Puppy Shower!

So, some friends of ours are getting a Long-Haired Weimaraner in mid-April from a breeder in... New York? Kansas? I forget. They spent a lot of money on the dog, and are now worried about the number of chew-toys the pup is going to go through, etc, in combination with training classes, vet bills, etc.
(Don't worry, I'm recommending links I've found through this forum, as well as pets.ca in general, raw feeding/ grain free foods, and pet insurance! :cool: )

So, my hubby decided this guy and his wife should come over to our house, with the puppy of course, and we'll throw them a puppy-shower! Everyone comes over for "brunch" foods, drinks, etc and brings a puppy-related present- a Kong, a Cuz, a pack of dog treats, whatever.

Has anyone ever done this before? Does anyone have any ideas for fun party-favours or typical "shower" games? I've only been to one baby shower, and that was several years ago, so I honestly don't know that much about showers in general- let alone showers for a puppy!

(I typed the word "shower" so many times, it doesn't feel like a word any more ... :crazy:)

Gibbons you should ask Fordgirl, she is very good at planning parties.. maybe she could come up with some ideas......

OMG, this sounds so fun!!

How many people? Will there be other dogs, or all humans and this pup?

2 other adult dogs for sure (my two fosters) but other than that about 12 people and 3-4 kids, depending on who wants to bring their children. We're keeping it fairly open so people will actually come. Some of the people I've invited are like "a party? for a dog? That seems a bit silly..."

I'd like to keep up the sort of "silly" theme a bit- so people don't take it too seriously and may consider doing something similar with their friends.

This sounds like a blast, and with everyone bringing a little toy or something it's really going to save them some money on puppy expenses! I would suggest in your little goody bag, if she is so interested in professional dog trainers, you compile a list of reputable trainers in your area? I bet she would appreciate that. :thumbs up

I think a puppy shower is a great idea!

what a wonderful idea!!! sounds like tons of fun!

http://www.dog-birthday-parties.com/puppy-shower.html

Here's a great link.

As for silly games, I'd try to keep it easy and something not terribly structured.

*Name the breed* type trivia, where you can cut out pictures of different breeds and post them all together on a bristol board numbered, and have people guess the breed. Depending on your guests knowlede, do some easy and some hard.

*Dog trivia* you could list 2 or 3 facts about dogs, and list one that you made up, see if people can pick out the fake fact...like this:

A) The dog was one of the first animals domesticated by humans.
B) Mosaics meaning "Beware the Dog" would be found on doorsteps in ancient Roman cities.
C) The world's first dog show was held in Britain in 1859.
D) Dogs can understand 3 different languages in their life time.
E) People in ancient China stayed warm by carrying toy breeds in their sleeves.
(can you pick the made up one?)

*Name the pup* Have they named the pup yet? If not, are they open for suggestions? That could include guest invovlment. Or even pick a middle name?

These can be done at any time, not everyone has to be paying attention or alert at the same time...can be done thru the night...

I would decorate in paw prints and bones, simple cut outs from construction paper or cardboard...is the dog a girl or boy? Accent with pink or blue...but use alot of brown...and have guests write their best wishes or a "welcome to the pack" or dog advise on the bones or paws for the new pup owners....collect them and send them home in a doggie bag with the new owner.

My dollar store has balloons with dogs on them...check around for that kinda thing...

You can even do a bristol board with an all about the breed type details, some famous dogs of that breed, to breed charicteristics, to quirks, good and bad...maybe a quick history on the breeder and where this little one came from...

For food, why not do hot dogs? Most people like hot dogs (make some sausages and veggie dogs too or meat on a stick, and buns to go with it, if your guests want more variety, salads and fix'ns) Is it warm enough to BBQ? Do you have a BBQ? You can do human cookies in the bone and paw shapes too, and some dog cookies...seperated of course.

Do you have a picture of the new dog? You could buy a small photo album and print off what pictures they might have already for them, and give them the album so they have something to build off of, and if you make the bones and paws a good size to fit in the album, they can keep their best wishes in the album too...

I would give out "doggie bags" to the party guests, and if they have pets of their own, base the contents on that like some treats, a tennis ball, poop bags for dogs, and cat nip, cat grass seed or a toy mouse if they have cats..and if they don't have any pets and you want to just send them home with something small - and you already have a picture of the pup, then print it out small, like 3x3 and write on the back - "thanks for welcoming me to your pack" or somethign like that, laminate them, you can even glue a small magnet on back so people have a fridge magnet...

