Two beautiful chihuahuas dressed in warm fall sweaters and ready to celebrate Halloween.

Halloween is Coming!

Are you Ready to Get Festive?

It is officially that time of the year again. That’s right, we are saying hello once again to the spookiest season of the year! What is a good spooky season without some herbal teas, candy, creepy decorations, oh, and of course, Halloween dog costumes! Whether or not you enjoy dressing up your beloved furry companion all year round or save it for Halloween, we have some pretty sweet events and things for you to consider this special holiday occasion. So, without further ado, let’s go ahead and dive into the fun you and your pup could be having this Halloween season.

French Bulldog and Boston Terrier mix, named Dilla, stalking his next victim at outside the Lilley Hall Historic Home in Toluca Lake California wearing the Chucky Doll Deadly Killer Dog Costume from online dog costume shop they made me wear it.
Dilla sporting his Chucky costume, ready to spook the neighbors.

Halloween Events to Feature your Pup

Adorable French Bulldog with diadem and Halloween tie, not really feeling the Halloween spirit.
Awww man, it's Halloween time again 😩

Virtual Halloween Canine Costume Contest

Adorable mixed dog dressed up as a pumpkin for Halloween.
Did someone say Howl-o-ween?

Who doesn’t love a costume contest? Not only are these super fun activities, but they also give everyone from all over the country a chance to enroll their pups in a Halloween costume contest, tailored specifically for their furbaby. Hello, sign us up, please! If you would like to check out one of these virtual contests, visit TraciPaws.org

Howl-o-Ween Pet Parade & Costume Contest

Chihuahua haute dog  Howl'oween Parade wearing pompom costume.
All smiles and colorful pompoms

We're so excited to be sponsoring the 13th Annual Howl-o-Ween Pet Parade & Costume Contest benefitting The Animal League and welfare of animals. This events gets the entire family out and ready for a spooktacular Halloween season. So, if you're in Groveland Florida and headed downtown to Clermont’s Farmers Market, get your pup dressed up for Halloween, grab a candy bag and get ready for this favorite tradition.

Cause 4 Paws Rescue Contest & Parade

Beautiful yorkshire terrier wearing her red and white costume for Halloween.
They love, me they really love me.

This Halloween costume contest is a bit different as it also features a parade! This fifth annual event, which benefits A Cause 4 Paws Rescue, will be held by Crooked Can Brewing Company in Winter Garden, Florida. Here, the top three winners will be given a prize. However, if your pup doesn’t win the contest, don’t feel too bummed, for there are also tons of raffles you can enter as well. The entry fee for this Halloween costume contest and parade comes out to just $10! Click here if you are in the area and want to enter your pet into the contest.

Additional Spooky Activities for You and Your Furry Friends

Boston Terrier wearing a chia pet dog costume for Halloween.
Can you say Cha Cha Cheesah

In addition to the above Halloween events, there are plenty of other ways you can enjoy this national holiday with your pup – and maybe a few of your friends. For example, you could throw your own Halloween themed bash. Picture this: you throw together a Halloween themed party, as one would usually do on this beloved national holiday, only for this special occasion, everyone is invited to bring their dressed-up pups. There could also be a best dog Halloween costume contest where the winner gets a new chew toy and a few doggy treats! We are just throwing ideas out there, but Halloween parties and dogs dressed up in costumes always sound like a great idea in my own personal opinion.

Awesome Halloween Events at Home

Adorable brindled French Bulldog laying down wearing a pumpkin hat for Halloween fun.
Who you calling a pumpkin?

While the above activities are always fun, there are also plenty of things to do from your home! Whether you are simply inside your home carving pumpkins with your pup and fellow friends or hunting around your neighborhood to find the best nearby activities, there is so much to do! With that being said, let’s go ahead and dive into some other halloween activities you can enjoy with your furry friend all from the comfort of your home, or in the surrounding areas of course.

Halloween Movie Marathon

Jack Russell Terrier dressed up as a lady bug, celebrating Halloween at home on the couch in front of the television.
Let's get this movie night started!

While still on the subject of additional spooky Halloween activities you can enjoy with your dog, consider getting all of your friends with dogs together for a Halloween movie marathon. For this movie marathon, you may want to feature Halloween themed movies that also involve dogs and other pets to fully get in the spirit (see what we did there?) for you and your pup. The perfect movie to feature in this Halloween movie marathon would be The Nightmare Before Christmas. Think about it! Not only is it one of the greatest holiday themed movies of all time, with the greatest musical score, but who doesn’t want to watch Jack and his little dog Zero on screen this coming Halloween season? And don't forget, there are plenty of other amazing Halloween movies that will fit the spirit of your Halloween dog party as well. For the perfect movie night, check out: Hocus Pocus, Frankenweenie, oh, and of course we cannot forget this scary but classic – Michael Myers aka Halloween!

Trick-or-Treating

Adult mixed labrador wearing a pumpkin hat as his Halloween costume.
Trick-or-treat, give me something good to eat.

Now that restrictions are slowly being let up, we may all be able to enjoy a night out of trick-or-treating once again. Therefore, if you know you have an outgoing pup on your hands, you may want to bring him out to join the fun this year. Not only will this be an enjoyable night out for you and your furry friend, but it will also give you another chance to show off those Halloween dog costumes once again. On the other hand, if you yourself do not want to head out to trick-or-treat but would still like to host fellow trick-or-treaters who stop by, this would still be a fun opportunity to dress up your dog, or yourself for that matter. Hey, it is Halloween, after all, so go crazy if you must!

