BARK Ranger Outfit for Dogs: My DIY outfit

I love taking my dog, Lil Mikey, to earn his BARK Ranger badge at national parks around DC. The first time we went, it was around Halloween, so I decided to dress him up as a park ranger to go earn his first badge at Rock Creek Park. The trouble, though, was there wasn’t really a good costume already made, so I had to make my own from things I found on Amazon.

Since then, he’s worn his BARK Ranger uniform to earn his Great Falls, National Cherry Blossom Festival, and Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens badges, and he gets so many compliments on it. Here’s how you can recreate the look yourself, without sewing!

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Inspiration

The BARK Ranger program exists at mainly national parks across the United States, with some county-run parks having their own programs. For my BARK Ranger outfit for my dog, I wanted to make it look like a National Park Service park ranger outfit but for dogs.

Straight off the bat, I knew I didn’t want to try to make pants for Lil Mikey. It would be too much to deal with when using the bathroom (especially with how often he likes to mark), and I didn’t think it would be comfortable with him. So I ignored the pants.

For the shirt, I wanted a khaki short sleeved, button up shirt. The park rangers have a collar and a pocket with a flap on it, as well as shoulder straps.

To save costs, I decided against the badges and patches on the shirt. I also wasn’t sure what kind of BARK Ranger badge I would get, so I didn’t want to buy something if I was going to get something I could use instead. The badges I’ve gotten don’t really replace the badges on the shirt, and I do think a National Park Service patch would be a good addition to the outfit.

For the hat, I thought that the wide brimmed hat would be easiest to replicate and look the best. If I went with a baseball cap, I would need some more identifying marks on it to show it’s a park ranger hat, where the wide brimmed one is more clear.

I did want to incorporate some of the forest green from the pants and jackets to the outfit as well, so I decided to add in a tie.

BARK Ranger Shirt

Lil Mikey is a 55 lb mutt. He has short legs with a barrel chest, a big head, and floppy ears similar to a lab, just on a slightly smaller scale.

I watched and read a bunch of tutorials on converting a human shirt to a dog shirt, and I’ll be honest, it seemed like way more work than I wanted to do and I thought the outcome was sloppy looking in most cases. I also don’t sew very often, and didn’t trust my sewing skills.

I realized that a button up shirt would solve a lot of problems. Most tutorials dealt with adult size t-shirts, but with a child’s sized button up shirt, I could simple cut the arm holes to make them bigger and patch up the sleeves. This would eliminate one of the biggest problems with turning t-shirts into dog shirts, which is getting their legs through the arm holes. I’d have more room to maneuver with the button up, and it’s the right look for a park ranger outfit anyway.

You will need to get a short sleeved shirt, and cut holes in the arm holes to enlarge them. A dog’s legs are closer to the chest. You’ll lay the shirt open over your dog, and pinpoint where their legs hit. It generally means you will be cutting the sleeves from the edge of the sleeve in towards the pocket to open up the arm holes.

This creates some flaps in the fabric that I wanted to secure without sewing, so I used some fabric tape.

Short Sleeved Shirt

For small to medium-sized dogs, I would recommend a child’s size shirt. The specific shirt I got Lil Mikey is no longer available, but the same brand has a new shirt that’s more in line with the true park ranger uniform now. Mine does not have the collar lapels, where the new shirt does. It comes in a beige/khaki and a green if you prefer to bring in green through the shirt instead of a tie.

For my 55 lb dog, we got the largest child’s size (10-12 years).

For larger dogs, I would recommend a men’s shirt. The same process applies, though you may have to cut the length of the shirt as well for your dog.

Velcro Fabric Tape

When I first made the shirt, I used safety pins to secure the flaps so they looked better. Later on, I got a Velcro fabric tape that didn’t require sewing, gluing, or ironing.

With the shirt altered so his legs fit in, I put the shirt on Lil Mikey and then stuck the Velcro onto the shirt where I wanted to connect them. I waited 24 hours to let it set and then started using it, and haven’t had a problem. I don’t test my luck with it, though, and I do hold the Velcro down when I go to separate it. None of my Velcro comes off, and it was super quick and easy to do!

I got the 1″ x 3/4″ set in white. It does come in beige, but the white isn’t very noticeable when people are just focused on how cute your dog looks!

National Park Service Pin or Patch

Adding some sort of unofficial National Park Service insignia to your dog’s BARK ranger costume is a nice-to-have, in my opinion. It may be something you want to add on later, but it does add some more definition to the BARK ranger outfit.

I purchased this small National Park Service pin for my dog’s BARK Ranger costume. It’s small enough (1 1/4″ inches high) that it doesn’t overwhelm the costume or weight down the fabric. It’s great for the sleeve of a dog costume.

It has two pins on the back so that it stays in place too and doesn’t spin around on the shirt. The backing of the pin is a softer silicone so I don’t think it rubs as much as metal would.

There is also a small NPS patch available on Amazon that would be perfect to put on your dog’s sleeve. It is a sew on patch, but you could use the fabric Velcro to add it to your dog’s shirt.

Zip Up Green Tie

Tie companies make zipper ties for kids where you do not have to actually tie it into a knot. This has been perfect for Lil Mikey. It’s been so easy to get on and off, he doesn’t mind wearing it at all, and for his legs, it works great.

We got the green Luther Pike Seattle tie in the 11″ length. It fits over his head with some room to spare, and then I can tighten it on him by just pulling the back part of the tie. You’ll want to measure from the bottom of your dog’s neck to the ground to make sure 11″ is long enough and he won’t trip over it.

If you have a smaller dog that will trip over the tie, dog collars with bowties are pretty common, and a green one like this velvet bowtie with an adjustable collar is an easy choice.

BARK Ranger Hat

The hat is what really sells it. Some dogs just wear shirts, and the tie isn’t immediately noticeable from the side or behind. But when someone sees your dog wearing a wide brimmed hat, they know something’s going on, and the shirt is part of an outfit.

This hat is sold as a cowboy hat but works perfectly. It’s part of a 3 hat combo pack, so your dog will also have a pirate hat and a top hat for when they’re feeling adventurous or fancy.

This is Lil Mikey’s least favorite part of the costume. He wears it, but he gets sick of it after about 10 minutes. It has straps that go around either side of his ears, and can be secured under his chin. It stays on well (unless he paws it off).

Conclusion

There aren’t a lot of BARK Ranger costumes for dogs available, but with a little work (and no sewing), you can create your own. It’s a fun way to dress up and celebrate your dog’s newest BARK Ranger badge at your favorite national park.