Party Tips-Puppy Shower

• If you're inviting other dogs, specify that only healthy dogs who are up to date on their shots can attend, since your young pup is still vulnerable to catching diseases until about four months of age.
  
• Adult dogs should be the calm, well-behaved sort as well, so your pup doesn't get too intimidated by the big boys and girls.
  
• You many want to consider the size of the canine guests when preparing your guest list.
  
• A 200 lb dog and a 4 lb puppy are not always a good mix at a social gathering, especially if you are restricted to an indoor area.
  
• How well the canine guests are socialized and behaved is far more important than size.

1. A fun idea for a centerpiece is a bone-shaped or fire-hydrant-shaped dog toy box. Then, when the puppy shower is over, the guest of honor can use the toy box to carry home the gifts, as well as use the toy box to store her new puppy’s toys.
2. Use inexpensive dog biscuits to decorate with. Tie one on to a gift bow for a cute touch. Write on them with a Sharpie pen to indicate place settings if you're serving a light meal. Glue them to tent cards or game cards. Write guests' names on them and put them in a fishbowl for door prizes. There are hundreds of uses.
3. Set the scene with some paw print balloons and crepe paper, pink for girl puppies and blue for the boys.
4.  Continue the theme with tablecloths and party plates printed with bones, fire hydrants, paw prints, or other dog-related motifs.
   
5. A homemade tablecloth sewn from doggie-print fabric trimmed in pompoms with inexpensive doggy toys, biscuits and rawhide chews arranged on the table.
   
6. Cut out bone shapes or paw prints and tape on the walls.
7. Pick a Theme: Mexican Fiesta, Hawiian Luau, Western, Mardi Gras, Movie or Celebraty "dog" stars, Popular Cartoon Dogs (Deputy Dog, Scooby Doo, Pluto)
   

1. A simple game of BINGO can be created using the new puppy’s name and dog-bone shaped game pieces.
2. A jar packed with treats so that partyers could guess the number of treats in the jar for a prize.
3. Guests walked around with dog-treat necklaces that they surrendered if they inadvertently said the words “dog” or “puppy.”
4. They also vied for prizes by listing songs with “dog” in the title and matching photos of celebrities with their corresponding dogs.
5. For a keepsake of the party, set out an album filled with pics of the puppy and plenty of blank pages for guests to add their dog-raising wisdom.
6. Guess the pup's weight
7. Who's that puppy? Guests with dogs can bring in pictures from their puppy stage. The person to match the most puppy pics to the right adult dog gets a prize. (This isn't much of a challenge, as you know. You're basically giving the other guests a chance to show off their puppies.)
8. Name contest - If you're still searching for the perfect name for your pup, ask guests to come up with 10 suggestions and read them aloud. Add rules if you'd like, such as incorporating letters from your own name or the names of other pets. Guests can vote on their favorites. Another important rule: You don't have to accept the one they like best.
9. Hide and seek the treat -This one's for the dogs. Stash treats around the room and send the puppy and his guests off on a wild treasure hunt. Of course, this is one to avoid if any of the dogs have food aggression issues to avoid dog fights.
10. Round robins - Ask the guests to sit in a circle with the puppy in the middle. One by one, the guests call the pup to them, and ask her to sit, lie down--whatever commands she knows--before sending her on to the next guest. Whoever gets the quickest, crispest responses from the puppy wins.
11. Pin the nose on the puppy - Enlarge a picture or draw a picture of a dog or puppy, and pin the nose (or tail) on the puppy.
12. A memory game could easily be done by placing 15-20 dog items on a tray, giving guests 30 seconds to view it, and then seeing how many they can remember. If dogs are included in the celebration, fetch or dog races could be held, with the fastest dog winning.
    

• If it’s a luncheon, be creative and cut sandwiches using a dog bone or fire hydrant shaped cookie cutter.
  
• Find human edible cookies in dog shapes like paw prints.
  
• Freeze ice cubes in fun shaped ice cube trays.
  
• Use ribbon with paw prints or fire hydrants to tie the tableware.
• Don’t rule out a casually elegant evening puppy shower, complete with scrumptious hors’ devours and fine vintage wine.
• There is the obvious barbecue with hot dogs.
• Cocktail hot dogs can be appetizers. Consider serving other hors d'oeuvres as well.
• A doggy version of chips and dip can be quickly whipped up using common milkbones dipped in a mixture of vanilla yogurt or cottage cheese with a little baby food fruit, honey and wheat germ added.
  

• Dip inexpensive dog biscuits in yogurt chips melted on low heat on the stovetop. Place on waxed paper to cool. They should be dry to the touch when cooled. Tie with a bow around the middle. Apply sprinkles before the yogurt has dried for an even fancier touch.
• Order handmade dog treats, baby bottle dog cookies, Dog Bone dog cookies, hot dog dog cookies, Adopt ribbon dog cookies
• A batch of puppy chow is easy to make and satisfies the sweet tooth of your human guests, while pups will go nuts for the puddin' pops. (Recipe's Below_
  

• This dog treat baking mix comes complete with bone-shaped cookie cutters and a doggie bandana. You can choose the treat flavor and color of the bandana.
• With tons of dog treat recipes on the internet, you can even make a variety of treats with a different one in each gift bag. For a fun twist, include the recipe in the treat bag so your human guest can make the dog treat again
• For guests without a dog, consider a bottle of wine decorated with a picture of your pup.
• Your party favors do not have to be edible. You can purchase tennis balls or other small dog toys as well. Consider packaging your favors in inexpensive gift bags, color coordinated to your color scheme and theme. Another alternative is Chinese take out boxes, which can be decorated with dog stickers.