Pumpkin Carving

Cute little beagle dressed in a pumpkin costume for Halloween night.
I'll be your pumpkin tonight 🎃

Of course, who could forget the classic Halloween tradition of pumpkin carving? However, before we get too ahead of ourselves, let’s first talk about pumpkins and where you can go to find the best selection this coming Halloween. Yes, we are talking about the annual pumpkin patches! Most pumpkin patches are known to be pet friendly, and if they are not, why go there in the first place, right? Instead, take your furry friend with you to the annual Halloween pumpkin patch nearest to your location and begin your hunt for the largest pumpkin. We are talking large enough to carve your pup’s face into the pumpkin, or you could carve a spooky face, whatever best suits your mood. I will be trying to carve my pup into my pumpkin this year. In addition to helping you pick out your perfect pumpkin, your dog can also help you find your way out the maze, run through the open area of the pumpkin patch and help you win yourself some cool prizes at the pop-up games and shops. This sounds like the perfect night out to celebrate Halloween.

Oktoberfest

Adorable frenchie with beer diadem.
This wasn't what I had in mind when I said I was thirsty!

Next up on the list of fall festivities to enjoy with you pup, we absolutely have to mention Oktoberfest. You definitely do not have to find yourself in Munich, Germany this year to enjoy Oktoberfest. In addition to this, we may not be talking about attending the world’s largest beer festival at all; instead, we are simply talking about finding the nearest Oktoberfest celebration to your neighboring area. Yes, don’t worry, there will still be beer involved. Only this time, you get to bring your pup with you. Beer, dog, Halloween costumes, and some fun outside in the park? Yes, that sounds amazing; sign me up, please!

Ghost Tours Near You

Mixed dog dressed up as a ghost for Halloween ready for trick-or-treating.
Booooooo!

Another unique way to get you and your fellow pup in the Halloween spirit is by finding the nearest ghost tour. New Orleans is not the only place to take the spookiest ghost tours, however, if you do in fact find yourself in New Orleans this Halloween, please take one for the entire team and find a ghost tour in town. Trust me when I tell you, you will not regret doing so. With that being said, there are still plenty of other unique ghost tours all around the country! All you need to do is find the one nearest to you. For example, if you find yourself in Georgia this coming Halloween, may we suggest taking your dog and checking out Oliver Bentleys Historic Dog Walk Tour. Located in Savannah, Georgia, this spooky ghost tour will leave you with chills in the best way possible, oh, and top of this already spine chilling and thrilling event, every dog on the tour will receive a complimentary bag of biscuits; yes, please and thank you very much.

Halloween Parades Near You

French Bulldog and Boston Terrier Mix named Dilla and his big sister Willow, a Bichon Frise, Maltese and Havanese Mix wearing their festive Halloween costumes.
Let's make this a spooktacular affair!

Last but certainly not least on this list of spooky activities, we have the annual Halloween Parade. Almost every town around the country will usually host some sort of Halloween parade or fall event of the season. This is a great opportunity for you to dress up along with your pup and take part in the parade yourself. However, if you would like to be on the outside and enjoy the parade without taking part in it, that is just as fun! This could just be the absolute perfect opportunity for your dog to socialize and show off his spooky costume. If you find yourself in the NYC area this Halloween, please try to consider escorting your dog at the Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade, also known as the “largest dog costume parade in the world.”

Willow, a Bichon Frise, Maltese and Havanese Mix wearing her Halloween sunnies.
I'm ready for my close up.

Now it seems as though we have just about covered all of the spookiest Halloween activities you should definitely consider trying with your pup and closest friends – and their pups – this year. Therefore, to end the festive fun, we want to take a look at some of the absolute cutest and spookiest Halloween costumes for dogs that you should absolutely be considering this year. With that being said, whether you decide to throw a party and host the best costume contest or not, below you will still find a few Halloween dog costume ideas – these would be guaranteed to win in a costume contest, just throwing that out there in case you still needed a bit of extra reassurance.”

Willow a Bichon Frise, Maltese and Havanese mix is wearing the Tarantula Halloween Dog Costume and French Bulldog and Boston Terrier mix, named Dilla, is wearing the Chucky Doll Deadly Killer Dog Costume from online dog costume shop they made me wear it.
SHOP COSTUMES

Halloween Dog Costumes

TRICK OR TREAT

Get in the holiday spirit with our most popular Halloween dog costumes! Willow is wearing our creepy tarantula costume and Dilla love spooking the neighbors in our scary chucky doll costume.

From small dog Halloween costumes to large dog costumes, we have you covered with some spooky yet adorable costumes for dogs of all shapes and sizes. Click here to shop Halloween dog costumes.

Until next time, thank you for reading!


About the author: Gabrielle is the loving pawrent to adorable pups Willow and Dilla. Growing up surrounded by dogs, she always dreamt of having her own. Willow and Dilla came into her life and changed everything. Now, she's crazy about pampered pooches, and her perfect day involves dancing with her husband, dressing up her furbabies, and cuddling them to sleep. For Gabrielle, life is all about spreading love and joy with her adorable canine companions by her side.