I also do choclate molds for parties (you can imagine the last ones I did for a s*x toy party I had in house ;) ;) ) so you could find a choclate mold, get some wafer chocolate and make little suckers to give to the guests or as prixes for the games? Really really easy, not hard at all, melt and pour, cool them. You can get wafter choclate in every color of the rainbow!!

I can go on and on...not sure how detailed you want the party, but this would be SO fun to do...:goodvibes: :goodvibes: :goodvibes:

Some of the people I've invited are like "a party? for a dog? That seems a bit silly..."



Sometimes when you get a new pup you want the world to meet it, you want to brag and talk about the pup...the first few months are very exciting!! So this this above, I'd say..hey, we celebrate crazier things....valentines day? The queens birthday? St. Paddy's day? Whats Boxing day? ...I mean all of these celebrations mean something to someone, but over the years it's lost it's true meaning, but we celebrate anyways cuz people like to celebrate!! ...so why not have a puppy shower? The new owners will be thrilled!!! I would be. :cloud9: :lovestruck: :party: :crazy:

OMG, I just pictured making the invites...have it like the face of a LH Weimaraner almost on a side view...with a tail coming out the left side/back, feet...and when it opens it's accordian style and it spreads out in to a long doggie....hahah! Let's Pawty! Roo Roo Roo! :party:

Don't forget to include rubber poo and vomit somewhere in their gift bag, they'll be dealing with the real thing soon enough :laughing:

Gibbons, what a great idea :highfive: and FordGirl, you are awesome at party planning. :thumbs up

Hey FordGirl- awesome ideas! Now I'm all excited about getting the time off work, going shopping, baking cute cookies and planning games!

I love the trivia one, particularly the breed traits of the dog they have, and the "name that breed" one (there are so many weird/ interesting breeds), and the naming. They haven't named him yet. I think they're waiting until they've figured out his personality a bit more, so suggestions would definitely be welcome, I think.

He is actually a Long-Haired Wiemaraner (whatever that is..) and not a wiener dog, but all of the ideas definitely still work (lol at the wiener dog tampon! I might make those loot-bag things anyway)

These are some pictures of him- I love his blue eyes! :cloud9:

http://www.spotteddreamsstables.com/barbies_blue_small_male1.jpg
http://www.spotteddreamsstables.com/barbies_blue_small_male2.jpg
http://www.spotteddreamsstables.com/barbies_blue_small_male3.jpg
http://www.spotteddreamsstables.com/barbies_blue_small_male4.jpg

I just re-read the part about hte invites. Lol! It's definitely craft time!! :laughing:

<gets out the glue gun>
...
<burns fingers>

This is going to be awesomely good fun!

Wow, that sounds like a really fun time. LOL, too bad you can't have kitty parties, like doggy parties.

Hey FordGirl- awesome ideas! Now I'm all excited about getting the time off work, going shopping, baking cute cookies and planning games!

I love the trivia one, particularly the breed traits of the dog they have, and the "name that breed" one (there are so many weird/ interesting breeds), and the naming. They haven't named him yet. I think they're waiting until they've figured out his personality a bit more, so suggestions would definitely be welcome, I think.

He is actually a Long-Haired Wiemaraner (whatever that is..) and not a wiener dog, but all of the ideas definitely still work (lol at the wiener dog tampon! I might make those loot-bag things anyway)

These are some pictures of him- I love his blue eyes! :cloud9:

Thanks, I totally thought he was a weiner, then I looked again at your post :o..and googled what a LH'd looked like, I've never seen a long hair, very beautiful!! He's some cute. :cloud9:

Ohh...for the name suggestion box - you could get them/make them a dog cookie jar..:D for treats. :lovestruck: They can take it home with them and read it at home, with no pressure to pick a name, but fun if they do. And have the owners tell you is traits of what they've seen so far for personality like is he shy or fiesty..so the guests can base their ideas on that...:shrug:

And the tampon weiner dog cracked me up...too funny!! OMG! hah!

I've never seen a long-haired weimeraner either.....he is adorable. :lovestruck: