Cute or Cruel? Should we dress up pets for Halloween?

Pet owners are spending record amounts on costumes for their animal companions.

Poodles dressed as pumpkins, cats turned into Cleopatra and Bulldogs becoming bumble bees.... dressing up our pets for Halloween is more popular than ever before.

Halloween is HUGE and people in the UK are spending big bucks on whacky fancy dress costumes for their furry friends.

More high-street stores are jumping on the bandwagon and stocking large ranges of pet costumes.

Meaning that pets are being roped into the spooky celebrations whether they like it or not.

A dressed up dog participates in the Halloween Dog Parade on November 01, 2015 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The trend has taken off so much that parades entirely dedicated to Halloween-y dogs take place across the globe.

The Tompkins Square Halloween Dog parade in New York is about to enjoy its 28th year, and features hundreds of dogs in incredible costumes - including props!

A dog dressed as a tarantula for the 2016 Halloween dogs parade in Tompkins Square Park, New York.

If you popped along to the parade you can expect to find dogs dressed as tarantulas, pooches strutting around as Buzz Lightyear, and even Darth Vader.

The trend is also partly thanks to celebrities posting photos of their pets on social media.

Miley Cyrus dressed her entire canine crew as a banana split, a hamburger, a hot dog and a UFO.

Whilst many of us enjoy turning our beloved four-legged friends into unicorns, wizards and hot dogs, not everyone thinks it's a great idea.

PDSA Vet Olivia Anderson-Nathan suggests, 'some clothing can be useful for certain pets - winter coats to keep them warm and dry, or high-vis jackets to keep them safe on dark nights. However, even these have to be carefully fitted with a pet's comfort and welfare in mind, to ensure they don't restrict the pet's movement or cause them any distress.

Costumes are often not designed for comfort, and can limit your pet's movement. Many of them cover a pet's face or head, which can make pets feel really restricted.'

Olivia has given some tips of things to look out for if your pet isn't happy.

'Some pets can get very stressed - cats may start to groom themselves a lot, sit or lie very still, be more vocal or even lash out. Dogs might show they're stressed by licking their lips, yawning or panting, or again freezing still. Dressing up pets just for fun could make them stressed and uncomfortable, so if it's just for our amusement then we don't feel this is fair on our pets."

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