Need good pet costume ideas

[Xia]

I'm hoping you guys might be able to help me think of some good ideas for pet costumes. I have won some costume contests before with my previous dogs but I am having trouble coming up with a good/original costume idea for Bianca my new German Shepherd. Most ideas I've had are either too commonly seen costumes or just won't look right on a Shepherd.

I did have one cute idea but I don't think it's good enough to win any contests. I had the idea to dress Bianca up as a police dog and have my cat (or my friend's dog if it is a dogs-only contest) dressed like a prisoner. I did that before with my two dogs Ginger and Pooch but it didn't look as good since Ginger was a Golden Retriever not a typical police dog type. Here is a photo of them in the costumes. Here is a photo of Bianca in the harness I would use for a police costume. I actually have a Chicago Police themed collar and leash I can use too. I was also thinking I could possibly make a small cage or something into a "jail" for the cat (she is very tolerant.)
ETA: Here is a photo of the cat (Harley.)

So does anyone have any ideas for a unique costume that would not be incredibly difficult to pull together? Possibly also a good "pair" of costumes for Bianca and my cat?

[kismet]

I have one! I once dressed my black tri aussie as the big bad wolf. He wore floral flannel nightgown, a white nightcap with lace trim I made for him and some granny eyeglasses intended for a teddy bear. I then dressed my other dog as Little Red Riding Hood, which you could do with your borrowed cat or dog. My dogs won me season passes to a local amusement park in that combo.

[Menolly]

Is there any way you could put the cat in a pair of sunglasses like she's blind and somehow rig a tiny cane? Then Bianca could be Harley's seeing eye dog.

BW, Bianca is a gorgeous, gorgeous dog.

[Forgotten Fay]

Originally Posted by Menolly

Is there any way you could put the cat in a pair of sunglasses like she's blind and somehow rig a tiny cane? Then Bianca could be Harley's seeing eye dog.

BW, Bianca is a gorgeous, gorgeous dog.

I was thinking this, but opposite. Bianca being the blind and Harley being a seeing eye cat. I think it'd be awesome!

And Bianca is beautiful!

[Onyx_TKD]

When I first read the description in the OP and read "police dog," I was actually thinking that the German Shepherd would be in a police uniform and accompanied by the "prisoner" (rather than being dressed as an actual police dog). Have you considered that idea?

I also like the idea of the dog being "blind" with a seeing eye cat.

The only other idea that comes to mind right now is pretty stupid and probably not workable, but you could try dressing the dog up as an actual "German shepherd" with, for instance, a shepherd's crook and lederhosen (don't ask me how to do lederhosen for a dog, that's the part I haven't figured out), or a shepherd's crook + something else distinctly German, and the cat would be a sheep (also playing off of the "herding cats" idea).

[FrogFeathers]

Awww, she's gorgeous!

I dressed my rottie up one year as an angel. That year, a horse dressed as a unicorn won the overall "best in show" costume (yeah, a stretch, putting a horn on a horse).

The next year, I dressed my rottie up as Richard Simmons. I made a wig from curly doll hair, used glitter paint to make up a sparkly tank-top and a pair of satin shorts that one of my girls had outgrown. I wore workout clothes and submitted us for the "dress-alike" catagory. We lost to a woman who was dressed like the Wicked Witch of the West and had a monkey dressed like a flying monkey. I stopped going after that year. Her costume and make-up looked professional and the fact they won "most original" with a monkey dressed up like a monkey... There were different "Wizard of Oz" themed costumes that were more original than a monkey dressed as a monkey... but I digress...

I like the seeing-eye suggestion. How about an angel and devil (or would that be too cliche)? And I do like the "big bad wolf", that sounds great.

[Troberg]

Originally Posted by FrogFeathers

And I do like the "big bad wolf", that sounds great.

What about doing a 'wolf in sheep's clothing'? Just do a really shabby sheep costume.

[Xia]

Originally Posted by Onyx_TKD

When I first read the description in the OP and read "police dog," I was actually thinking that the German Shepherd would be in a police uniform and accompanied by the "prisoner" (rather than being dressed as an actual police dog). Have you considered that idea?

I also like the idea of the dog being "blind" with a seeing eye cat.

The only other idea that comes to mind right now is pretty stupid and probably not workable, but you could try dressing the dog up as an actual "German shepherd" with, for instance, a shepherd's crook and lederhosen (don't ask me how to do lederhosen for a dog, that's the part I haven't figured out), or a shepherd's crook + something else distinctly German, and the cat would be a sheep (also playing off of the "herding cats" idea).

I did think of that but I liked the idea of a police dog better. Also all the "cop" dog costumes I've seen (with a uniform outfit) were pretty lame and I think it would not be too easy to make one. I did buy a kid's police hat so I would have her wear that with her vest.

I'm not sure about the "shepherd" idea-- it's cute but it seems like it would be difficult to execute and would be the type of thing where everyone would need an explanation to understand it.

Originally Posted by FrogFeathers

I dressed my rottie up one year as an angel. That year, a horse dressed as a unicorn won the overall "best in show" costume (yeah, a stretch, putting a horn on a horse).

The next year, I dressed my rottie up as Richard Simmons. I made a wig from curly doll hair, used glitter paint to make up a sparkly tank-top and a pair of satin shorts that one of my girls had outgrown. I wore workout clothes and submitted us for the "dress-alike" catagory. We lost to a woman who was dressed like the Wicked Witch of the West and had a monkey dressed like a flying monkey. I stopped going after that year. Her costume and make-up looked professional and the fact they won "most original" with a monkey dressed up like a monkey... There were different "Wizard of Oz" themed costumes that were more original than a monkey dressed as a monkey... but I digress...

Ah, that reminds me of some of the contests I've been to where someone won because they used a cute little kid as part of the costume. I think that is an unfair advantage! One year someone had a little 3-4 year old dressed as Little Bo Peep with a Corgi as a sheep. Actually that might be a cute idea for a "pair" costume for two animals...
The angel and devil idea is cute but I think it is too common. I did dress my Golden as an angel one year, she looked really cute (photo) but we didn't win anything. That was a contest where the winner would be the "mascot" for a boat company (they offered 1-2 hour cruises on Lake Michigan.) I had my terrier Pooch dressed up as a pirate. He looked great, here is a photo. I mean come on, a pirate for a boat line is perfect! They picked a dog dressed like Elvis. Pooch's pirate costume did win him several prizes other times though.


Thanks for the great ideas so far! I would also be interested in hearing costumes just for Bianca as well (not pairs.)

[Xia]

Hey I wanted to post a photo of their costumes. Thanks kismet for the Red Riding Hood idea! We went to a pet costume contest yesterday and they won first place.
Second place was a group of dogs dressed up like Star Wars characters (in these costumes-- I really don't care for the style with the fake arms myself.) Third place IIRC were Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You can see some of the other costumes here.