Nawaz: Do dog costumes make for a perfect Howl-o-ween or hurt their dignity?

Article content material

It’s spooky season. Meaning it’s time to get out your pumpkin carving package, refill on sweet and wrestle with that all-important October query: must you gown your pet up in a Halloween costume?

Article content material

We apologize, however this video has did not load.

Nawaz: Do canine costumes make for an ideal Howl-o-ween or harm their dignity? Again to video

Our household adopted a pet this summer time, so that is the primary time the query has been something greater than theoretical for me. However seeing a canine out and about in a sweater and booties normally makes my day, so I’m open to the chance — and by open, I imply that my laptop has a dozen tabs open to completely different canine costumes out there for buy.

Article content material

However my husband isn’t on board. He thinks that dressing the canine up for Halloween is beneath the pet’s dignity (or ours?) When prompted to elaborate on his emotions, he mentioned merely, “The entire thing simply shouldn’t be performed.”

He may need a degree. Pets can discover costumes distressing. And whereas they could look cute or hilarious dressed as a lion or a pirate or a mail service, is it well worth the potential trauma to 1’s furry buddy?

Article content material

Article content material

Many individuals assume it isn’t, even going as far as to argue that dressing up pets for Halloween needs to be unlawful. Cats may additionally get behind a dressing up ban if they might get organized. Individuals for the Moral Remedy of Animals (PETA), in fact, would agree — sustaining that animals will not be ours to make use of for leisure. However, the Halloween pet costume trade is value hundreds of thousands. Within the age of social media, it could really feel irresistible to not get in on the motion, particularly when celebrities like Reese Witherspoon, Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Garner and Dwayne Johnson share cute pictures of their pets in costume.

Admittedly, some Halloween snaps of pets reveal animals that look lower than thrilled. However then there are canines that appear to thrive in garments, like Montreal’s personal Tika the Iggy — a celeb in her personal proper who sports activities designer style for greyhounds and has been featured in Vogue. On the annual Tompkins Sq. Halloween canine parade in New York Metropolis, a whole lot of pooches attend cheerfully sufficient, usually in costume with their homeowners. On Saturday, the second version of Pawlloween Pawty happened proper right here in Montreal at Laurier Park — a enjoyable occasion for pets, homeowners, and people who simply got here out to look at.

Article content material

My favorite pet costumes are the illusion-style ones, the place the pet’s entrance paws kind the legs and faux arms or paws stick out the facet. Seen from the entrance, these costumes create the impression that a bit of dog- or cat-faced physician or Ewok or teddy bear is working towards you. I additionally admire costumes that connect like a harness or collar, with no further headpiece to trigger misery.

Toggle full display mode Earlier Gallery Picture

1. 

2. 

3. 

4. 

5. 

6. 

7. 

8. 

Subsequent Gallery Picture Toggle gallery captions

View All 8 Photographs

1 of 8

All 8 Photographs for Gallery

Perform Not Out there

Full Display isn’t supported on this browser model.

You might use a unique browser or gadget to view this in full display.

OK

Article content material

I feel it’s OK to strive a Halloween costume in your pet. The world is usually a scary place — not solely at Halloween — and a pet in costume can unfold pleasure. Although consultants disagree on the specifics of how and when canines had been domesticated, canines and people have existed in a symbiotic relationship for tens of hundreds of years. Descended from wolves, canines helped us ward off our historic foes. Why not modern ills like melancholy and nervousness?

Pet costume ideas

Article content material

Keep away from small elements and decorations that may current choking hazards. Pay attention to the material: is it breathable or irritating to the pores and skin? Make certain it suits correctly and your pet can see and transfer freely. Don’t go away them alone of their costume or neglect the leash in case you enterprise outdoors. And provides your pet plenty of treats for placing up with you. Extra virtually, I’d counsel having your digital camera prepared the very first time the costume goes on: there won’t be a second time.

As for our pet, I did purchase her a tie-dyed hoodie with unicorn horn a couple of weeks in the past — a garment that falls into an ambiguous clothes/costume zone — however she immediately tried to assault it. This yr, I’ll be happy if I can get her right into a (dignified) doggie coat.

And in case you don’t have a pet otherwise you’re not inclined — or ready — to wrangle them into a dressing up, take into account having fun with a few of the hundreds of pet costume movies on-line. That’s what the web was made for.