform. He also has some “clothing” items like a tie that he wore to a friend’s wedding, I don’t think he even realized it wasn’t an ordinary collar. I do always choose clothes that will be comfortable for him and not restrict he’s movement or anything like that if he is going to be wearing it longer than just the few moments it takes to snap a few photos. I think dressing him up occasionally and the other stuff we do is okay because he just loves the attention and if he is ever uncomfortable with something I want him to do we stop and come up with something else or go for a walk in the forest instead. The clothes and other stuff doesn’t mean he isn’t or doesn’t get to be a dog.
So yeah, I’d love to get him a Halloween costume or few but costumes for pets certainly aren’t sold where I live. Here the public opinion on dressing up animals is very negative, to people it means the dog is just a living doll to play with. It’s kinda too bad although on the other hand I can see how it might make people think dogs are dolls or fashion accessories which is something I don’t approve of and I do my best to educate people on the subject. Poor people just want to pet my cute dog and end up having to listen to me lecturing about this particular subject 😀
Amy says
I’ll answer for the opposing team, I do occasionally put costumes on my dogs. It actually started years ago at Christmas when my grandmother moved into a nursing home; we were allowed to bring the dogs in to visit and since it was Christmas we put red sweaters on them. I have Scotties and Westies, so here came this small herd of black and white dogs trotting down the hall of the old folks home. The dogs got so much positive attention, they became de facto therapy dogs for the afternoon. It was never my intention to do this, we had only meant to visit my grandmother, but it turned into such a positive experience for the residents and for my dogs.
From that, we started a tradition of taking a Christmas picture of my dogs, and then my parents got a few of their own dogs and they got into the act, and eventually someone said we should send a photo Christmas card of the dogs. Now that the herd is a bit larger, we take a picture at Halloween time so we can get a card made in time for the holidays.
To be clear, though, I do not take the dogs out of the house/our yard in their costumes (we no longer visit the nursing home as they have changed the pet policy). We only wear costumes long enough to get a photo and then we take them off, which with 5 dogs is generally less than 10 minutes. And, its really just about the picture – if they happen to be in costumes that’s fun, but for us this is like a family photo, nobody really cares if the dogs aren’t dressed up.
On Halloween, the dogs stay inside and keep the couch warm while I sit on the porch to hand out candy, having the doorbell ring 100 times would drive everyone nuts.
Taryn Hodge says
Tricia said “actually now think that tug is a great thing to teach a dog IF it is used as a way to teach impulse control. I don’t go to Agility trials much now, so I can’t say that dogs are biting their handlers more than before. Agility competitors… what do you think? ” I compete in agility and I use tugging in my training. It’s a terrific way to reward next to you. I think Susan Garrett referred to this as placing more value on the handler where as a thrown toy may place more value on the object. I toss toys, too, though. It just depends where I want the location of the reward. I’m working on running contacts, and I’m throwing the ball ahead. Tug is a great way to teach self control: Take it/drop, take it/drop. I started this with my puppy. Now 15 years with two heavy-duty tuggers and there have never been any issues.
JIM Payne says
We had a basset that simply loved trick or treaters . He would wait by the door and wait to be petted and made over. After trick or treat was done he would sit looking out the window . The costumes didn’ bother him he just thought it was people coming to see him.
Jody Karow says
I don’t think most dogs like anything put on them at first. The vast majority seem to habituate in short time. Have you ever dressed a baby or toddler? They by far and large are not fans initially either. But, as we were all babies and toddlers at one point that likely gave our parents a terrible time as hats or shoes were placed upon us, we all seem to have gotten over it. We also learned over time these things are more helpful than not. Whether it be food guarding or not liking to dress up, dogs are really not that different from kids. Children fight over cookies and candy on a regular basis too. Saturation and redirection seem quite effective for both species.
Our energy may be best spent on educating people on ways they can help their loved dogs adjust to things on their bodies in a more gentle loving way. It certainly shows by the economic data people aren’t going to stop anytime soon, they enjoy it. I know my boy Buddha has come to appreciate his jacket in our brutally cold MN winters. Moreso now in his aging body that shivers at temps he did not before. Roast beef paired with jackets in the early days likely helped him embrace the benefits more quickly too.
I love your thought provoking posts!
Bruce says
My wife’s pug loves to get dressed up. The pug came with a ridiculous pink tutu, which eventually became so bedraggled and disreputable-looking that we had to toss it. I cite the pug’s fondness for dress-up as evidence that she is not a “real” dog, even though she bosses around triple-her-size Red Dog.
This will be our first winter with Red Dog, who has no undercoat and a nearly naked belly. My wife can’t wait to wrestle Red Dog into a sweater, but I expect that the cold will just make Red Dog run faster. Dogs in clothes always seem not quite right to me, but we will see how Red Dog handles the cold.
We have not had many trick-or-treaters in recent years, but in the past we used Halloween to train our dogs on good manners when people come to the door. The trick-or-treaters often found the dogs more interesting than whatever sugary goodies we were handing out.
On a different subject, the Washington Post had a fascinating article titled “The Big Paradox of Criminal Justice in America”. The article notes that incarceration rates have increased five-fold since the 1970s while violent crime rates have remained almost unchanged. How does this relate to dog training? Here is a quote from the article:
“. . . policies are most likely to reduce violence when potential criminals believe they will be arrested for an offense, should they commit one. . . . Criminals today are no more certain of getting arrested than criminals were in 1970. However, they are more certain of going to prison once arrested. So there is no more deterrence, just more punishment.”
