Your dog is your fur child, and their birthday is a big deal – such a big deal that you might want to throw them a dog birthday party! Throwing a birthday party for your dog is all the rage right now, and the team at Hounds Lounge is here furr it. We love celebrating your pooch almost as much as you do!
In fact, your woof can kick off their birthday festivities at Hounds Lounge and be treated like a celebrity, complete with puparazzi to capture their special day in photos! Then, you can keep the good times going by hosting a dog birthday party everyone will be barkin’ about.
A dog birthday party is more than just an excuse to have fun – it’s a special time for hoomans to bond with their beloved pooches, who bring so much joy into their lives!
Are you sold on the idea of throwing a dog birthday party? Allow us to be your pawty planning pack, and read our guide to throwing a paw-some dog birthday party!
1. Furrst Steps to Pawty Planning
Choose the Perfect Date and Venue
The pawfect date for a dog birthday party might seem obvious: their birthday, of course! However, if you adopted your dog or do not know their exact birthday, you can always settle on their “gotcha” day. To make it easy for guests to attend, we recommend celebrating on a Saturday or Sunday close to your pooch’s special day.
The venue could be a variety of places! For a smaller pawty, you might choose to celebrate at home, either indoors or in your backyard. You could also take the party to one of the many dog parks in Arkansas, or the regular park if it’s dog-friendly. For a larger event that needs to be indoors, you could look into event spaces like community centers and even pet stores. The time of year, as well as your number of guests, will help you determine your venue.
Create the Guest List
Speaking of guests, another early to-do is determining the guest list for Fido’s shin-DIG! While we know a dog birthday party is super fun for both you and your dog, the guest list must be catered to your dog’s personality and best interest. If your woof absolutely loves other dogs, invite their pals – including their buddies from Hounds Lounge doggy daycare! Just ask our professional staff who your pooch hangs with on the playground. You may even make new friends with their paw-rents!
If your dog is a little less social, you could keep the list to just a few hooman friends. And if your dog is truly a lone wolf, keep the pawty to family-only.
Whatever you do, do not invite any dogs your pooch has never met! The ideal scenario for a dog birthday party would be that all the woofs in attendance know each other and play well together.
Send Invitations
Once you have settled on a guest list, you can get to one of the most fun parts of throwing a dog birthday party: sending invitations! You may opt for an evite, snail mail, or hand-delivered invitation. Whatever you choose, this is your chance to get creative and show off your pooch’s personality. Unleash the dog puns!
Here’s a downloadable template of a dog birthday party invitation – you can customize it to fit Fido’s taste!
Impawtant Note: If your pooch is spoiled rotten and already has toys and treats galore, you can add a note on your invitation explaining that gifts are not necessary! Another option is to ask guests to bring a donation to a local animal shelter in lieu of a gift.
Craft a Theme
Your dog birthday party theme goes paw-in-paw with your invitations, so you might want to work on them simultaneously! A theme doesn’t make or break a party – the guest of honor won’t know the difference – but it can add some extra pizzazz! A few theme ideas include:
- Wild West, specifically “Dood Ranch” for doodles
- Sports, especially if Fido is obsessed with fetch
- Decades
- Classy Chic, for the refined woofs
- Supaw-heroes
- Luau
- A holiday that’s near their barkday, like Howl-o-ween or Furriendsgiving
2. Set the Scene for Your Dog Birthday Party
Get Your Decorations and Supplies
Hit up the craft store – and the pet store – for all the items you’ll need to throw a barkday bash! You can purchase theme-specific decor, or go all-in on classic party essentials like balloons, streamers and banners. You can’t forget the party hats – make sure to get a size that will fit a variety of pooches’ heads – and a birthday dog bandana!
Create a Dog-Friendly Atmosphere
If you’re hosting a dog birthday party in your home, make sure to puppy-proof your pad! Remove any small items dogs could choke on, hide cords, lock up the trash can and stow away poisonous houseplants.
No matter where the party happens, be sure to provide plenty of fresh water in bowls and spread them out for your guests – pawtying makes dogs thirsty!
3. Ball Out on Treats and Eats
Get Cookin’!
If you’re planning on baking your woof a cake or treats, get those dog-safe ingredients at your local grocery store.
Below is an easy, at-home dog treat recipe – these would make a pawfect party favor for your guests!
Peanut Butter Banana Dog Treats
Ingredients:
-
- 1 ripe banana
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter (xylitol-free)
Instructions:
-
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Mash banana, mix with oats and peanut butter until well combined.
- Roll out dough, cut into shapes or squares.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool completely before serving.
You can even buy pre-made dog cake mixes online or in some pet stores! If you aren’t the baking type, you can order ready-to-eat dog cakes or pick one up from your local dog barkery.
