Dog Halloween Costumes 2017: Cute Ideas To Dress Up Your Pup This Year

With Halloween inching closer, dog owners will need to decide quickly whether or not they will dress up their canine friends for the occasion.

Americans are expected to spend a record $9.1 billion on Halloween this year, according to the National Retail Foundation (NRF). Costume buyers make up $3.4 billion of the sales, with 16 percent of dog owners slated to dress up their pets this Halloween season.

"Star Wars" characters, "hot" dogs and various other animal ensembles remain among the top 10 trends for dog Halloween costumes, according to the NRF.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) also recommends that dogs shouldn't be dressed in costume "unless you know he or she loves it."

For those still interested in dressing up a willing dog for the spookiest night of the year, retailers like Chewy, PetSmart, Amazon and Party City have several costume options available for dogs of all sizes. Here's a list of 7 dog costume ideas for Halloween:

Hot Dog

Taco is a popular food costume for dogs, but it doesn't beat the hot dog. The pun isn't lost on pet owners.

Prisoner

If a pet owner has a bad dog on their hands, dressing it up as an inmate may be a temporary compromise for Halloween. (Just kidding. They're all good dogs.)

Mailman

Dog owners whose furry friends don't take kindly to the neighborhood mailman will likely get a kick out of this doggie outfit.

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman is one of the most popular dog costume trends this season following the debut of the successful featured film. Other comic book characters like Spider-Man and Batman are expected to make waves this Halloween season, too.

Pumpkin

When thinking of Halloween, pumpkins are one of the first few things that may come to mind. Dressing a dog up in a pumpkin costume is not only fitting to the season, but it's also adorable, too.

Lion

Dressing up a dog as another animal is not only comical, but the dog may get a kick out of it, too.

Ghost

Ghosts costumes are a simple, last-minute costume for dog owners who ran out of time or can't settle for an adequate costume option.

Will pet costumes have long dominated tradition for many pet owners, costumes can be dangerous for some animals. A PETA representative said pet owners should avoid forcing their pets into costumes that are painful or could hurt them.

"While some dogs might enjoy the attention that comes with wearing a festive bandana, many others will resist being forced into a costume," Daphna Nachminovitch, senior vice president of cruelty investigations for PETA, told International Business Times. "Clothing should never impede a dog's mobility, vision, or hearing, as an uncomfortable hat or a cumbersome Halloween costume would."

Nachminovitch added, "PETA's advice is to leave the attention-grabbing garb to humans and stick to jaunty collars and festive bandanas for dogs."

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