If quintupling incarceration rates has not decreased violent criminal activity, then incarceration is not “punishment”, at least not from an operant conditioning perspective. Rewards and punishments are defined by the receiver, right?
According to the article the fear of getting caught deters crime, but the fear of incarceration does not. Most dog owners are familiar with this calculus. Do dogs usually raid the garbage when a human is there to catch them, or do they wait until they think they can get away with it?
Perhaps the K-9 unit should be in charge of setting criminal justice policy . . . 🙂
Nic1 says
Just reading all the really interesting comments and just picking up on the ‘game of tug’ issue.
I think John Bradshaw did a little bit of research on this – I can only find a reference in an interview.
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2011/jul/17/dog-training-john-bradshaw-animal-behaviour
Here’s Bradshaw on tug-of-war research: “Dogs were allowed to win tug-of-war games played with a person, over and over again; understandably, this made the dog more keen to play with people than when they were forced to lose every time, but there were no signs indicating that any dog became ‘dominant’ as a result.”
As people have mentioned, it’s a great way to teach self control and a great predatory outlet in my experience. I love playing tug with dogs who like it. I find it’s a really nice way to play bond with them. ‘Ooh you’re FUN!’ But some dogs levels of arousal at Agility events can be quite high! Maybe not a good idea when your dog is hyper and adrenalised. But again, isn’t it a case of ‘know your dog’ and ‘it depends’?
Kerry says
In 2010 I cut a nose hole and eye holes in a paper grocery bag and took some photos of my PWC next to a pumpkin. He was extremely patient (the treats helped) and he won the costume contest at our Veterinarian’s office. I immediately retired him from costumes of any kind and send out the same photo every Halloween. Personally, I don’t like costumes on dogs or cats BUT, I also really enjoy being able to put cute sweaters on my Chihuahua in the cold weather.
Layne says
I think it depends on the dog. You have to know your dog and be respectful of how they react to the human game of Halloween. I have 2 different dog costume stories for you.
I dressed my Sweep up once – in the same costume you put on Willy. I thought she might ignore it like she ignored the rain jacket she routinely wore wet days we when we didn’t work sheep. Her work ethic was very strong and she was an intense dog – a Border Collie/Aussie Cattle Dog mix. She tolerated the costume with her typical stoicism, we did the photos and then I took it off. I could clearly see she didn’t appreciate it. On Halloween she preferred to doze by the fire and ignore the “chaos” at the door.
Before Sweep was George (Border Collie). He was one of the most laid back and balanced dogs I have ever had the privilege to work with. He adored people and children never worried him like they do some dogs. Neighborhood children (very small ones) would knock on my door and ask if George could come out and play – like he was another kid. On Halloween, George would bark and rush to the door, tail waving happily, every time the bell rang. He was large for a Border, and we put a silly clown collar on him and a little clown hat with an elastic chin band so that he would appear less imposing to the trick-or-treaters. He could have cared less about playing dress-up, loved greeting the kids and would inspect their loot bags (never ever tried to take anything) and I would have been depriving him of a great evening’s entertainment had I sequestered him in another room of the house. My fondest memory of Halloween with George was hearing the bell go, George barking, a concerned parental voice saying “that sounds like a big dog” and a little child confidently replying “That’s OK, that’s just George.”
Marianne Hovde says
We don’t do Halloween, so I don’t dress my dogs up for it either. My dogs only wear clothes if it’s cold, but I can put them in a cute coat or jumper for a photo. But then they only wear it for the photo and then it comes off again. I think photos of dogs in costumes are cute for the most part, and I’ve seen some really awesome costumes. But I do hope the dogs are having fun, not being forced to wear them if they hate it, and not wearing them for long periods of time.
I think overall, being treated more like a member of the family has been a good thing for dogs. I work as a dog trainer, and most people I see completely understand that dogs growl for a reason and to not take their food off them. If a client tells me they want to take the food bowl away, I explain to them how to do it in a positive way, and to limit how much they do it so they’re not always pestering the dog. Of course there are idiots out there, but I’d say everyone I’ve had the talk with seemed to understand and were empathic of their dogs.
Carolyn says
I tug with my girl although we did our agility training before the big tug trend started. My competitive obedience coach also used training as a technique to get the dog amped up for training. She also worked to get the dogs jumping on the handler before heeling. In agility training, tugging is not used so much for impulse control as it is to rev the dog up while focusing the dog on the handler and it is also used as a reward for training. Now for the most part these are dogs who are beyond basic training and working on skills that need flash and focus.
As to biting in agility…..don’t let the judge see it. My girl would get frustrated because I was not giving enough information and nip me in the butt. We got whistled out of the ring a couple of times meaning we were disqualified.
As to dressing up dogs, I think it is funny….my boyfriend hates it. I have some cute pictures and videos of my dogs dressed up. I have no guilt about it, my guys are so spoiled and confident in themselves that being dressed up is nothing to them. My Golden especially likes the fuss people make over her when she is dressed up…and more importantly to her, she gets LOTS of treats! That makes everything good.
Oh and when we were kids and when my nieces were young the dogs went trick-or-treating with us (and sometimes they were dressed up).
Michele says
Well, my dog’s name is Blayre, so I do admit to having dressed her up in a witch hat and taken pictures. She didn’t wear it for long and didn’t seem the least bit stressed by the experience. I do understand that that is not the case for all, and would never ask a dog to be uncomfortable. Depending on how restricting the costumes are, it might not feel any different than a back on track coat or a winter dog coat.
LisaH says
I enjoy, and my 2 dogs basically tolerate, their wearing antlers for a Christmas photo. It’s for a few minutes at best & then they paw them off. They appear perfectly fine with their Velcro strap winter jackets when it’s below zero & it means much more time outside in the winter (in central WI).
As for agility, I train in a weekly class and regularly trial, so I see the occasional over threshold dog that nips at the handler when amped up, usually at the end of the run but by no means is this a common sight. And at a trial the Judge could disqualify the team if the dog bites their handler. I also thinks it’s younger dogs that are more apt to nip. Tug toys are very common in agility training for all the previously stated reasons – reward, focus on the handler when in line, training which side to be on, impulse control, & revving up.
Beth says
My daughter bought our GSD/Lab/Malamute mix a silly reindeer hat a few years ago. Cole our dog was having none of it; we wrestled him to get it on, then when we did, we realized it was far too large for his head and it flew off when he shook his head. We gave up the hat idea and turned it into a game of- you guessed it- TUG! Three years later, that thing is still lying around the living room, waiting for a good game of tug or shake. Trying halfheartedly to put it on his head is how I initiate a game, or he will come up to me shaking it. (And no, he doesn’t bite; drops it on command.)
MaryK says
Neither of my corgis are/were fans of Halloween. All the doorbell ringing makes them crazy & the neighborhood kids are scary to them – they smell the same, but look so different. We tried putting them upstairs, in their crates, but they still hated it. So we usually close up the house, turn out the lights & watch a movie upstairs in the bedroom.
The only exception was Yankee’s last Halloween. She was 16, very hard of hearing & loosing her vision. I don’t remember why, but we decided to do Halloween that year. For some reason, she was incredibly interested in all of the goings-on that year. She was right there, every time the doorbell rang. She kept getting wacked with the door & constantly had her head in the kids goody bags. We finally had to sit out on the porch, with her on my lap, to hand out the goodies. She loved it. Almost 14 years later, that memory still makes me smile.
No dressing them up either, except for a holiday bandana from time to time. We’re lucky they tolerated the bandanas.
Claire says
I put stuff on my dog and take her picture for fun. I carry treats and she gets one every few minutes for posing. She doesn’t seem to mind and it’s a good way to train stay!
I also let her tug on her leash before an agility run. At the end of our runs she leaps up at me in excitement but has never actually used teeth. I had never connected the two things. I think she would still leap at me if I didn’t let her tug and the tugging acts as a release of tension.
Alison says
My dogs have a few costumes, a small collection of jackets, bandanas, winter booties (like many sled dogs wear), and even Doggles. The jackets and booties are for practical use in the winter so we aren’t trapped indoors during cold and icy weeks. The Doggles were recommended for Meg by the veterinary ophthalmologist for wearing in sunlight due to a minor eye problem…Meg loves to put them on only because she thinks taking them off is a game. I have yet to get her to wear them for any length of time, but we tried.
The costumes are just for fun. They don’t wear them for long (usually for a picture, contest, etc) and they fit comfortably like their jackets. They’re cute and the dogs like the attention and don’t mind wearing them…no hats or hoods for Meg though. She’ll just remove them.
Dogs out trick or treating with the family makes me nervous. With all those little kids in creepy costume in the dark I worry about the dogs not knowing what to think. What might happen if a strange little monster charged up to a nervous dog in the dark unannounced?
I remember dressing up cats, rats, hamsters, and of course the dogs as a kid. I was bit and scratched by at least one cat in the process but for the most part the animals were tolerant and didn’t mind too much. My parents were of the sort that said if you got bit it was your own fault. I think perhaps they should have came to the animals’ rescue a bit more often but fortunately we had some great teaching pets growing up that were good at giving warnings and then removing themselves from our play.
Frances says
I am rather iffy about dressing dogs up – a warm coat or jumper or other useful stuff is one thing, but anything that treats the dog as an object sounds warning bells with me (which is why I am not at all keen on extreme poodle grooming – something about using a sentient creature as a blank canvas worries me deeply). People who can’t wait to get a cute tiny puppy so that they can buy it a whole wardrobe of sparkly frocks seem to me to have a very dodgy idea of what dog ownership really means, and the innumerable internet pictures of stressed, miserable dogs in uncomfortable costumes reinforce my misgivings. On the other hand there are dogs and owners for whom dressing up is obviously a shared happy experience, and a bit of frothy, sparkly bling can certainly reassure people that a big, dangerous looking dog is actually a delightful softy. Mine have red wool jumpers for winter, which Poppy likes and Sophy refuses to wear, flashing armbands for visibility collars on dark evenings, and have very occasionally been persuaded to briefly wear a bit of tinsel at Christmas. Apart from that they go au naturel!
