If you decided to adopt a dog for Adopt a Shelter Dog Month, congratulations! Maybe you’ve decided to celebrate by throwing a puppy shower.
Let’s examine how to go about that in more detail. We’ll start with invitations, since guests are a crucial component to any successful party. Here’s some things to keep in mind when you’re putting together your guest list:
• Size: Do you want a small, intimate party or a larger one?
• Family and/or Friends: Will you keep it to family only? Or will you invite friends as well?
• Dog Guests: If I was to have a puppy shower other dog guests would be a given, but the puppy shower section on Bark Avenue Pet Boutique brought up something I hadn’t considered: inviting ones you know to be dog friendly will help socialize your new pup.
Location
Okay, so you’ve got an idea who to invite, now you need to make sure you have a place that can accommodate them all. Here’s some things to keep in mind when deciding on a venue:
• Size: Is your house big enough to hold however many guests you think may attend? (Plus their pets, if you go that route?) If not, is there a nearby park where you could hold your party?
• Safety: Is there a place the dogs can legally run off-leash, preferably in a confined fenced-in area? A backyard is great if it’s big enough. Dog parks are options too.
• Design: Can the place you picked withstand a bunch of excited dogs? (They might behave, but in case they decided to get rowdy and chase each other, are you fine with them tearing across your floors and such?)
Invitations
Once you’ve got your guest list made up, the date and time picked, and the location set you need to let everyone know about your shin dig. How? Just like you would with any other party –you send out invitations of course! Here’s some places you can get puppy shower-specific invites: