Emphasis on the "PAW." Yes, now I am that lady who throws birthday parties for her pets. I tried to keep it "low-key" so I didn't seem that crazy, but let's be honest, I'm still crazy. But, if you compare a birthday party for a dog, and a birthday party for a 1 year old, at least my dog will have fun and sort of remember it. Even though I wasn't expecting anyone to show up who said they were going to, there was actually a big turn out! There were 9 dogs who ended up coming! (There were a couple of random people who showed up who weren't invited to the party, but it's a public park and I honestly didn't mind—The more the merrier!)
Luna's PAW-ty was at Robertson Dog Park, in Livermore. I bought some cheap dog toys (rope toys and tennis balls) from the Dollar Tree, and a kiddie pool from Target to keep the dogs entertained. I also ended up making goodie bags, which consisted of the Homemade Peanut Butter Oatmeal dog treats with the recipe.
There were SO many different personalities at Luna's PAW-ty (it's just so fun to say PAW-ty). There's Luna, who would get so excited when another dog would come, so, like a good hostess, she would go greet them. She also WOULD NOT slow down the entire 3 hours that we were there. No resting or laying down once! She was having way too much fun.
Then you had Casey's dogs, Stella and Toby. Stella is a full blown mutt, and Toby is a 14-year-old Shih Tzu. Stella was in charge of making sure all the dogs were getting along. When someone was playing too rough she would bark, as if saying "Nope, that's not okay, someone is going to get hurt." Eventually, Stella would try to get in on the fun and play wrestle too, but she just ended up being the awkward third wheel. Toby, was the dog who did his own thing and didn't care about anything going on around him. He just smelled the fence line and peed on some patches of grass. At one time he ended up on the other side of the dog park (he must've gotten under the poorly made fence), and he was just chillin' and doing his thing over there. So stealth, Toby.
Allie, the standard poodle, with her dog owner Amanda, was the next to arrive. Allie was such a diva. She did not want to play with any other dog, because she's a model now. She was just at a fundraising event and she was asked to model off the new poodle clip. So when Allie and Amanda came, Allie stuck by mom the entire time, or tried to jump up on the table to be above all the other dogs (dominance thing for sure). But in the end she seemed to do just fine and have a good time soaking up some sun.
Shree brought her dog Lilah, who is a rescue but she thinks she has Boxer, Greyhound, and some other breeds in her. Lilah is a very energetic dog, and VERY fast. She was the only other one besides luna that I saw play in the pool. She is a barker, and since she's a larger dog, it tends to scare people. Shree had to put Lilah on a leash a couple times to calm her down. And when it was time to go, Lilah whined and whined, not ready to leave.
Drew's family showed up with Teddy, the Pomeranian puppy. It was their first time at the dog park and with all these dogs and their various personalities, they held him the entire time. At one point, they took him over to the other side of the dog park to have him run around without any dogs in the way. Luna and Lilah watched Teddy from the other side of the fence and would run back and forth trying to chase him.
Hannah brought her two dogs: Bell and Louie. Bell is an older Golden Retriever, and Louie is a Ridgeback mix (a HUGE dog). Becca came with to help Hannah with Bell and to hang out. Bell did her own thing, but was still very playful and very happy. Louie played a lot with Luna, who was probably half his size. That boy was a tank! I would not feel scared walking at night if I had Louie with me. But he is such a friendly guy.
Ziggy, the Beagle mix came with Mackensie, and she was super interested in Teddy. She was trying to play with Teddy the entire time, even though he was in someone's arms. Once Ziggy realized the tiny Pomeranian wasn't getting down to play with her, she became interested in playing with the other dogs. Ziggy and Mackensie left a little early, but still got ample amount of play time in.
Brian was the last to arrive (yep, just called you out!) with his Golden Retriever, Fez. Fez was probably tired from the 2 hour drive over and wasn't really in the playing mood. He just sat next to Brian most of the time, and occasionally played fetch. He did however like to get real close to people and sit on their feet and lean against them, getting his fur ALL over them.
Then there was Shreya. She is dog lover, but she doesn't have a dog, so she came to get her puppy fix. Shreya ended up being the photographer and got a ton of photos (basically all of the photos in this post are from her). Thanks Shreya!
And for those of you who think it's absolutely absurd that I have thrown a birthday paw-ty for my dog, you are probably right. It is a little overboard, I'll admit, but at least I'm not a crazy cat lady ;)
Luna's PAW-ty was at Robertson Dog Park, in Livermore. I bought some cheap dog toys (rope toys and tennis balls) from the Dollar Tree, and a kiddie pool from Target to keep the dogs entertained. I also ended up making goodie bags, which consisted of the Homemade Peanut Butter Oatmeal dog treats with the recipe.
There were SO many different personalities at Luna's PAW-ty (it's just so fun to say PAW-ty). There's Luna, who would get so excited when another dog would come, so, like a good hostess, she would go greet them. She also WOULD NOT slow down the entire 3 hours that we were there. No resting or laying down once! She was having way too much fun.
Then you had Casey's dogs, Stella and Toby. Stella is a full blown mutt, and Toby is a 14-year-old Shih Tzu. Stella was in charge of making sure all the dogs were getting along. When someone was playing too rough she would bark, as if saying "Nope, that's not okay, someone is going to get hurt." Eventually, Stella would try to get in on the fun and play wrestle too, but she just ended up being the awkward third wheel. Toby, was the dog who did his own thing and didn't care about anything going on around him. He just smelled the fence line and peed on some patches of grass. At one time he ended up on the other side of the dog park (he must've gotten under the poorly made fence), and he was just chillin' and doing his thing over there. So stealth, Toby.
Allie, the standard poodle, with her dog owner Amanda, was the next to arrive. Allie was such a diva. She did not want to play with any other dog, because she's a model now. She was just at a fundraising event and she was asked to model off the new poodle clip. So when Allie and Amanda came, Allie stuck by mom the entire time, or tried to jump up on the table to be above all the other dogs (dominance thing for sure). But in the end she seemed to do just fine and have a good time soaking up some sun.
Shree brought her dog Lilah, who is a rescue but she thinks she has Boxer, Greyhound, and some other breeds in her. Lilah is a very energetic dog, and VERY fast. She was the only other one besides luna that I saw play in the pool. She is a barker, and since she's a larger dog, it tends to scare people. Shree had to put Lilah on a leash a couple times to calm her down. And when it was time to go, Lilah whined and whined, not ready to leave.
Drew's family showed up with Teddy, the Pomeranian puppy. It was their first time at the dog park and with all these dogs and their various personalities, they held him the entire time. At one point, they took him over to the other side of the dog park to have him run around without any dogs in the way. Luna and Lilah watched Teddy from the other side of the fence and would run back and forth trying to chase him.
Hannah brought her two dogs: Bell and Louie. Bell is an older Golden Retriever, and Louie is a Ridgeback mix (a HUGE dog). Becca came with to help Hannah with Bell and to hang out. Bell did her own thing, but was still very playful and very happy. Louie played a lot with Luna, who was probably half his size. That boy was a tank! I would not feel scared walking at night if I had Louie with me. But he is such a friendly guy.
Ziggy, the Beagle mix came with Mackensie, and she was super interested in Teddy. She was trying to play with Teddy the entire time, even though he was in someone's arms. Once Ziggy realized the tiny Pomeranian wasn't getting down to play with her, she became interested in playing with the other dogs. Ziggy and Mackensie left a little early, but still got ample amount of play time in.
Brian was the last to arrive (yep, just called you out!) with his Golden Retriever, Fez. Fez was probably tired from the 2 hour drive over and wasn't really in the playing mood. He just sat next to Brian most of the time, and occasionally played fetch. He did however like to get real close to people and sit on their feet and lean against them, getting his fur ALL over them.
Then there was Shreya. She is dog lover, but she doesn't have a dog, so she came to get her puppy fix. Shreya ended up being the photographer and got a ton of photos (basically all of the photos in this post are from her). Thanks Shreya!
And for those of you who think it's absolutely absurd that I have thrown a birthday paw-ty for my dog, you are probably right. It is a little overboard, I'll admit, but at least I'm not a crazy cat lady ;)