Kathryn says
I used to be against costumes, then someone gave me a set of stuffed antlers for my dogs. I tried them on my first dog, who did what I expected and took them off in 30 seconds or less. Then I tried them on my other dog, who had some fear issues and could be a little edgy. To my complete shock, he wore those antlers proudly for the rest of the evening…which took some doing because they did not strap on tightly. I let him wear them every Christmas thereafter…while my other dog was happy wearing nothing…and he never let those things fall of his head. Kind of strange, but very cute. I think it depends on the dog, and as long as you listen to your dog, go for it.
Caroline says
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoB8t0B4jx4
The ultimate dog costume.
Susan says
There was a raging argument on Craigslist a few years ago. A man was looking for a farm dog to sound the alarm if his small farm in the outer suburbs drew unwanted guests, human or animal. He was going to have the dog sleep in the barn. His post drew horrified reactions from lots of people. Someone posted a picture of a Lab and a Shih Tzu lying on a couch, with ribbons in their fur, and captioned “this is how a dog should live.” I remember thinking that all the dogs I’ve had would have much preferred living on the farm to living on a couch. So dressing dogs up like dolls worries me to the extent that it can reveal a misunderstanding of what dogs really need and like to do. Aside from those concerns, i can see dogs enjoying the attention of the dressup game.
in my first Agility class there was a fast little Yorkie who came to class each week with a dress and bloomers on. Every week the instructor would give her owner feedback that ended in “I still think it’d be easier for her without clothes.” Cracked me up every time.
HFR says
Here’s my feeling about dressing up a dog: It’s not something I want to do with my dogs, mostly because I have zero tolerance for stressing them out unnecessarily even for a few moments. BUT I also think there are so many people in this world who have pets and barely pay any attention to them at all. I’m not talking about abusers, but people who just treat their dogs as a possession. They feed and shelter them, but then lock them in the backyard for most of the day. People who hardly pet their dogs or show them any love. Dogs who sleep in the garage and are alone most of the time. Yes, much is made of people like all of us who treat their dogs like family, but I personally see more people who treat their dogs like dogs — and I don’t mean that in a good way. So, I say, if you want to dress up your dog, go right ahead, because chances are if you are taking the time and effort to do that, you really love your dog. So have fun with it and pamper it. Maybe too much. But to me that’s better than ignoring your dog. (This brings up another interesting question tho: Do dogs have dignity?)
As to dogs being allowed to behave like dogs. I just watched a Nature episode on PBS that was not very good, but part of it was on Cusco, Peru, where dogs of all kind roam free throughout the city. A lot of them are owned dogs, but they leave their houses in the morning, meet up with other dogs and then return home at night. People seem to avoid them on the street. They mate freely and seem to get along. They are also very car savvy and know how to navigate the streets. Of course, the show romanticized it, but when I googled it, there are opposing views. On the whole, though, it seemed to just be part of the culture. In a curious way, while the dogs are probably living the life that all dogs wish they could, the bond between the dogs and humans was not very pronounced. So maybe our tendency to want to “control” the natural dog behavior is an attempt to bond with them and make them more like us. And, of course, we do keep them very close to us physically so there is a need to control their behavior more than we would if they roamed free most of the time. Anyway, I’m dying to visit Cusco now!
Pk says
We do sometimes dress up our dog, but it’s limited to a bow on the collar, or a t-shirt. I got him an orange t-shirt with a jack o’lantern face on it for Halloween. He wears a raincoat for stormy weather, and I like to have my dogs comfortable in t-shirts in general so that they can be used to help in wound care if there’s ever an injury. Our last dog wore lots of t-shirts after his surgeries for osteosarcoma, and I was so happy that the t-shirt was a complete non issue for him. Oh, and we also do little booties for the salt in winter, which again, I like to train for comfort because of the inevitable paw injury that requires bandaging. The actual full-on costumes that people put their dogs in? I don’t like those.
Elizabeth says
I don’t do it – I tried bunny ears on the girls at Easter and a sadder pair of bunnies I’ve never seen. But if the dog is okay with it, I can’t see it as a problem. I did knit a sweater for my Bullmastiff to wear on walks in the woods during hunting season – bright orange – but that’s a safety issue. She’d rather not wear it, but she puts up with it with her usual sweet temper.
Mireille says
I agree with Frances.
My dogs have warm coats (yup, a siberian husky with a coat!). We bought them when our previous dogs got older. We have very mellow winters in the Netherlands and when we go on holiday to fi Norway they go form +10C tot -20C and have to sleep outside. One of our sibes Always shed his winter coat in February, while we went on holiday in March. So he was cold and lost weight. The first time the were wearing their coats they were not all that happy, but they soon found out it was comfy.
I also use booties: they first time I put a booty on Janouk’s paw, when he had cut his foot on sharp snowcristals. he tried to run on on three feet, flapping his booted paw like crazy. It was so funny… SO we gave him 4 booties = he learned that running on them was possible.
The only advantage I can think of of dressing up your dog, is that necessary coats, but also medical pet shirts and backpack will be more easily accepted. My current dogs are pretty comfy with all those things now but I have never dressed them up for fun. Just does not feel right.
Oh gosh, but I am lying a bit now. Sorry. For a funny pic I did put on my buff on them. They were not amused but it made my friend who had had emergency brain surgery smile when I send the pic by whatsapp to the other side of the planet. They were wearing the same “caps”. So yes, I guess there are moments when it is justified 😉
(and Halloween is practically non-existent over here….)