Serve Up Yummy Snacks for Dogs
The birthday cake is all about the birthday dog – we don’t recommend sharing the cake with other furry guests unless it is broken up into individual servings. However, you can still serve your guests individual treats in a safe manner. If any woofs have food aggression issues, they need to be separated from the pack when the treats come out!
Along with homemade or store bought dog treats, you can serve a decadent delight like doggy ice cream (it’s a real thing!), or you can go a lighter route and dish out healthy table food like baby carrots and green beans!
Don’t Forget the Humans: Refreshments for Two-Legged Guests
Somebody has to bring Fido’s furry friends to the pawty, right? Keep the hoomans happy with people snacks and treats. You can always work within the dog theme and serve up puppy chow or custom cookies!
A dog birthday party is also a grreat opportunity to make dog-inspired mixed drinks for adults 21 and older. (You can also serve non-alcoholic versions, which are just as delicious!) Below are a few cockTAILs pawfect for a birthday party for your dog.
Greyhound
Vodka or gin mixed with grapefruit juice, served over ice in a highball glass and garnished with a slice of grapefruit.
Muttini
Combine martini ingredients of your choosing, and serve in a dog-themed glass or with a dog-shaped garnish, like a custom pet drink stirrer.
Beagle Breeze
Combine rum, cranberry juice, pineapple juice and a splash of lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake well and strain into a glass filled with ice. Garnish with a pineapple wedge or a cherry.
Labrador Lemonade
A lemonade-based drink that can include vodka or gin and a splash of soda water, garnished with lemon slices.
Another idea is to come up with a signature drink named after your pooch! RoverRita, anyone?
4. Get the Pawty Started with Games and Activities
If you’re having your dog birthday party in a private place, games are a great activity, especially if you have a playful pooch! Make sure you’re prepared with pawsome prizes for winners – like a Hounds Lounge gift card. Try out some of the ideas below!
Musical Sit
Like musical chairs, but for dogs! Place a row of dog beds, mats or even towels in a circle and play music as the dogs walk around them. When the music stops, each dog must sit on a “bed” – hoomans will have to help guide them! Remove one bed each round, and the last dog sitting wins.
Obstacle Course
Set up a mini agility course using tunnels, cones, jumps and more – you can also DIY with household items. The dog who completes the course the fastest is the winner!
Bobbing for Blueberries
Fill a kiddie pool with water and toss in some blueberries, then let dogs take turns bobbing. With this game, everybody wins!
Other Activities
There’s more to do at a dog birthday party than just play games! You can organize a doggy fashion show, have a contest for the best trick, and set up a photo booth to capture memories from the day.
5. Dish Out Goodie Bags and Favors
Send your guests home with mementos from the best pawty ever! You can hand out “doggie bags” as your guests are leaving – fill them with treats, a thank you note, and a special touch unique to your dog. Maybe include a small toy that your dog loves, or a printed photo of your dog with each guest – many photo booth party rentals will instantly print out photo strips that make for sweet keepsakes.
6. Remember to Put Safety Furrst
As we’ve mentioned throughout this dog birthday party guide, safety must be at the furrfront of any dog gathering. Here’s a paw-full of practical safety advice to ensure a fun and safe day!
- If you are going to throw a pooch-friendly party, only invite dogs who know each other and play well together. And remember, it’s totally acceptable to limit
the party to humans only! - Consider whether or not you should invite children to the party. Is your dog a fan of kids? If you’re inviting furry guests, are they good around kids? If you do end up having children at your dog birthday party, make sure their parent or guardian is monitoring them at all times! You could even round up all the kiddos ahead of time to go over pet safety rules.
- Be aware of food aggression. Only serve individual treats, and give dogs space for eating them.
- Have a dog first aid kit on hand, just to be safe.
- Have cleaning supplies handy as well – if messes are made, you want to keep any germs from spreading!
- Overall, you should have a heightened sense of safety during your dog birthday party. You’re the human in charge!
Make Every Day a Pawty!
We hope these dog birthday party ideas give you a grreat start to planning your woof’s special day! If Fido comes to Hounds Lounge on their barkday, let us know – we love to give the birthday king or queen a shoutout on our social media accounts (Give us a follow!). You can also send treats for your pooch and their friends to enjoy – it’s like elementary school all over again, but furrier.
While your dog’s birthday or gotcha day is a momentous occasion in both of your lives, just remember that your woof deserves to be celebrated every single day! Hounds Lounge doggy daycare is here to make every day of the week a pawty – but the real pawty is at home, in the daily cuddles, walks and playtimes with your best furriend.
