The Six Essentials of Throwing the Best Pet Halloween Party

Everyone loves a good party! There always seems to be great food, fun games and better company. Have you ever thought to throw a party for your pet? Halloween is one of the best times to do this. The following are six essentials of throwing a Halloween party for your pet.

1. Get a Good Costume

The host of every Halloween party needs to have the best costume at the event. It sets the tone and shows the attendees you’re ready to party! There are so many costumes to choose from, you may have a hard time narrowing it down. Are you a Disney fan? Your pooch might be the star of the show in a Beast costume from Beauty and the Beast. Minnie Mouse or Toy Story’s Bo Peep might be the best choice for your little princess pup.

If you’re more into a generic costume, there are still a lot to choose from. You’ve got clowns, butterflies, chickens, bat wings and wigs. One that’s sure to be a showstopper is the Spider Pup Dog Costume with all its legs and eyes to scare every pet owner at the party.

2. Create a Stellar Invitation

Aside from listing the who, what, where, when and why of the party, your invitations should be visually stunning. You might consider making pop-up invitations so they stand out among any other party invites the pet owners get. Throw in a paw magnet for the pet parent to use to hang the invitation on the fridge. Hand-delivering your invitations is a more personal way to get the message out, and you can typically get a commitment right then and there from those who will attend the party.

3. Plan for Plenty of Treats

No Halloween party is complete without treats! Unless you’re taking the kids around with the dog, your pooch probably won’t go trick-or-treating, so you’ll need to have plenty of treats at the party. The good news is there are a lot of healthy snacks for dogs. Unlike the candy your kids will get, dog treats include healthy choices such as Zuke’s Mini Naturals or Crispy Bacon & Apple Fruitables .

Be sure you speak with all the other dog owners before planning treats for your pet Halloween party. If any of the dogs have allergies, it may be easier to plan all the treats around that allergy. For example, if one attendee has a wheat allergy, you could serve K9 Granola Factory Simply Biscuits Grain Free Crunchy Peanut Butter Treats to all the dogs.

4. Decorate Safely

Not every dog at your party is going to behave the same way your dog does. Though you may be able to decorate a certain way with your own pooch in the house, you may need to make a few adjustments when you’re going to have a whole party of dogs at the house. Some decorations to avoid include:

• Spider Webs – Spider web decorations are often too tempting for a group of dogs. They’ll want to explore the web and could get caught up in it. If one dog is pulling on one end, and another is caught in the other end, it could become quite dangerous.

• Loud Sounds – People at Halloween parties love all the loud, scary sounds, but dogs don’t so much. Loud sounds could cause stress among your group of partygoers. If even one dog gets overly excited about the noise, it could cause a chain reaction among the other pups. This could make a pet party get out of hand quickly.

• Balloons – Another thing people love, but dogs shouldn’t have access to is a balloon. Dogs look at a balloon as though it’s a chew toy, which creates a serious choking hazard. If the dog is able to avoid choking on the balloon and it makes its way to the stomach, some serious blockages or pain could occur, which is going to cut your party short as you have to take a dog to the vet for emergency care.

5. Plan Games to Get Every Dog Involved

Games are a must at any party, but how do you organize party games for your pets? One of the best ways to go about it is including treats or another prize the dog will want to get his paws on. Some games you could incorporate into your Halloween party include:

• Bobbing for Toys – Get a toy such as the ZippyTuff Halloween Donutz Dog Toy for each dog and float it in a bowl of water. Let the dogs loose to bob for their “donuts.”

• Trick and Treat – Give each dog owner a chance to show off his or her dog’s tricks. Every dog who does a trick gets a treat!

• Costume Contest – Have each pet owner walk his or her dog around the group of others to show off that dog’s costume. All attendees can then vote on their favorite costume.

6. Give Out Party Favors

Don’t send your party guests away without some fun party favors. This could include a treat bag, a new toy, a fun shirt or a variety of other items. Include something for your pet parents as well, such as a magnet, matching shirts , a mug, a window decal or something else you think they’d enjoy. Throw it all in a dog-themed tote and give them out as guests leave the party.

Halloween is a fun time to get together and party, but you shouldn’t forget your pets want to have fun, too. Throw the best Halloween party this year by following these six simple steps.