I play tug with my sibes, especially with Shad it was a very good way to teach him self control and not nipping me, now it is a great tension reliever !
em says
As with pretty much everything else, I’d say it depends on the dog.
My dogs always wear a costume for a few hours and enjoy a bit of social time on Halloween, but I must emphasize that the operative part of that is that they ENJOY it. My cat has nothing to do with costumes or trick-or-treaters because she enjoys neither. If Sandy or Otis seemed distressed or even just stoically put-upon, I’d pull the plug in a second.
Both dogs are very comfortable in practical clothing- winter coats, visibility vests- as well as harnesses and backpacks. They are both very fond of body contact and will crawl under blankets and duck under an outstretched towel even when warm and dry (which can make laundry folding a bit more interesting). So it is probably no surprise that Sandy and Otis have absolutely no problems with simple, comfortable costumes and required very little conditioning to become so.
For them, the costumes are all upside- more attention, more treats, more fun. BUT, Sandy and Otis are both friendly, socially confident dogs who enjoy body contact and have positive associations with clothing. I wouldn’t expect a shy, body-sensitive, or nervous dog to react the same way.
As for their dignity, well, I confess I don’t worry about it at all. Otis on a normal day is gravitas walking, and Sandy worries much less about her pride than she does about where the snuggle is coming from. Provided that they are comfortable, I don’t have any problem with parents dressing up their young children in humorous or clever ways, and I don’t have any problem with people dressing their dogs.
Otis and Sandy eat like kings, sleep like sultans, walk and play and learn and live the very best life that I can provide for them. One day a year, I dress them up and take their pictures looking silly. I think they can handle it.
Amanda says
Totally, totally depends on the dog. Most of my dogs growing up hated it and would sit and look grumpy and miserable at you until you took whatever they were wearing off. They tolerated it, but in short spurts.
My current dog, the first one I’ve trained myself as an adult? She LOVES wearing shirts/costumes. She’s a Boxer cross and we live in Vermont. She loves being warm, so when I take out a sweater for her (mostly Star Wars themed, because we are geeks) she dances around and helps me out by shoving her head through the hole. She will happily wear shirts and sweaters all day around the house, so she often does during the winter. We take them off when she’s home alone and when we go to bed.
I’ve never known a dog to get so excited about wearing sweaters before, but there you have it!
For other pets: the cat could not possibly care less, nor could the horse. The horse is a saint of tolerance and has worn all manner of ridiculous things hanging off of him, which I do at least in part to train him to stand calm and still very nearly no matter what. It’s one thing for a dog or cat to bounce around trying to get something off, another thing entirely when a 1,200 pound animal with hooves does the same. So costumes and other annoying things are part of his training on a regular basis.
Michelle says
I will admit (and quite readily!) that I dress my dog up for Halloween shoots. Or even just because I feel like it. She has been everything from Weird Al in his Dare to Be Stupid video (https://www.flickr.com/photos/crysania4/6273796582/in/album-72157628488008149/) to Snoopy’s Red Baron (https://www.flickr.com/photos/crysania4/7754317118 — heavily edited to make it look like a cartoon!). She’s worn pirate hats and silly googly eyed bat hats on her head. And for each thing she is rewarded with high value treats and so she loves doing it.
However, she never has to wear such a thing for any period of time. Each one is worn for a photo shoot only and sometimes those only last 5 or 10 minutes. Sometimes a bit longer (the Dare to Be Stupid one took several steps to get the final photo). I think if the dog is rewarded and finds it fun or considers it “work” then go for it. I’ve seen some pretty miserable dogs in costume though and I always feel bad for them. It CAN be enjoyable so why not make it so?
And for the record, I absolutely want that Superman costume for my new dog, Ben. He would look fabulous in that!
HFR says
Has anyone ever felt sorry for William Wegman’s dogs? I have, altho I’m sure they don’t need my sympathy. But, boy, talk about looking sad when dressed up….
Trisha says
It is with no small amount of chagrin that I admit I thought Willie looked adorable in the Superman costume. And I should add that I agree with so many comments: It does indeed depend on the dog (or cat). I should add that I love the comments about how some dogs seem to poof out with pride when they have something added to their body. It reminds me of the chimps who were found to use grasses like earrings. Maybe we’re not the only ones who like dressing up? But I do worry that many owners simply aren’t aware of how miserable their dressed up pets are. I know of one case in which an animal froze, motionless (I would argue with fear), and the owners thought the animal was simply posing for the camera.
Kat says
I’ve been thinking about the whole dressing up pets thing. As a kid I remember dressing up cats in doll clothes and the dogs in our dress up clothes. We learned pretty quickly which cats would cooperate and which ones wouldn’t. And when we’d play dress up it always seemed natural to include our best friends. I wish someone had taken pictures of our Great Pyrenees Krystal all dressed up. I don’t think she was all that fond of the clothes but she loved the attention we lavished on her while dressing her up. Imagine a giant white dog in pink poodle skirt, blouse, pearls, and pink bow. She was quite a sight and a few minutes later we’d take it all off again and we’d all put on different outfits including Krystal.
On Halloween Ranger will don his traditional costume of six to ten glowstick necklaces and go out and enjoy the crowds of people (he isn’t disturbed in the least by costumes) trick or treating the neighborhood. Finna, the cats, and I will stay home with the lights off to avoid stressing the less social members of the family.
Nic1 says
Don’t you think that some people are unaware when their dogs are not happy in other situations though too?And either don’t pay attention to body language, are unaware of it or don’t know how to read it? It’s not just Halloween costumes, it’s lots of other situations too. Dog shows for example. The stress signals clearly displayed by some poor dogs this year at Crufts this year had some very well respected behaviourists taking to social media to vent. How many dog owners watch that and think that all the dogs will be having such a lovely time?
Diane says
We get costumes, and put them on but certainly don’t expect them to stay on long. Our dog isn’t thrilled with the costume thing. The first time I put a “head dress” costume on for a Halloween parade, I thought he was okay with it. One minute into the parade he did a head dive into the grass to knock it off….hmmm…guess he didn’t like it! But he will tolerate it if it gets attention from people and that’s what he loves the most. Loves Halloween with all the people coming to his yard….doesn’t much care for the costume thing. He’s sweet tempered so there are no interaction problems, whether he is in costume or not, but we keep any costume accessories and the time they are on at a minimum. (It is fun for us though!…poor dog)
Katy says
I have two dogs who hate dressing up, so I don’t dress them in costumes. It took several weeks to get Claire to wear a t-shirt/sweater, which in her older age she actually needs. I am currently working to condition Allie to wear a backpack and that is involving a lot of dog treats, so costumes are not in her future. Yuki, on the other hand, loves to wear anything. He seems to regard it as a special kind of work and he loves the attention it gets him. He happily wears hats and boots and shirts – you name it. He is a also my biggest dog, at 70lbs.
My dogs love trick or treat night – I keep a container of dog treats next to the basket of candy and we spend those hours working on staying quietly on their mats while I answer the door. If any of the children ask to pet the dogs, I then release the dogs to the door and they get the attention they all want, plus some treats if the kids want to give them. Two of my dogs, though, are uber-friendly and the third adores children (but is mostly indifferent to adults).
Regarding tug and aggression: all our family dogs were taught this game my dad named “nasty grabbers” which involves the human putting on a welding glove and the dog “attacking” it while the human attempts to grab the dog’s nose, paws, etc. All the dogs have always played by the rules – no contact with skin, release immediately if the person says “ouch” (but not “ow” – that’s part of the game, along with play growling), and soft mouth. My brothers used to convince new friends that we had an attack basset hound by putting on the glove. We have also always played tug with the dogs, and neither of these games have resulted in any aggression or biting.
Colleen says
It completely depends on the dog. I love dressing up for halloween, so I guess my love of costumes extends to the dogs as well. I have had a couple of dogs that didn’t mind being dressed up, and clearly LOVED all the attention that this garnered them. My sheltie would wear a hat for hours, and when it wasn’t fun anymore, he knew exactly how to take it off by himself, and I would let him make that choice. He never minded anything on his body, even wearing a large petal ruff as a flower. Nothing ever on his feet, he was very clear about that, and after some attempts to desensitize him, ( I wanted him to wear booties because an autoimmune disease caused his pads to peel) he said not now, not ever. OK then, stay inside when your pads peel. I had a lab mix that would wear anything, hats, sunglasses, booties, shirts, and thought it was fun, because people would laugh and pet him. I do think that dressing dogs can have some benefits, My shepherd mix was used to shirts and booties He would wear them for hiking, and when he had surgery on his knee and wore a cast for 2 weeks, the vet was amazed that it was perfect at the time to take it off. Didn’t need an e-collar either, which was good, cause that was one thing he wouldn’t wear! My two current dogs will wear coats for cold weather, but don’t like any costume that isn’t basically like a coat. I am ok with that, I don’t force anything. Regarding the tug issue, I have done agility for years, and I do not see dogs biting the owners as a result of tugging. If they are, they are doing it wrong, IMO. Occasionally, a tooth will make contact, and when that has happened in my presence, the response has been immediate and appropriate. (no reward marker and stop play) I have seen a few dogs bite their owner in agility, but this has always been a case of a dog, (all herding breeds) grabbing an ankle or leg when the owner is running. I don’t think this is because the owners have played tug, but I suppose I could be wrong.
LisaW says
The APPA estimates that people in the U.S. will spend more than $60 billion on their pets in 2015. This includes food, vet care, and $5.24 billion on things like training, pet sitting, pet exercise, miscellaneous [costumes?].
I am not one for costumes or many holidays (birthdays and Thanksgiving being the exceptions), so it’s never been a thought or issue for us, and our current dogs would definitely not be silent collaborators. But, like many of the other comments, I, too, have an except for the time . . .
Years ago a colleague and I were getting ready to hang our show of wall tiles titled Coy Dogs. We needed to make invitations to the show’s opening and enlisted my endlessly patient Golden Retriever to pose for the photo on the postcard. Needless to say, she needed a little makeup for her coy dog image. We used a little Vaseline to give her hair spikes and found an old chain for her necklace and made fangs out of kiln cones. She looked more punk than coy but she did the best she could, as always.
