Since I don't have any children yet, my puppy is my child. His least favorite time of year is Halloween because it is my favorite time of year. I am always looking for costume ideas for him. This year, I decided to make him CatDog from the Nickelodeon cartoon.

Materials for a small dog:
2 - 4 sheets newspaper (for pattern)
1 YD yellow felt - this will be more then enough for a small dog and will leave extra in case your measurements are off
1 6X6 inch red felt
2 pipe cleaners
stuffing
sewing machine or hot glue

Step 1: Make the Pattern

To make the top side of the costume:
Measure the length of the animal from the neck to the tail end.
Measure the width of the animal by the neck from halfway on the side and by the tail end from halfway on the side.
Start by making this rectangle on your pattern paper.
Measure from each leg to where the neck starts and mark this number minus about 1/2 to 1 inch on the rectangle for each leg.
Make a half circle to form the neck.
Measure from the neck to the front leg the length and mark this on the rectangle.
Make a slightly slanted line from the end of the collar to the leg spot.
Measure the length of the shoulders on each side so that you can see how close the the tail end they are.
Mark this on the rectangle and make a half circle to connect the slanted line to the second mark.
Cut this shape out.

To make the underside of the costume:
This is almost the same as the top side except:
Measure the length of the anmal from the underside of the neck to a few inches before the privates so that it doesn't get wet from pee pee breaks.
Cut this shape out.

***These two pieces should have their half circles for the legs and neck meet up. The difference is the backside should be shorter then the front side.***

The face:
Since I have a puppy I made a cat shape which was an oblong rectangle with the top as two small triangles for the ears. I haven't tried making the dog side's head.
The head should be about a half inch bigger then the animals head to allow for a seam allowance and make it believable as a second head.
Cut this shape out.

Step 2: Cut the Fabric

Using the patterns made in step two, place them onto and cut the fabric pieces. You will need:
1 Top side
1 Under side
2 Heads

This is the step that may need repeating. I don't know about your animals, but my puppy does not like the measuring stage and so my measurements are sometimes slightly off. You can test the pieces now if they will stay still, but I know my puppy and just wait to after the body piece is sewn.

Step 3: Sew the Pieces

The top side and bottom side will be sewn together, like sides facing each other. Since it is felt, this will usually not matter just keep this in mind if you use the pattern for other outfits.

***It may be easier to have the bottom up since it is the shorter side***

To sew the top and bottom sides together:
(If you feel the need) Sew the half circles over in the inner seams. Remember, you are looking at the back side so you fold it over towards you.
Sew the length from below the shoulder holes to the end of the length of the bottom side.
Sew from the top of the shoulders to the neckline .
Leave the half circle for the neckline and the shoulders apart!!!!
When you are done you should have done FOUR sews, the bottom half of the length on each side and the leg slant to the neck on each side.
Try this on your pet to make sure it fits and if not make minor adjustments as needed. For mine, the first body piece I made, he must have scrunched his neck because the legs were too high up and I had to move them down slightly.

To sew the head together:
If you will be sewing on your eyes and mouth rather then hot glueing on, do this first.
Then sew the two head shapes fronts facing each other almost all the way around leaving some space for your hand for the stuffing.

Turn the body piece and the head piece inside out so you now see the front sides.

Step 4: Add the Eyes and Nose

Hot Glue on the eyes and nose.

Before I glued on the eyes and nose, I placed them down on the fabric and lightly marked these spaces. Then I hot glued and placed down the pieces over the glue. I did this one eye / nose at a time so the glue did not dry before I got to the piece.

Step 5: Stuff the Head

Once your details are on the head to your liking, stuff the head and then hand sew or glue it closed. I glued mine close since I was at my moms and had no needle. It will look like a mini cat or dog head pillow.

Step 6: Attach the Head to the Body

At this point, your head and your body pieces are separated. Now yo need to decide how you want to connect them together. I struggled with a few ideas:

Sew the head to the body
Hot glue the head to the body
Safety pin the head to the body

***BEFORE YOU ACT UPON YOUR DECISION THE MOST IMPORTANT PART***
The head attaches to the top (The LONG side) on the TAIL END.
I repeat, on the TAIL END.
Remember this is the second head for the animal!!
***BEFORE YOU ACT UPON YOUR DECISION THE MOST IMPORTANT PART***

I ended up choosing to safety pin the head to the body. To do this I glued the safety pin to the head and then clipped it onto the body. This allows me to move the body up a little if I find it is too low and he is able to bite at or pee on it.