How to Plan a Surprise Party for a Dog Lover

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Last Updated: March 9, 2022

Throwing a surprise party can be an exhilarating and rewarding experience. However, it can also be highly stressful, especially if you're trying to hide the fact you're throwing a party for a friend or loved one. And if you're trying to throw a surprise party for a dog lover and want to include real dogs as party guests, you may be taking the notion “surprise party” to an entirely new level! Nevertheless, this can be a fantastic way to honor the dog lover in your life and while planning a surprise party for a dog lover may take a little extra effort, it will be worth it in the long run when you see how delighted he or she is to arrive at the event.

Steps

1
Determine if you intend on inviting both humans and dogs. While the entire point of having a party for a dog lover is to include his or her dogs, make sure you can handle throwing a surprise party to accommodate both a number of humans and animals. If not, you may have to fall back on creating a doggy theme without the real dogs spreading their paw marks everywhere.
- Consider whether the dogs (and humans) can all get along. Like people, dogs have different temperaments and some just can’t get along with others. Do some detective work to see if all your guests’ dogs will be able to cohabitate during the party. If you're not sure, that needs to be put down as a "no."
- Consider implementing a few ground rules in case trouble starts brewing. This might include having a safety place designated for each dog (a room, crate or owner's car for immediate return home) if things get out of hand. Another useful rule is asking owners to keep their pets on leashes; that way, the owner remains in control, not the dog.
- Evaluate the space where you plan to throw the party. Can it accommodate both dogs and people? An outdoor, dog-friendly space is ideal for a party that includes both dogs and people. A fenced-in backyard or even possibly a dog park might work for a setting. Indoors is probably not ideal unless it's a really large space with places off the side that owners can take their dogs to keep them calm. Another idea is to host the party at a pet supply shop (some stores host dog friendly parties) or through a dog trainer. Call and ask about the options such places offer.
2
Decide what kind of “surprise” party you’d like. The reason behind the party will clearly impact what you're planning on doing by way of decorations, invitations to relevant guests, etc. Is the surprise party for your dog loving friend’s birthday or are you celebrating a victory from a dog show or a promotion at work? Perhaps the party is for your friend's dog!
- Birthday. Include the traditional elements of a surprise party with dog themed flair. If you're planning a surprise birthday party, consider having the event on a day other than your friend’s actual birthday for the added element of surprise (for instance, a week or a few days leading up to the birthday). However, if you're able to enlist the help and acquiescence of close family and friends, the actual day is perfect, provided they play roles of throwing your friend off the scent of what is really happening.
- Celebration. Find ways to punctuate the specific celebration within your party by including elements such as inviting guests who are part of the reason why you're celebrating (for example, a promotion at work, inviting coworkers or even the boss). If the event is because the dog has won a prize at a show, see if you can have a judge or other show entrants appear too.
- Holiday. Celebrate dogs in general by throwing a party on “National Dog Day” in August or throw your party during May, which is “National Pet Month.”
3
Choose a time and day for your surprise party. Determine when is the best time and day for not only guests, but most importantly for your guest of honor. If the guest of honor has upcoming events or plans, work around his or her schedule to arrive at a date that works well for him or her and then ask friends and family members. If you aren’t sure of his or her schedule, inquire about planning an outing for the two of you and then put your covert operation in place using that day and time. Of course, asking close family and friends to help out with the date (and other aspects) is another sensible approach so that they can be in on the event and help with covering up what is happening until the last moment.
- If you're accommodating both humans and dogs, identify a day (or evening) and amount of time that would be best for both. In many cases, dogs are a bit like small children––after an hour or two, they’ve had it and start to either get tired and possibly cranky or start getting into trouble. Also, their owners will probably be tired of keeping an eye on them for too long.
- In some cases, it might be appropriate to hire a professional dog walker to keep the dogs amused when the owners have had enough and want to just enjoy the party for themselves. This person might even be trusted to drop off dogs at their respective homes or to simply take the dogs for a walk to a local park for another hour, giving guests enough time to chill out without their pet charges.
4
Secure a location. If you’ve identified the spot, reserve the space or inquire about whether it allows pets for a party. Take all factors into consideration including the time of day and the guests (including the dogs) when making the decision. If the part is to be in the guest of honor's own home, you'll need to work this out with the other household members.