Sue says
No costumes at our house. I will dress my dogs only for reasons of health and comfort. I will put socks on my allergy dog to keep her from chewing on her feet (or licking medication off them) or if one of them has a foot injury. I will put T-shirts on them to cover injuries and keep them from licking rather than use the dreaded cone. I sometimes would put a T-shirt and an form fitting ‘skirt’ on my allergy girl if the insects are bothering her. She’s a bit neurotic and can’t enjoy being outside if the bugs are bugging her. Covering her with clothing seems to help her relax and ignore them. I can’t imagine that a dog would enjoy a costume and it’s not about me, it’s about them and their comfort.
MelF says
I have to admit that I am guilty of the costume things with two of my 3 dogs, but only so I can grab a shot for my blog. I hate putting them in them otherwise (that seems so wrong doesn’t it?).
Daisy, my Lab, would be too terrified to even try it with her. I couldn’t put her through that. My Shelties, however, seem not to mind it when they know they get lots of treats. I will usually treat them as I am putting them on, treat them, while I take pictures and then take them off immediately afterwards (with more treats).
I may have to consider stopping in the future, but as long as they enjoy the treats and don’t mind the costumes for the few minutes… 🙂
Kelly Schlesinger says
I never taught my dogs to wear costumes but thinking about it today (Thanks, Trisha!) maybe I should have and they would not have had such trouble when needing a cone for the first time. Adding a cone to a surgery recovery is a bit much. Tossing food on the floor “unfroze” them pretty well and then they found that they could run and play in them and accepted putting them on and wearing them. However, leg and foot bandages will still freeze these border collies.
I must admit that I find photos of dogs wearing hats hilarious. And I have not gotten my dogs to wear them either. Obviously my “stay” work did not include the head.
I play tug with my dogs but biting me is definitely not part of the game, although getting whacked with a tooth does happen. But stitches??? Those handlers need to go back to basics. I have not seen anyone get hurt like that at an agility trial.
lak says
My dog is beautiful without an adornments!!! I did put a small skirt on her the first halloween as a joke and she did not care for it so the idea was tabled from that point on. She loves all holidays including 4Th of July and believes all company including solicitors are coming to see her and only her. And she welcomes them all. She does growl at squirrels and I allow it. No correction other than “leave it” when we walk near! Every now and then she pursues after one but to date has not caught one. Honestly, they really do tease her from the trees!!!
Samantha M. says
The Rat Terrier ( who hates wearing costumes & lets you know about it) thinks our Silky Terrier, is the most fascinating thing ever when wearing a coat or costume, & will follow him around, sniffing him, sniffing his ears, licking his face & eyes and if the Silky lets him he will try & hump him. We joke it’s because he thinks he looks pretty as he does the same behavior when the Silky comes back from the dog groomers. I suspect however it has more to do with the change in scent, though I’d be interested to hear other theories.
Vicky from Boise says
The extent of “dressing” the dogs at my house is with bandanas for Halloween and Christmas. I do have to admit that they look quite nice and don’t seem to mind. As far as Halloween goes, it is remarkable how quickly everyone adapts to the doorbell. The first time or two, the dogs sound off, but after that they just accompany me to the door and poke their noses out to see what is going on. Most of the trick or treaters like to say hi to the dogs who enjoy the extra attention even if those giving it might look a bit strange. The cats do not condescend to comment on the situation.
Marjorie says
Interesting subject regarding what dog people put their dogs through these days. I don’t do Halloween costumes, but I do leave my dogs to roam free in the house and we get lots of trick or treaters (150+). Can’t paint every dog with the same brush, mine love hanging out around the door greeting the kids and once they are tired they go to sleep on the stairs, all no big deal. My dogs do wear coats in the Canadian Winter (a small breed with no undercoat) when the temperatures dip below -10 C.
I feel more sorry for those dogs who suffer from their persons over competitive nature and made to do dog sports/shows when it is not in their nature/temperament to do so. Given the choice I bet these dogs would rather put on a silly costume for an evening than have to carry the high competitive expectations of their people.
Dan says
I think it depends on the dog. Our dog (a rescue dog) has a skeleton sweater. Since she is used to wearing sweaters & a reflective vest when we go out on adventures or it is cold out she gets excited to wear her costume. She is much happier to sit outside (wagging her tail when not laying down) with us (on a leash) and see the tricker treater coming than hanging out in a crate. With rare exception she is now indifferent to people in costumes.
RC says
I tried to put a sweater on my sweet girl last year, thinking she’d be cold. Without being aggressive about it, she let me know that she was not ok with it. I don’t blame her, Our lab that we used to have destroyed ANY thing you put on her within 10 minutes. When she was supposed to wear a cone for a week, PetSmart got tired of me because I bought and returned (completely destroyed) every type they carried in 36 hours for a refund. I finally told the vet to forget it. I don’t think a tranquilizer would have helped even.
I probably will never try, and basically think it’s ridiculous to even ask the dog to do it. The comment about altered body language is probably true and possibly dangerous.
Carrie Vavra says
I’m not a big fan of dogs being dressed up. IF the dog likes it, then occasionally is ok if the dogs comfort and safety is kept in mind. I sometimes put a seasonal bandanna on my dog when we go for walks, but that’s it. He loves putting them on and then forgets about them.
Halloween: I knew he would not do well with the bell ringing and all the noise at the door all day while I was at work, so I arranged to have the day off. I took the window out of the storm door, locked/latched the door, and handed candy out through the opening. He couldn’t see the scary costumes and had no opportunity to dash outside. I took advantage of the day as a training reinforcement opportunity. Doorbell rings, dog barks once, I tell him “good watchdog”. When he hears that he knows he’s done his job sounding the alarm and he stops barking. Then he had to sit quietly while I handed out candy. Once the kids left and the door closed I gave him a small treat. (The total he received for the day was not an excessive amount since they were very tiny.) He caught on quickly and was not stressed. At one point there had not been any trick-or-treaters for a while. He came over, looked at me, looked at the door, then back at me….as if to ask when they would be coming back so he could have his treats. I’d say the day was a success.
Shirley Baumann says
Our late, great mini long haired dachshund, Tempo, had a full wardrobe and loved to dress up. She was 8 1/2 lbs and looked adorable as a stegosaurus. She made the front page of the State Journal and Madison TV news on Halloween wearing it. Sometimes she would bring her ski jacket or red and white checked dress to me asking for it to be put on.
Ronda Warywoda, CPDT-Ka, UW-AAB says
We start dressing our dogs from the day they come home, starting with simple things like bandanas and lots of treats, to get them comfortable. I also recommend it to my clients (going slow at the DOGS pace, and lots of rewards) and our group class review party that coincides with Halloween has a costume option. It’s a fun way to train wearing unusual things. The main reason we do and suggest this is because if your dog has to wear anything later such as a cone, surgical suit, wrap, casts or other medical apparatus it is one less thing for them to freak out about at what can be such a scary time and they tend to leave such alone if they are used to it.
Sara Branch says
We sometimes do costumes with our greyhounds, but the costumes are homemade and fit like their regularly worn coats and snoods. For the dogs, it’s no different than any other cold day. Since greys are accustomed to wearing racing silks, coats, snoods and turn out muzzles, they are usually pretty comfortable with other items. I also custom made a dinosaur full body coat for my little dog who wouldn’t wear any coats until he saw his big cool friends wearing them. Once he realized he could be toasty warm in it, he was thrilled to put it on.
Litzi says
So many comments! I’ve never dressed my dogs for anything but warmth when needed, but my now adult daughter from about ages 4-8 used to dress almost everyone: dogs, chickens, stuffed animals, dolls, of course. I doubt the chickens enjoyed it, but the dogs did; they seemed to adore the attention from her, and she was gentle and supervised. So it was important play for her growing up; is it something like that for the adults who enjoy costuming their dogs? Cute, with an undertone of “Yes, she/he really is a super hero/elegant ballerina”? Maybe, if the dogs can tolerate or enjoy it, it’s not such a bad thing for all of us.
Nicola Brown says
I’ve only dressed up one of my dogs, and it wasn’t for Halloween – the only dog coat I could find with sleeves long enough to cover her elbow was a Superman costume. She had severe elbow arthritis so the extra warmth around the elbow in winter was important. Seeing Willy in a Superman costume brought back memories of her. She wasn’t overly happy getting into the costume, but moved more easily when it was on, so I felt it worth it. I live in Australia, not the cold parts, so healthy dogs don’t actually need coats in winter, but she needed the extra warmth, even inside, and she was also on the underweight side (also with approval of my vet because of multiple front leg problems) so the slight extra warmth made a huge difference.
I noticed on Suzanne Clothier’s Facebook page she makes a habit of dressing up her puppies in weird costumes while raising them, part of exposure to all sorts different things she does with the pups. I suspect that pups raised like that would have less problems with wearing costumes, particularly if it was continued/reinforced while they were young.
Halloween isn’t really a thing in Australia, at least not where I live. So no costumed kids or dogs unless for a store promotion kind of thing. Funnily enough, the worst time for dogs to be dressed up comes at Christmas when many dog clubs have prizes for the best costume as part of their Christmas fun days.
Shelley says
Much like everything else we ask our dogs to do, cooperation is key. I had a cattle dog mix therapy dog who loved dressing up (my personal fav was a skunk) simply because of all the attention he got on our therapy visits. As a herding dog, he saw it as part of his “job” — to entertain people in an institutional setting. Conversely, my current McNab (also a herding dog) would be both horrified and terrified if I tried it, so I won’t. Nor does she want to be a therapy dog…I know because I asked her.
Shirley Baumann says
Our late mini long haired dachshund loved clothes and costumes. She had a wardrobe and would bring pieces to us when she wanted to wear them. When she first wore her dinosaur costume she made channel 3 TV and the front page of the State Journal. She got more column inches that day than Gorbachev! Other dogs of ours didn’t care for costumes, though.
Sabine says
Halloween is a day when we all – dogs and adults – go into hiding. Granted, since we moved to a quiet country lane it’s been bliss, but before that it was hell for all of us. Stress pure! I used to volunteer at a nursing home with my therapy dogs for many years and we dressed them up for Halloween. My Great Dane Daytona was “Tony the pony”. Saddle, bridle, bandages, mane and tail and all. He took it like a man. (Now you may interpret that as you wish……….*lol*)
Having said all that: Independence Day is way worse than Halloween as far as stress goes. For me, that is. My dogs usually sleep right through it…………