Happy Birthday Pup: Planning a Dog Birthday Party

I will admit that I treat my dog like my child, and I don't think I'm alone in that. My hound/lab mix Roxy will be turning 5 this week and I want to plan something to celebrate! The number of owners wanting to throw a birthday party for their four legged friends is growing every year! Here are a few tips and ideas to help you put together a great dog birthday party!

Invite some friends. You will probably want to invite dogs that have met before or that usually socialize well. Nothing will ruin a dog party quicker than a dog with an attitude problem, keep this in mind when inviting guests. 

Plan the menu. If it were up to Roxy she would just have a plate full of sausage or something, but to get an adorable birthday picture a pupcake might work better. There are a lot of dog bakeries popping up that make special pupcakes and other yummy pet friendly treats but if you don't have a dog bakery near you pupcakes are pretty easy to make. This site has a lot of good pupcake recipes your dog is sure to love!

Just have fun! Having extra party hats or other costumes available for all your dog guests will add to the fun! You could plan some dog games based on human games to get all of your guests involved. Some great dog/human games are:

Simon Says - Each dog pairs with their human and each team spreads out to have enough room to move around. You announce a command, which must be preceded by "Simon Says" Says. Each team must follow your instruction. Any team who does not perform the right command, does not perform at all or performs a command without the preceding "Simon Says" phrase is out. The team left standing is the winner. 

Toss Up - Each dog is paired with their human and stand facing each other. The dog humans toss treats one at a time to their dog, each treat their dog catches counts as a point. The dog who catches the most treats in a certain amount of time if the winner. 

Bobbing for Treats - Fill up a kiddie pool with water, then place your treat of choice into the pool. Some great treat ideas include: apples, carrots, kibble, cut up pieces of hot dog, popcorn or whatever your dog's favorite treat is. Dogs can take turns at the pool bobbing for the different treats.