Veterinary care now, pay later! - Find out more
Veterinary care now, pay later! - Find out more
Celebrating your best friend's birthday with a party is a wonderful way to catch up with other canine pals and also treat your mate to a day of fun and excitement. And if you have adopted your pet, there's no reason why they should miss out. If your pet's birthdate is unknown we encourage you to celebrate on the anniversary of his/her adoption day.
Now that you have decided to host a canine party, there's lots to think about so here are a few tips...
The number of guests depends on a couple of things. One, how many canine pals your dog will feel comfortable around. If your dog is shy or not used to spending long periods of time with other pets, you might want to keep the crowd more intimate. If your dog is the life of the party, go ahead invite his/her favourite doggy park play friends. The other important factor to consider is the size of the party location, too many dogs in a small or confined area is not such a good idea.
Birthday parties are not the perfect time for meeting new friends. We suggest choosing a guest list of dogs your pet is well acquainted with and who you know they will get along with. If any canine guests are not desexed, we recommend mentioning this to your other human guests so you can prevent any mishaps on the day including any unnecessary aggression or territorial behaviour.
Just a word of caution, please be careful when inviting small children and children who are not comfortable around more than one dog. The last thing you want on the day is an unexpected accident or an unfortunate reason to call off your special event.
Deciding where to hold a party depends on your dog and guests. Things to consider:-
As guests arrive provide instructions on where the rubbish bin and poo bags are kept. This provides a subtle yet immediate expectation each owner is responsible for their own dog's business.
There are many options for invitations. Personalise your invitations by creating your own hand made paw invites or why not try electronic invites. Some of our favourites are myinvites.com, smilebox.com, evite.com and pingg.com
Make your pet's birthday party fun with some creative game ideas. Here's some ideas we love:-
There's a pretty big temptation to make your birthday boy or girl the biggest and yummiest birthday cake. But as veterinarians we ask you to save your expert cake baking skills for food to be consumed by the human guests. As you already know, chocolate, sugar and fat will make your pet ill and the last thing you want to do is send your guests home with a belly ache too. Instead, provide a range of canine treats and if you really feel the need for baking, why not try our treat recipe.
All good parties end with a special something for your guests. Treat bags are always a winner, but why not consider dog balloons, hand-crafted dog bowls (you can create something special yourself by personalising cheap dog bowls) or even a handmade doggy bandana.