- Identify a pet-friend spot if dogs will be attending. Make sure the spot is pet-friendly so that guests can relax and have fun. Areas that are unfenced or restrictive may not be the ideal place for a pet party.
- Consider the number of people in relation to space. You may have more location options if you keep the guest list small, however a dog park or someone’s home may be ideal for any group size.
- If you plan to host the party at the guest of honor’s home, clear your plans with his or her spouse, family or roommate. If the guest of honor lives alone, ask his or her close friend to weigh in on your plans––would he or she enjoy a party at home and would inviting dogs be okay?
5
Plan your surprise. Determine how you will surprise your friend for that real “gotcha” moment.
- Devise a clandestine plan. Decide how you will get your friend to the location or out of his or her home and back if the party is going to be thrown at his or her house. Consider asking your pal to walk dogs together or run an errand at the pet store. If you plan to include dogs and the party location is elsewhere, you’ll need a pet friendly excuse to get both your friend and his or her pooch out of the house together.
- Find a place for everyone to hide––including the dogs. Evaluate the room to determine how everyone will hide for the surprise. Also, consider asking each owner to bring the dog’s kennel/crate or at least a leash to keep their pet quiet or restrained during the big reveal. One all-too-possible way to blow the surprise if care isn't taken is to have your guest of honor enter the room and be attacked by a pack of over-excited dogs.
6
Make sure the party has food and drink that everyone will enjoy. No dog party would be complete without pet-friendly and human food inspired by man’s best friend.
- Consider pet-safe food if dogs are in attendance. Even though the dogs may be getting special dog treats, be sure to eliminate any food from your menu that could pose a toxic hazard to dogs such as chocolate, grapes or onions. Find dog treats from a local pet food store instead and keep all human food safely away from the dogs.
- Have plenty of bowls of water around for the dogs to drink from.
- Create a dog or bone shaped food to accentuate your theme. Whether it’s a birthday cake or a congratulatory dessert, ask your baker (or do it yourself) to create a doggie inspired centerpiece dessert. Cookies made into the shape of bones can be a lot of fun too, although make it clear which are for the dogs and which are suitable for human consumption!
7
Consider games for both humans and dogs. Depending on where you're throwing the party, have a small wading pool available to dogs for a quick swim or set up a dog obstacle course. You could also have “pin the tail on the dog” for human guests or have a contest where guests eat their cake like a pup (no hands). A fun activity if children are involved is decorating cupcakes with dog designs.
- Provide guests with “doggie” bags as party favors. Both dogs and guests could go home with fun favors such as a new dog toy or special homemade treats for the pups. A dog- or bone-shaped picture frame might be a nice party favor for the humans.
8
Enlist help to clean up, especially if you plan to host the party at the guest of honor’s home. You may have quite a mess, especially if you have included your four-legged friends.
- Consider hiring someone or a company to help make the food, serve and clean up. If you plan to host a big surprise party, splurge for a little assistance. If hiring a catering company isn’t within your budget, ask neighborhood teens if they’d like to make some money helping out.
- Ask close friends to help with the party. From planning to clean up, ask close friends or family members of the guest of honor if they wouldn’t mind lending a hand.
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Do you know any good games for a puppy themed party?

Ribbon.rose

Community Answer

You could play pin the tail on the dog, pass the parcel with some dog-themed toys or items, or musical chairs, but using puppy beds instead of chairs.

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Tips

The idea is to celebrate this dog lover and not try to throw an elaborate gathering. The less elaborate, the better for all involved, especially if you plan to include animals. Keep it basic and with the least amount of fuss possible.

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Consider hiring someone to help with the animals at the party. In the event a few dogs go rogue or have an accident inside the home, you won’t be running around trying to serve cake while chasing dogs down the street or breaking up a fight. A professional dog walker is a great choice.

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Keep in mind that if you invite dogs, they won’t judge you for your party throwing skills. The wonderful aspect about dogs is that if they have a little food, water and love, they're happy. Don’t make yourself nuts trying to assemble special doggie bags for the animals or attempting to make the dog’s food into creative shapes if it becomes too big of a hassle.

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Warnings

Make sure your friend is cool with being surprised. Some people despise surprise parties and would be better off being part of the planning (or at least knowing).

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If you include animals, make sure any toxic plants, food, drinks or choke able items are removed from the area.

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