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Dogs Don’t Like Wearing Halloween Costumes… Unless You Train It!

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A chihuahua dressed in a hot dog costume. The dog's head is down, its ears are back, and one front paw is lifted.
Head down. Paw up. Ears back. This dog is not happy.

Planning on dressing up your dog for Halloween?

How does your dog behave when wearing a costume?

If your dog is so happy-go-lucky that wearing clothing and hats doesn’t bother him, you can go about your day. You hit the lottery and got an extremely well-adjusted dog.

Costumes Stress Out Most Dogs

Most of us have dogs that look a bit like the Chihuahua pictured here. This dog is showing signs of stress: head down, ears back, paw raised.

Signs your dog is stressed:

  • Head down
  • Whale eyes (open wide, can see the whites)
  • Ears back
  • Turning away
  • Single paw raised
  • Freezing / refusing to move
  • Flattening to the ground

Alternatives to Dog Costumes

halloween dog - cocker spaniel wearing bat wings sitting beside tomb stone on white backgroundIf your dog does not deal well with changes in the environment, it’s best to skip dressing them up for Halloween. Here are some ideas to get cute pictures without dressing up your pup:

Festive Collar:  Seasonal collars are a fun way to dress up your dog. Check out these handmade Halloween collars on Etsy.

Fake Costume: Check out the adorable BatCocker! Attach the wings to the wall and position your dog in front of them. Ta-da!

Props: Gather your jack-o-lanterns, fake spiderwebs, and scarecrow and pose your dog in front of them for a great Halloween photo.

So You Want Your Dog to Like Wearing a Costume…

To get your dog accustomed to wearing a costume, you need to start bit by bit. This process will take 1 minute per training session.

Training Goal 1: The sight of the costume predicts treats.

  1. Grab the costume and 10-12 pieces of GOOD treats. Leftover meat, cheese stick, etc.
  2. Show the dog the costume and feed a treat.
  3. Hide the costume behind your back.
  4. Repeat steps 2-3 until you run out of treats.

Do this process several times per day. Once you see your dog getting excited at the sight of the costume, move on to the next training goal. (If your dog does not get excited to see the costume, do not proceed. Scroll back up for costume alternatives and keep that pup happy!)

Training Goal 2: Touching the costume predicts treats.

  1. Grab the costume and 10-12 pieces of GOOD treats.
  2. Show the dog the costume and feed a treat.
  3. Hide the costume behind your back.
  4. Touch your dog with the costume (reach to your dog’s side, not over the head) and feed a treat.
  5. Repeat steps 3-4 until you run out of treats.

Do this process several times per day. Once you see your dog getting excited at the sight of the costume, move to the next training goal. (If your dog is looking stressed, do not proceed. Scroll back up for costume alternatives.)

Training Goal 3: Wearing the costume predicts treats.

  1. Grab the costume and 10-12 pieces of GOOD treats.
  2. Show the dog the costume and feed a treat.
  3. Hide the costume behind your back.
  4. Touch your dog with the costume (reach to your dog’s side, not over the head) and feed a treat.
  5. Hide the costume behind your back.
  6. Put the costume on the dog* and jackpot feed the treats. (Save 2 treats for removing the costume.)
  7. Take the costume off while feeding the remaining treats.

*NOTE:  If the costume involves multiple pieces, do this process for each individual piece in separate training sessions.

“I Don’t Have Time for That!”

Sure you do! Each training session is 1-2 minutes long. You can dedicate just 5 minutes a day to this training protocol and (most likely) have a dog that’s happy to dress up for you. And when your dog is happy, your Halloween pictures will be super cute!