My Pet World: Be smart when deciding to dress up your pet for Halloween
Q: My mother says it's silly to dress up our dog Cody for Halloween -- that Cody is a dog and therefore humiliated to wear a costume, which I don't believe is true. I think Cody is happy to be dressed as a superhero. What do you think? C H., Las Vegas
A: It, of course, all depends on what superhero you've chosen. Captain America, Batman or a classic like Superman, you can't go wrong. Although, I learned something about superheroes by going to Wikipedia. I'm not so sure any self-respecting dog (or person) would want to dress as lesser known superheroes named Garbage Man or Kool-Aid Man.
Seriously, I believe some dogs look humiliated in costumes because they are. However, others seem to enjoy the extra attention.
It's important that a pet can easily move and especially breathe in the costume. Generally masks are not a good idea.
Some pets, who aren't initially convinced wearing a costume is fun, might be conditioned to wear one by associating a meal or treats with the outfit, and eventually may be swayed that it's not so bad. Other pets simply don't want any part of wearing anything. And for those pets, I agree with mom -- leave them be.
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Q: I am 14 years old and go trick-or-treating in our neighborhood with friends, and without adults. I want to bring our little dog Lucy. She loves people and is a really happy dressed as a frog prince. But my mom won't let me bring her. What do you think? B. H., Buffalo Grove, IL
A: Even dogs who love people might be fearful of noisy crowds dressed up as zombies or Donald Trump. Also, you do need to be responsible and make sure your pup isn't fed too many dog cookies, especially a little dog not accustomed to tons of food (increasingly people do offer treats for pups going house to house).
You must also have your dog on a leash, which seems easy, but when you're goofing around with friends, that might be forgotten about.
So this decision has a lot to do with your dog's temperament, and how responsible you are, and everything to do with what mom says, not what a columnist says.
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