February 7, 2012

St. Patrick’s Day Dog

In the past we haven’t had much to talk about on St Patty’s Day, but this year we have a St. Patrick’s Day Dog named Dublin!  Well, he’s not really a St. Patrick’s Day Dog, but we decided that because he has an Irish (with my best Irish accent) name that we should declare him a St. Patrick’s Day Dog.

On our way to Guide Dog Obedience training this past weekend I chatted with our group leader a little bit about St. Patrick’s Day and she was very interested in getting some festive green collars for her 4 dogs at home.  It got me to thinking that Dublin being a St Patrick’s Day Dog should have something to represent his Irish side.

That being said what does an Irish Dog do or wear on Saint Paddy’s Day?  Unfortunately, Dublin cannot drink green beer and eat corn beef and cabbage today.  We were a little stumped on what to do and wear so we went to Amazon.com to do a little bit of shopping.

St. Patrick’s Day Dog

For the most part we didn’t see much that we liked including a silly Green Shamrock Tie for your dog and I wasn’t too sure about the St Paddy’s Dog Bandana listed on the site.  However, I did see three things that I may put on my wishlist for next years (we already missed the buying period for St Patrick’s Day).

By far our favorite doggy product to show up at Amazon.com was the Leprechaun Dog Costume.  Take a look:

  • Leprechaun Dog Costume

St Patricks Day Dog

Leprechaun Dog Costume

How can you not love the little orange beard around his chin?  It’s just too adorable.  This costume would look great on my dad’s little cairn terrier and probably go well on Dublin too.  Perhaps this will be a purchase before next years St Patty’s Day festivities

We also liked this doggy bandana:

  • St. Patrick’s Day Dog Bandana Shamrocks

St Patricks Day Dog Bandana

St. Patrick’s Day Dog Bandana Shamrocks

Okay now this is what I think about when I think about doggy bandanas.   This I would allow my St Patrick’s Day Dog to wear.  If you’re looking for a nice Irish bandana go wit this one and not the one previously mentioned above…

Finally this collar full of shamrocks was to our liking as well:

  • St. Patrick’s Day Dog Collar

St Patricks Day Dog Collar

St Patrick’s Day Dog Collar

We really liked the St. Patrick’s Day Dog Collar, but we also have a friend who makes and sells her own collars with beautiful designs.  Maybe we’ll have a chance to post some of her work sometime in the near future.

Since it’s a little too late to order from Amazon maybe we need to make a quick trip over to Target and get Dublin something green before we celebrate St Patty’s day with our friends.

Do you do anything special with your dog on Saint Patrick’s Day?  Let us know in the comment section below.

This post contains some affiliate links.  If you happen to click on the link and purchase a product from Amazon we earn a tiny commission which helps us cover the hosting costs on this website.

Halloween Dog Costume Contest

I know what your thinking: “Halloween was almost three weeks ago!  I’m already prepping my turkey and getting ready for Thanksgiving!”  I know, I know…but I just got an email about a Halloween dog costume contest and I’m sure plenty of you got some great photos of your puppies in costume this year.

Speaking of puppies in costume did I show you Stetson’s dog costume this year?

Stetson and I were lucky enough to get invited to the Orange County Guide Dog Halloween group meeting where the majority of the dogs were dressed up for Halloween.  Linus is not a big fan of dog costumes, so we didn’t dress him up this year.

Stetson’s Halloween Dog Costume

Dog Costume - Stetson the Angel Fan

Yep, that’s my boy.  We went eco-friendly this year and recycled some of our household items including a free Bobby Grich T-Shirt we received at the Angel game, a vintage 1980′s Angel baseball cap that we also received for free, and finally a rally monkey that we purchased at the Angel game several years ago.  Stetson and the other dogs thought the rally monkey was a dog toy, but had trouble finding the squeeker.

Back to the Halloween Contest I mentioned earlier.  Here’s the information:

We know that Halloween is over but we’re still reveling in leftover candy and photos of costumed pets.   Send us a photo of your pet dressed up for Halloween.  If we pick it as our favorite, we will send you a set of EatBetter and Drinkbetter bowls.  Hurry though, the contest closes November 30th.  Enter Contech’s November Photo Contest

We reviewed both the EatBetter and DrinkBetter Dog Bowls here on the Puppy In Training website.  If you want win your own set the rush over to the Contech’s November Photo Contest and submit your dog costume picture.

We’d love to see your Halloween dog costumes too.  Leave us a link in the comments section below or send me your images at ckmorita [at] puppyintraining [dot] com and I’ll put together a post with your Halloween dog costume.

Hot Dog Halloween Costume Parade 2009

I know, I know…I spelled it all wrong it’s not the Hot Dog Halloween Costume Parade. It’s actually the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade.  Yep, a funny play on words, that can sometimes be difficult to spell when you’re trying to look up information on the internet.

