Let’s Pawty
organising a barkday pawty for your dog !
Celebrating your best friend’s birthday with a party is a wonderful way to catch up with other furbabies and also treat your furbaby to a day of fun and excitement. If your pet’s birthdate is unknown 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…
How many guests?
The number of guests depends on a couple of things. One, how many furbabies your furbaby 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.
We recommend six fur guests as a good size for the average Australian backyard.
Who to invite?
We suggest choosing a guest list of furbabies your furbaby 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.
Where to hold a pawty?
Deciding where to hold a pawty depends on your furbaby and guests. Things to consider:
- What is the likelihood of territorial aggression from your furbaby? If your furbaby is familiar and friendly to furry visitors then your home/backyard may be the perfect place for your pawty. If not, choose a neutral location.
- How many guests and how big are your guests? Does your chosen location provide enough room to play and run?
- Are your guests well behaved? If it is likely one or two guests may not come back when called consider a fenced in public or private area. Some councils offer enclosed dog parks and some boarding facilities may allow you to hire or use their space.
- Are fences and gates secure for all guests? If one of your guests is tempted to flee the pawty, make sure your fences and gates are secure.
- Will guests have access to open water such as a pool, river, ocean or lake? Check with your hooman guests to make sure all furbabies are familiar with water. You may want to reconsider your choice of location if guests are uncomfortable around open water or swimming, the chances are at least one furbaby will end up taking a plunge. It is important to remember not all furbabies can swim.
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 furbaby’sbusiness.
Invitations
We have provided an invitation to download. Personalise your invitations adding a coloured background for electronic versions or printing them on different coloured paper if you have a color, adding stickers or merging it with the theme of your pawty. You are only limited by your imagination.
