Let’s get the Pawrty Started

Throwing a party on your dog’s birthday can be a great way to make your pooch feel special and express gratitude for all that your four-legged friend has done to make your life wonderful.  It’s that one day where you can pamper your pet with limitless treats, toys and other gifts. For all those who have never celebrated their dog’s birthday before, it’s time that you give your furry buddy a big surprise by throwing a gala party on his/her next birthday. Here are some tips to help you organize the dog birthday party and make it a memorable event for everyone.

Deciding the Date

Even if you are unaware of your dog’s actual date of birth, you can celebrate the birthday on the day you brought him/her home. Just decide on a date and celebrate your pooch’s birthday on that particular date every year.

Crafting the Birthday Invitation

Crafting a dog birthday invitation card can be great fun. You can use computer tools to design it or make it manually with your hand. Consider including a paw print or bone pattern in the background or make the card in the shape of a dog or a big bone. Personalize the card with your dog’s name, picture and don’t forget to include your contact number and the time and venue of the event in the invitation.

Preparing the Guest List

Include your friends, family members and your doggie’s furry pals and their parents in the guest list. Don’t invite too many pets; else it would get difficult for you to manage the crowd. For every dog you invite, make sure there is atleast one person to manage and look after that pooch during the event. It’s also important to ensure that all the invited dogs are spayed or neutered and do not have any aggression and socialization issues.

Choosing a Venue

When choosing the location for your dog’s birthday, it’s best to opt for a wide open area like your garden or backyard. If you plan to host the party in your backyard, make sure it’s fenced so the dogs won’t be able to escape out. You can also conduct the event in other dog-friendly places like a dog park, a doggie daycare facility or a pet resort.

Here are some Pet Party Venues in Bangalore:

Petspace

Pet Stepin

Paw & Claw

Arranging for the Party Food

Order a personalized birthday cake for your pooch and other canine treats from a good dog bakery in your city.

Here are some dog bakeries that you can order the canine cakes and treats from:

Dog Bakeries in Bangalore: Pupcake, Bone Appetite

Dog Bakeries in Mumbai: The Spoilt brat Barkery, Waggy Bags Gourmet Dog Bakery

Dog Bakery near Delhi: DoggieDabbas

Don’t have any dog bakery or canine food stores in your city? Do a quick search online for dog birthday cake recipes and bake one for your pooch at home. It’s always better to speak to the dog owners who plan to attend the party, regarding their dog’s dietary restrictions, before you order food or prepare a meal for the party. While you are busy making food arrangements for the canine guests, don’t forget to order cakes, snacks and drinks for the humans attending the party. They too deserve to have a drool-worthy time at the event.

Decorating the Venue

Ideas for decorating the venue are limitless. You can cover the tables with paw-printed fabrics; paint bones or paws on balloons and tie them to chairs and other objects around the room/yard. You could further decorate the hall/yard by displaying your dog’s photos or some funky dog paintings and art pieces. Don’t forget to purchase some cute doggie bowls that you could use for serving food. You can shop for pet bowls here.

Getting your Pooch Party Ready

A birthday party is one such event where your dog gets a chance to show off his/her personal style and get decked up in cute clothes and funky accessories. Get your pooch party ready by dressing him/her up in pretty dresses( for birthday gals) or smart tees( for birthday boys). Even if your pooch is not comfortable wearing clothes, you could make him/her look like a rockstar with stylish accessories like party collars, bandanas, bowties, hats and hair clips.

Party Games and Entertainment

Purchase a variety of dog toys to keep the canine guests entertained. You can also organize Pet Fashion/Talent Show and other interactive games(Read this post for some dog game ideas) to engage both the dogs and their owners. Load up with some dog gifts that you can present the game winners and other canine guests at the party. Toys, Collar Charms, Leashes, Grooming Products and Dogs Treats make great return gifts for dog parties.

Have any other dog birthday party ideas? Feel free to share them in the comments.

Image Courtesy: Youqueen.com

Advertisement

Let’s have a Pawesome time together

As dog-owners, one of our resolutions this year should be to spend some quality time with our pets. Whether indoors or outdoors, there are countless activities that we can do to bond with our dogs! Take a look at some of the things that you can do to spend some memorable time with your pooch.

A walk to remember

Walking is a simple yet delightful activity that you can do with your dog. A peaceful stroll down the road or along the beach can be mentally and physically invigorating for you and your dog. Walking is free and one such activity that we can effortlessly squeeze into our busy schedules!

Dine with your Dog

Dining with your dog is no longer a distant dream. There are several pet-friendly restaurants in Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi and other cities across the country. Do a quick search online to locate a dog-friendly restaurant in your city, and plan for a nice dinner with your four-legged buddy.

Here are few dogs friendly restaurants that you can consider visiting:

Under the Mango Tree (Bangalore)

Huckleberry (Bangalore)

Gostana (Mumbai)

New Delhi Cafe (Delhi)

Crimson Chakra ( Chennai)

Fun time in the park

For having a nice time outdoor, take your dog to to the neighborhood dog park. You can play fetch, teach your dog some new tricks, and let him have a rollicking time socializing with the other dogs in the park.

Go pet- shopping

We love shopping and our pets love them too!  Go on a shopping spree to a luxury pet store in your city. Don’t have a pet store nearby? You can get your doggie new apparels, accessories and toys from Woofilicious.com 🙂

A long ride in the car

Going on a long drive can be an enjoyable experience for your dog, provided you take good safety measures during the travel. Most of the dogs love to ride in the car, but there are chances that  your dog might experience car-sickness or anxiety. So, it’s better to start off with short trips initially and familiarize your pooch with the riding experience.

Groom your dog

You might prefer taking your pooch to a pet salon or spa where he can be groomed by a professional groomer, but bathing and brushing your dog at home is not such a bad idea. If done in a right manner, grooming can be a great experience and a good way to bond with your dog!

A vacation with your pooch

Your dog does not deserve to be left behind in a kennel every time you go out on a holiday. It’s time to take your pooch along on a vacation, and let him have a nice time exploring new places. Just make sure you check into a dog-friendly resort or hotel. For ideas on planning a holiday with your pooch, and to locate pet-friendly hotels and resorts, you can check out Petvacations.in.

So, what’s your idea of spending a pawesome time with your pooch? Do share your thoughts in the comments  🙂

Image Courtesy: http://www.vcfishhawk.com/home-slider/woman-with-dog/

A clean dog makes for a happy and healthy dog and happier owners!

A clean dog is a happy dog. Not only because he is healthy but because you snuggle him more on the days he feels super soft and smells great. Now who doesn’t love a dog who smells of lavender and vanilla?!

A good daily brushing accompanied with regular baths is very important to keep your dog’s coat and skin in good health. Now as much as the dogs are simple beings and get happy with a pat on the head, their little bodies are a little more complex and their skin and coat require more care and attention then ours. Dogs roll in mud, go out for walk on dirty sidewalks, and somehow always manage to find the dirtiest spots to put their faces in and give them the full on sniff treatment that can put police dogs to shame! And on top of this dogs can’t be given daily baths as it disturbs the pH balance of their skin and strips the coat of its natural oils. All this accumulated dirt and toxins gives your dog the “dog smell” and other problems like dry itchy skin, allergies, inflammation,  and overtime a lack luster dull coat.

To avoid the problems above and give your dog a healthy coat, it is very important to choose the right shampoo. A good and gentle shampoo with regular baths can prevent dry and flaky skin as well as itching and allergies. Shampoos with hard chemicals and too much soap can do more harm than good to your dog. Many of the skin problems have been attributed to residue left behind by commercial dog shampoos and most of them do nothing more than just clean the dirt on top away leaving the skin and coat wanting for more.  So next time you head out to pick a shampoo for fido be sure to check its ingredients and see if its right for your dog.

Unlike before, there are some very nice products that are now available in the country.  Happy Tails is one such canine spa line that proud themselves with their all-natural eco-friendly products and their problem solving approach. They have some great shampoos and conditioners with such fabulous ingredients and problem solving effects that you might want to switch your shampoo too!!

If your dog keeps itching and scratching then you definitely need to try their Comfy Dog Oatmeal Shampoo. Colloidal oatmeal is one of the natural ingredients that is known to help tremendously in relieving itch due to dry skin, insect bites, and allergies. Because of its soothing and healing properties, it is extensively used in lots of human products. The smart guys at Happy Tails have combined the same colloidal oatmeal with botanical extracts of peppermint, burdock, and calendula (all known for their healing properties) to make Comfy Dog Oatmeal Conditioning Shampoo that stops itching in tracks and soothes your dog’s skin while gently cleaning his coat.

For dogs with normal coats, their Bubble n’ Beads is a hands down winner. And not just because it looks so fabulous, but because it does an exceptional job of maintaining that healthy skin and soft shiny coat of your dog. Its all natural ingredients packed in the form of micro beads, reach the deepest of furs and burst the all essential vitamins and conditioners right to the skin. Also its gentle formula doesn’t strip the natural oil of the coat and prevents the hair from becoming dull and dry. The result of all this is a softer, healthier coat with a shine that is the result of healthy skin. And to top it all off, it contains the essential oil of lavender which makes your pooch smell refreshing and wonderful for days!

There are some awesome solutions for other times too like when you don’t have time to give your dog a bath and you have some guests visiting and your usually peachy pooch is smelling like a hound? The Dry Dog Instant Clean has saved marriages from snippy in-laws and their Fur Breeze Aromatic Spa Mist with Citrus Vanilla is known to have converted snotty guests to dog crazy friends! You can use this stuff not only on your dog but anything that has that “dog smell” like his bed or the favorite couch in the living room he thinks was bought only for his canine comfort. The secrets are the all natural ingredients that not just mask the smell but binds the order causing proteans and eliminates them.

From Flea the scene- spray to fight all things outdoors, from fleas and insects to sun burns; bowWow butter balm – for the cracked paws and nose, dog smog remedy – for fighting bad breath and digestive problems, ruff to smooth detangler – for dogs with long coats……and many more all natural products, you are sure to find the solution to your dog’s doggy problems and give him a healthier happier lifestyle with Happy Tails.

The whole range of HappyTails Canine Spa Line in now available on Woofilicious!