Hot Dog Halloween Costume Parade 2009

What:
Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade

When:
Saturday, October 31st 2009 at 2:30pm

Where:
Livingston Park
4900 East Livingston Drive (@Park Ave in Belmont Shores)
Long Beach, CA
90803

This years Halloween Parade in Long Beach, CA falls on the perfect day: October 31st, 2009.  Well, maybe not so perfect if you have dogs you’d like to strut around at the dog costume parade and then later on need to get the kiddies dressed up for an evening of trick-or-treating.  It could be along day for some.

Lucky for me I have no kids and the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade that seems to elude me every year will be on a date I can attend.  What does that mean for you?  More wonderful pictures on here at Puppy In Training.  Of course, I will do my best to get my mother the professional photographer to join me at the parade.  Unfortunately, neither Linus nor Stetson will be participating in this years parade.  Perhaps we will get them involved next year.

If you’re looking for some pictures from last years parade then check out:

Haute Dog Howl’owen Parade 2008

If you need more inspiration for your latest and greatest dog costume then go to:

6 Great Dog Halloween Costumes

If you want to learn how I made Derby’s Lion’s Mane Costume then go to:

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

Come join us for the fun and excitement at the Haute Dog Howl’oween Parade 2009.

Have you ever been to a Dog Halloween Costume Parade?  If so, I’d love to see pictures of your favorite dog costumes.

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

Halloween is right around the corner and I thought it would be the perfect time to write a DIY (do it yourself) on How To Make Your Own Dog Costume for Halloween.  This year we dressed Derby in a lion mane dog costume and it was definitely a hit at our guide dog costume party.

Last year I wasn’t too creative with Stetson and his first Halloween costume. However, Target has some great costumes and Stetson and I both dressed up as bee’s (I guess you could say we were a swarm of bees). This year we decided to do a little more preparation and after researching the internet and posting about dog costumes and our favorite: the alligator dog costume…I got really excited about designing my own dog costume for Derby and our Halloween guide dog meeting.

Derby’s Dog Costume – Simba The Lion

Here are some images of Derby in his dog costume as Simba the Lion:

Derby chomping on his prey (looks like a piece of grass or twig)

Derby the happy dog!

Derby giving us his best lion pose!

Don’t mess with Derby the lion.

Derby smelling the grass.

I’m sure everyone’s now wondering…what a brilliant costume! How did you do it?

How To Make Your Own Dog Costume

I was secretly hoping I would get a yellow Labrador Retriever or a Golden Retriever so I could dress them up as a lion for Halloween. If you saw my post on The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet then you would have seen the Golden Lion who was actually supposed to be Lambert the Sheepish lion. A very random reference, but I just recently saw the short cartoon when watching Disney’s the Fox and the Hound…I’m a kid at heart and still watch cartoons.

Anyhow, I’ve been searching for a lions mane since I got Derby and couldn’t find anything suitable until Halloween costumes started rolling into the local Walmarts and Targets. While walking through Target I saw the perfect Lions mane…it was the hair on the wolfman’s mask. So here are the step-by-step instructions for constructing your very own dog costume.

Items you will need for this project:

  • Wolfman Mask from Target
  • Elastic band
  • Piece of Velcro
  • Extra Collar
  • Sewing kit (needle and thread)
  • Knife or Scissors
  • Optional – rubber band

Instructions

  1. Go to Target and buy the $9.99 Wolfman mask.
  2. Grab a knife or scissors and unstitch the hair from the latex mask.
  3. With rudimentary sewing skills attach the collar to the lions mane (this will keep it in place when costume is worn.
  4. Next, attach the velcro under the neck. This will keep the lions mane closed around the neck area.
  5. Finally attach the elastic higher up from the velcro just under the chin. This helps to keep the hair from sliding back behind the ears.
  6. Optional – take an extra piece of hair from the mask and attach it to your dogs tail with the rubber band.

And the final results…we won Most Original Costume at our Guide Dogs of America meeting! YAY!

The Fearless Lion

Farm animals about to be preyed upon by the mighty lion!

Thanks to Joe for the wonderful photographs at our GDA meeting.

Let me know if you have any questions about How To Make Your Own Dog Costume. I, myself am not very creative nor very crafty, but was able to piece this one together.

If you haven’t already seen last years Halloween post then please check it out and get some new dog costume ideas.  Definitely one of our favorites was the headless horseman dog costume.

Did your dog wear a dog costume for Halloween? If so, what did he/she dress up as?

Halloween Dog Costume Parade Coming Soon!

Time to break out your favorite Halloween dog costume. If you’re the creative type, time to design and make your  homemade dog costume from scratch. Yep, it’s that time of year again the leaves are starting to change color (not so much here in Orange County, California), the days are getting shorter, and the evening are getting cooler. It’s that time of year when you and your best pal can dress up like the silliest of doggies or the most serious scary Weredoggie or Frankendoggie.

If you’re not into designing your very own dog costume than you can always run to your local Target or Halloween costume store or do as I often do and order through Amazon.com. Check out this little stinker skunk- Dog Halloween Costume. That would look great on a black dog like Stetson or Linus.

If you’re still having trouble coming up with the perfect dog costume then take inspiration from my post on The 6 Best Costumes On The Internet.

