I can’t believe it but Kilo the Pug just turned 6 and has been part of our family for 4 years.
See the video of how I adopted the little rascal here.
I was away for his actual birthday last weekend so I am planning his celebration now. I’d like it to be my dog’s best birthday ever of course.
Planning for any special occasion can sometimes seem like a daunting task. When you throw your precious pup into the mix, things can get even more stressful!
We’re no strangers to throwing a good birthday party for Kilo the Pug, and because we know that celebrating their special day is just one of the many ways to show your love, we want to help you throw the ultimate birthday bash without all the stress.
If your pup has a birthday or Gotcha day coming up, read on to find out how you can make this year your dog’s best birthday yet!
Thank you for the help writing these tips from our newest dog loving contributor Katie. You can see more of her work at Instagram @kate.mendonca or katemendonca.com.
10 Tips to Make This Year’s Celebration Your Dog’s Best Birthday Ever
Pick a Theme
Any good party has a theme, and a birthday or Gotcha Day celebration for your pup is no exception. Use the theme to tie in your décor, food, and outfits for a cohesive look throughout the day.
This year, we love eating Hot Dogs and the weather has been so hot so we are going tropical with a “Tropic Like It’s Hot” theme. Hot Diggity!
Invite Friends
What’s a party without guests, so go ahead and invite all of your dog’s best pals! They can be human and four legged – you know your pet best, so be sure to choose guests that will create a positive vibe and will love to join in the festivities.
In Kilo’s case, he really only likes his family, a few favorite human friends and his plush pet pals.
He is not great about sharing, especially food, so it will be way more fun for him to get all the attention and treats. Speaking of treats:
Get Outside
If you’re lucky enough to be celebrating with good weather, plan for a party outdoors. Your guests will love the extra room to run around and play! If you could use a little extra room, head to your local dog-friendly park and set up the fun there at a comfortable time of the day.
Remember to have shade and water available as pugs like Kilo can overheat easily.
Also remember to have garbage bags and poop bags and pick up the poop and clean up any mess.
Photo Booth
Special occasions call for plenty of photos, so make this bash stand out from the rest with fun decorations and costumes at a photo station. Both humans and pups will love dressing up and taking silly photos to remember the day by.
Food and Treats
Don’t forget about the most important part of any birthday celebration, at least in Kilo’s case – the food! We have so many how to recipe videos and delicious dog-friendly recipes on the site to choose from that all your furry and human guest/s are sure to love.
Pup themed Cupcakes or Pupcakes, Wiener Cookies, Veggie Pups and Hot Dog Wieners make the best birthday Party Treats Ever for a Greedy Pug like Kilo! One of them even looks like a pug – that makes it a Pugcake.
http://www.talenthounds.ca/recipes-how-tos/how-to-make-dog-friendly-wiener-dog-treats/
You can also easily make a puppy cake with this Puppy Cake Carob Cake Mix and Frosting for Dogs or these adorable Dog Birthday Cake Kits from Amazon (affiliate links).
Games
Consider setting up treasure hunts, mini agility courses, puzzles and trick contests to keep high-energy dogs busy. Kilo LOVES showing off tricks for treats and jumping over or through things or playing “go find”. If you have space, maybe set up a ball pit in a plastic pool or if it’s hot, maybe set up a splash pool.
Plan Ahead
Weather can be unpredictable, so plan for anything and everything that could go awry. Making sure that there’s a plan in place to deal with inclement weather is key, especially if you’re looking to host your party outdoors.
Doggy Bags
Everyone loves receiving little gifts, so why not put together some goodie bags to thank all your guests for attending! Toys, Bullwrinkles, cookies, or other small treats are ideal for creating loot bags that both humans and pups will appreciate. You can even use poop bags, photos from the photo booth if you can print in time, or printed recipes or cards like our downloadable giveaways on Talent Hounds.
Gifts for Kilo- Make a Difference
Kilo loves toys and treats so we will spoil him a little but we will also make a donation to his rescue. We will ask any guests not to bring gifts but to donate to a cause they love in his honour.
Share the Memories
When all is said and done, don’t forget to share the photos of the even with all of your guests. Whether you decide to give personalized thank you’s or create a digital photo album of the day, it’s a great way to ensure that everyone who attended is able to look back on a great pawty.
Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday?
Gift Basket Giveaway to Make Your Dog’s Day
We’d like to give you a reason to celebrate too so we are giving away a Bullwrinkles and Barnsdale Farms Gift Basket- woohoo!! Kilo’s favorite treats and bully sticks- thank you to our wonderful sponsor.
GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED Enter by telling me you’d like to win in the comments or filling in the entry form at the bottom of the page. Open to residents of US and Canada over the age of majority (ex Quebec) where legal from August 16th to September 1st at 5pm. Winner will be chose by random draw and notified by e-mail. Prize will be delivered to eligible winner by sponsor (Eurocan Pet Products makers of Bullwrinkles and Barnsdale Farms Dog treats and chews).
Great tips for a fabulous celebration. I seem to feel bad saying this but I’ve never had a birthday party for any of my pets. Oh my goodness that does sound bad doesn’t it! I’ve never known their actual birth day but I know people celebrate gotcha days. I love the cakes and cookies, if you baked them yourself you did a fabulous job. I’m sure Jack would be happy to try some of those tasty treats and we’ll actually be in Canada he case he wins!!
We just do Kilo’s gotcha day and let him taste test my new recipes LOL. Yes I did make all the Dog Licks cakes, cookies and snacks myself thanks!! Are you in Toronto?
Fun post! My youngest dog just turned 3 on August 1st and my oldest will be 10 in December. We always celebrate their birthdays every year, but it’s more of a family event. We get them gifts and they get special meals and usually some kind of dog friendly cake. Happy 6th to Kilo!
Love these ideas and will keep them in mind for Layla’s next birthday, thanks for the great post and thank goodness I can do it in the dog park which is not far from here and all her favorite friends go there.
I would love to do this but my home isn’t big enough nor is my guest list. My dog does love Bullwinkles though…
Love this post and ideas, we celebrate my current dogs gotcha day as we do not know his birthday. He is 3.5 years old named max a minature pincher beagle mix. We adopted him when be was between 4 and 6 months. Will be celebrating Jaxon my border collie puppy birthday in November when he turns one, had him since 10.5 weeks old. They both adore toys and treats. Will be doing something fun for them.
Happy 6th Birthday Kilo! What’s a birthday without having a party and celebrating. It looks like your mom is quite the pawty planner 😉
We celebrate all our pet’s birthdays, usually with a special toy.
Kilo sure is a lucky dog! What great birthday tips.
Sounds like fun times! I have to say I don’t celebrate for my cats. They get big Christmas stuff but not birthdays. There are a lot of them and they’re all rescues (well except the kittens) and I never remember the dates I approximated.
I’ve never been to a doggie birthday party, but I would just love to go to one! I’m always hoping one of my friends will throw one. I love these tips, and everything is so cute! Especially the hot dogs. Happy Birthday, Kilo! You are one lucky pug.
i would love to win this basket for my girls. their bday come in june and july . they are now 8 and 9. time goes too quickly. i have never been to a doggy bday party but always thought about doing one for my girls.
the morning of their bday, i wake them up and tell them it is their bday and shower them with kisses. i call them the birthday girl all day. sometimes i will buy them a new toy or some new treats, not that they need any. .
Loved your video. Kilo is the cutest pug ever and I need to smuggle one in here at home;-)
Wow now that’s a birthday party! I honestly never thought of doing something like that. We give ours a special treat and a new toy, and maybe some extra loving, but never considered a party before.
Good tips. Both Jasmine and now Cookie appreciate extra time outside the most. Special walks, picnics, things like that. And steak. Of course.
Happy Birthday, Kilo!!! What a party – love the ideas, especially the photo booth. How fun for everyone! As a photographer, I could have a lot of fun with that and the human guests would love it! I just Pinned this over on my “Bark About” board to share! Oh, and of course my FiveSibes would loooove that basket! What a lovely giveaway!
Thanks so much for sharing and the birthday wishes- it was epic- Kilo was thoroughly spoilt (as always).
I’ve never had a huge celebration for my dogs, but we definitely do have a small cerebration for each of them!
Kilo is very lucky to have you! My girls are spoiled everyday so there’s not much different I do on their birthday.
These are great suggestions for a doggie birthday party! That gift basket is fabulous, Icy and Phoebe would love to WIN it!! I love the idea of a photo booth, it’s always such fun.
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
Oh, Brooklyn just turned one this week and now I feel guilty! Her party was pretty lame compared to this!
Oh, I’d like to win!
OMG! I never would have thought of including a photo booth….I LOVE that!
Happy Birthday Kilo!!!!
Ruby is a little shy with other dogs so we usually spend her Gotcha Day just with family and take some kind of adventure – a short day trip or a a special walk. And of course, a trip to the dog bakery!
Hoping my first comment went through!
I do celebrate my dogs and cats birthday by buying them a special treat! My one dog just turned 9 on August 13. I would love to win the basket of goodies.
These are awesome ideas! My dog Myla is turning 2 October 4th and I am planning on throwing her a birthday party!
Yes of course!
My pup turns 1 in November and yes we will celebrate!
My puppy is 9 moth old, I’m definitely throwing her a birthday party. So many great ideas!
My Boston terrier would love to have this! His names Whiz and he loves all treats