I'm not a fan of costumes on dogs. They already have to endure the indignity of prison life what with their strictly scheduled meals and having to poop in front of friends.
Carving a prison tattoo into his coat however? That seemed reasonable. In fact it was so reasonable that I decided to cover him in prison tattoos for Halloween.
The skull was just the start. I wanted to do all the classics, you know? We'd start with the skull then move onto a heart, a banner with the word mom, an anchor and maybe a star on each shoulder.
That led me down a Google hole of historical Russian prison tattoo photos which is a completely fascinating explanation of the meaning behind the tattoos.
Within a day Philip's skull tattoo had already begun to grow in. Then it was apple harvesting time which as you know led to apple preserving time. Then there were the potatoes to harvest followed by pumpkins and so on.
What I'm leading up to here is I have a lot of vegetables stored, great knowledge of the hierarchical Russian prison tattoo system and a fully grown out Philip with no more tattoos carved into his coat.
Coat carving
You can actually coat carve into any dog's coat, but poodles are especially perfect for it because of their fluffy, always growing hair. The coat is carved into whatever design you want with a small electric shaver like this one that I used.
Would you like to save this stuff?
We'll email you this post, so you can refer to it later.
I started out during a grooming by defining the basic skull shape on his hip and then clipping around it. Then I went in and carved out the full skull freehand with the mini clipper and scissoring.
It definitely takes an artistic eye, a bit of sculpting and precision to carve a coat but it's something a groomer (or home groomer like me) could have fun with.
Dressed up but dignified. Although if I had been able to get these wolf ears and tail delivered in time for Halloween, I 100% would have put them on Philip. Why?
Because then he could have gone out for Halloween as a wolf in sheep's clothing.
And I could have dressed up like old Little Red Riding Hood. What about the case for dignity?
It's O.K. to abandon dignity if it'll result in smiling and laughter.
Jeanie n Saraosta.
Phillip is gorgeous! The tats are quite creative; but the page ads smother your content. It takes all the fun away.
👻
Karen
However without ads them I cannot run a blog. You can see the conundrum. ~ karen!
Tres
Philip looks great, all the girls will go for the bad boy with the skull "tattoo".
Mine were Olivia Neutered John and Bone Jovi for our local doggy costume contest this afternoon.
Happy Halloween!
Jennifer
OMG. The accessories! I love it!
Kathy A Johnson
I love this! In fact, I've done the same thing on my horse. I live in Florida, and every year I have to at least partly clip his winter coat because even in winter he doesn't need the amount of hair he grows (he didn't get the memo that he doesn't live in Alaska, apparently). I always clip a heart shape into the hair on his hip. Some of my horsey friends have followed suit, adding peace signs or music notes to their horses' coats. We're total amateurs, but if you want to go into another internet rabbit hole, search for clip patterns for horses. There are some amazing ones out there.
Karen
I've seen them! When I used to show we'd make checkerboard patterns on their bums by brushing the hair up in sections. ~ karen!
cathyR
at least you didn't have kids!! ;)
cathyr
i forgot to add my fav dog costume was the giant spider one. I'm sure it's on YT somewhere. Owner unleashed it in nearly empty parking garage and it was awesome!
Lynn
COOLEST IDEA EVER! Lip in one bad a$$ poodle dude!
Jennifer
I once made my dog a costume out of paper angel wings at the last minute. I put them on her and she hid in the corner in shame. It didn't help that I tried to attach a halo to her collar and it kept hitting her in the head. I guess it wasn't a hit, but it was a cute picture.
Linda Weber
You are simply amazing. That is all!
Jane
👍❤️🎃
Andrea Dee Bailey
Love the little red riding hood and wolf in sheep clothing ideas. Lol.i bought a dino costume because I thought it would be fun to do a Jurassic Park trunk or treat theme and have my dinosaur in the back seat. (See photo). I didn't participate in trunk or treat and I returned the costume. I have a goldendoodle with wavy coat. I wish there were more pictures of all his "tattoos"
Terry Rutherford
At last, a dose of Philip. What a gorgeous boy, skull notwithstanding. How do you get him to turn his head just so for portraits? Epic.
As an aside, may I just throw out the idea of SubStack for you? I’d subscribe! Failing that, a desktop link to Amazon for your credit? I never seem to have an email link when I decide I “ need” something from Amazon. Stay warm.
Karen
Hi Terry. You can actually drag the Amazon link from my email right onto your desktop! Just drag her on over and you can use it anytime. Philip is great posing for photos because I've been doing it since he was a puppy. He knows if the camera is pointed at him that he has to stay still. ~ karen!
Jackie
I love seeing Phillip on your stories. He's just so cute. And thank you for the tip on adding the Amazon button to the desktop. I order from Amazon all the time & most of the time I forget to go through your site. I moved the button &now I can order thru it all the time.
Elaine
Philip looks amazing! I love the Halloween clip! You are doing a terrific job with his coat! I have attached a pic our little guy that is sure to bring a smile. Happy Halloween!
Martina
So cute! 🥰
Michelle
Phillip is gorgeous! Love his skull & the entire clip; so fun & professional looking. Oh my, and your zipper face - Woah!!! You go girlie! There's bound to be loads of fun with that! Happy Haunting from Virginia Beach, Virginia
Randy P
If dogs could talk..........lol well... at least it isn't the typical 'costume of shame' some dogs are subjected to this time of year. Have fun and stay warm, here they are forecasting sub 40F temps over the next few days.