I’ve already started working furiously on Derby’s new dog costume. He’s going to be…well I’m not going to tell you just yet. Let me first finish it up and I’ll put together a post including pictures and all.

For those of you dog lovers out there who love to dress up your pup the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade is just around the corner.

Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade

What: The 2008 Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade

When: Sunday, October 26th, 2008, 2:30pm

Where: Livingston Park
4900 E. Livingston Drive
Long Beach, CA 90803

Here’s a little information on the event:

The 10-block sidewalk parade takes place on Second St. between Roycroft and Granada avenues and lasts about an hour.

More than 600 dogs last year helped us to raise more than $10,000. More costumed dogs are expected this year!

All events are free to spectate.

ENTRY: $15/advance or $25/day-of per parade dog. $2 for kids’ costume contest.

For more information on the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade visit their website.

Can You Make It To The Dog Costume Parade?

I plan on joining in the fun and festivities of the Dog costume Halloween parade. However, I have many obstacles to overcome. First, I’m captaining my tennis team that weekend and will not know my schedule until after we complete our morning matches. I also have a hockey game that afternoon at 4pm which I will skip in lieu of the Dog costume parade. Other than that…no excuses and I’ll see you there!

Will Derby Be At The Parade In His Dog Costume?

Unfortunately, I’m not sure if this is an appropriate event for Derby. There are two things that concern me about this event. First of all, there might be too much noise and excitement for Derby. After all he’s only 5 months old (closer to 6 months by then). Second, it may not be a good idea to bring him around so many strange dogs. The goal with Derby is to do my best to make sure he does not have a bad experience. This is something I’ll probably discuss with other people from our Orange County GDA group as I’m sure some of them have attended this event in the past.

I hope to make it to the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade and I hope to see you and your puppies in their best costume.

Did you attend the Haute Dog Howl’oween Dog Parade last year or in the past? I’d love to hear what you thought about this Halloween dog costume parade.

The 6 Best Dog Costumes On The Internet

I know what you’re thinking…The Best Dog Halloween Costumes? In the middle of February? It’s not even close to Halloween! This is true, but I’ve been hording several dog costume images over the past couple years that I’ve been itching to get up on this site. If you’ve been reading my blog then you saw that Stetson was a Bumble Bee for Halloween. I also wore my Bumble Bee outfit on Halloween making us a swarm of bees. While I must admit, Stetson was an adorable bumble bee it pales in comparison to the originality of these costumes.

So here we are with the 6 Best Dog Costumes circulating on the internet. You can click on the pictures for a larger image (some are already at maximum resolution).

Number 6 – Spider Pug

Spider Pug

Spider Pug…Spider Pug…Does whatever a Spider Pug can do…Have you seen the The Simpsons Movie yet? For some reason I’m drawn to Spider Pug. I know…it’s not too original…and you might say “I’ve seen better”, but for some reason the right color coupled with perfect length spider legs makes me love this costume.

Number 5 – The Golden Lion

 

The Golden Lion

He could be Azlan from The Chronicles of Narnia…or he could be the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz. If you take a closer look he is part of our guide dogs of america group. You can see one of our guide dog puppy jackets on the left side of the picture. Bonus points for being a guide dog in training.  Inspired by this costume we took a shot at building our own lion mane dog costume for Derby.

Number 4 – Mini Knight And His Loyal Steed

 

Mini Knight And His Loyal Steed

This little guy reminds me of King Arthur, Excalibur, and the knights of the round table. I wish I could get my father’s cairn terrier into a similar costume, but unfortunately I don’t think the knight would survive the day.

Number 3 – Fluffy The Three-Headed Dog

 

Fluffy the Three-Headed Dog

If you’ve seen or read the first Harry Potter Book then you know all about Fluffy the Three-Headed Dog. Or maybe you’ve seen the Harry Potter Movies. Anyways, I’m sure the little boy in the picture got plenty of attention with his three-headed dog.

Number 2 – The Dog Legend Of Sleepy Hollow

 

The Dog Legend of Sleepy Hollow

How can this one be number 2. What a brilliant costume! It should be number 1. The Headless Horseman rides again…brings back memories of the recent Tim Burton movie The Legend of Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp as the odd Ichabod Crane and Christopher Walken as the Headless Horseman.  The headless horseman dog costume is definitely one of our favorites and I even see they have the costume listed on Amazon.com for purchase (however, not nearly as cool as the one in hits picture).

Number 1 – Snoopy! Watch Out For The Gator!

 

Dog Eaten By A Gator

I don’t really know if his name is Snoopy, but he is a Beagle. Why did I choose this one as the number 1 dog costume? It’s original, it’s humorous, it’s great!!! and it makes me laugh…An adorable Beagle getting eaten by an alligator.  This alligator dog costume would have gone great with Derby’s lion costume.  They do have some Alligator Infant/Toddler Costume
listed on Amazon, but I bet you could use your imagination and somehow make a similar dog alligator costume.

I hope you enjoyed the list. If you have any great dog costume photos please send them to me and I’ll try to post them on my next “Top List“. What do you think? Are these great costumes? Have you seen better?