Bred this way! Max the poodle is transformed into outfits of Lady Gaga for hilarious calendar

By HARRIET COOKE

Sausage dog: Max modelling his own version of Lady Gaga's iconic meat dress, which was a sought-after Halloween costume in 2010 Wacky singer Lady Gaga has met her match in the canine world - in a cross-dressing poodle dubbed 'Lay Z Gaga'. Seven-year-old Max was rescued as a stray and now stars in a calendar inspired by the Born This Way singer. The mutt modelled streaky bacon, a blonde wig and lipstick to recreate some of the music idol's most iconic outfits.

Outlandish: Lady Gaga, pictured, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in her meat dress The calendar was the brainchild of Lara Jo Regan, 47, who wanted to show off the 'beauty and potential' of stray animals through artwork. She said: 'I tried to imagine what Lady Gaga might fashion herself if she were reincarnated as an aging, lethargic poodle with not much of a wardrobe budget.' Ms Regan, a fine art documentary and filmmaker from Los Angeles, took Max in after he was left homeless during the economic meltdown in 2008.

Colourful: Lay Z Gaga wears a wig, green cape and glasses for the August month of the Bred This Way calendar by Lara Jo Regan She said the 2ft-tall pooch had looked like a ‘former aristocratic drag queen who fell on hard times’. The artist's fascination with animal artwork began in her childhood when she assigned detailed human profiles to her pets based on their looks, behaviours and habits.

Spiky: Max the dog modelling a design worn by Lady Gaga, with a matching bone She added: 'Artists trying to show the extraordinary qualities in things other people may dismiss or dispose of is nothing new - I'm just applying it to stray and otherwise unwanted animals.' Lady Gaga and her outlandish, colourful outfits proved a particularly fertile ground for this project.

Ice cool: Lady Gaga's strikingly spiky outfit was recreated by Max the dog

Glammed-up: Max the dog modelling the singer's famous firework outfit The singer's meat dress - a creation made from six pieces of sewn-together steak teamed with a matching meat hat and bag - was a sought-after Halloween costume when it first appeared in 2010. At the time, it came with a warning that it would last for a maximum of three hours before distergrating - but for Max, it seemed the the toughest challenge was not eating it. The 2013 calendar can be bought at www.layzgaga.com source: dailymail