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Here’s a little life advice, throw your dog a birthday party. If for no other reason you could do it because throwing a party for your best friend is always the right and wonderful thing to do. However, there are so many other reasons to do it. But before we get to those let’s set up what a proper dog birthday party should look like.
Just like most parties it begins with the guest list. Invite your family, your friends and maybe even a few folks who you know are also-dog crazy and whom you would like to get to know better. But don’t stop there. This party is not just about making sure you have people to mingle with. Tell your invitees to bring their dogs too. Your dog will – metaphorically – thank you. And you will appreciate the multitude of cool photo ops that come with an impromptu pack of dogs in birthday hats.
The next step is the venue. If you are lucky enough to have enough living or yard space to host this party yourself that is perfect. If not, try finding someplace like Hot Dog and Cie in Brossard. The Mrs. and I love this place. In fact, we have hosted birthday parties for both Ace and Buster here. Their friendly staff always set our dogs up nicely at or under our table with water, treats, blankets, etc. And then when our mighty mousy beagles start to get a little antsy they can go blow of some steam in the indoor doggy play park, which always has an attendant on duty supervising the dogs for safety and cleanliness.
And what would a party be complete without tasty treats? Whether you are booking a venue or hosting at home, make sure that you have plenty of dog-friendly treats on hand to celebrate the occasion. It doesn’t have to be overly extravagant. A couple of bags of cookies will earn you host-of-the-year honors in most four-legged circles. But if you want to get creative and prepare your own culinary confections for your canine, do your homework. You don’t want to risk giving your best pal an upset stomach or worse on their birthday. I am sure that Ace is still dreaming about the crepes with strawberries, bananas and dog-safe yogurt that my wife made him several years ago. Don’t forget your human guests either. Although this part is probably simpler since you can always order a last-minute pizza more easily that you can find someone willing to deliver doggy treats to your door.
Ok so let’s talk about why you will love throwing your dog a birthday party.
1- You will get to take cool pictures. For the Instagram generation this may be reason enough on its own. Just look at these pics for a minute and tell me you don’t want to start planning your own dog shindig right now.
2- You break the routine for your dog. Let’s face it, even the best owners still usually need to go to work somewhere that their favorite furry friend cannot follow. So, your dog is probably spending more than their fair share of time watching paint dry waiting for you to come home. Spoil them when you can and inject some fun into their special day.
3- Any excuse to throw a party is a good one. When we threw Ace’s 5th birthday party we invited both sides of the family and the buy-in was unbelievable. Even the most reserved and no-nonsense members of the family came to celebrate the day of Ace’s birth. They just wanted an excuse to get together and once they were all together people could not help laughing and enjoying the easy-going atmosphere that our ragtag group of furry jesters created. In fact, it probably turned out to be one of our most successful family functions even. All the silliness of a party for dogs just cut any possible tension and was the perfect vaccine for any family drama.
So, there you have it, a how-to starter pack of tips for making your dog’s next birthday a special day for everyone to remember. I’ll just throw in one bonus tip, it’s no problem if you don’t know your dog’s actually birthday, just pick a day that feels right for you. When we adopted Buster, he did not come with a lot of information so we decided that the day he joined our family was going to count as his birthday. After all, that day was the beginning of a whole new life for him. Make it fun, make it social and put your best dog pal in the center of the spotlight and then just watch the good times bloom.
PS, if you have a story about your own dog’s birthday I’d love to hear it. Leave it in the comments section below so we can all enjoy.
