Puppy Party Ideas?

Re: Puppy Party Ideas?

Heather Bacon — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 20:23:05 GMT

We do 1 hour puppy party once a month too. We do introductions so everyone talks a bit about their puppy. Talk about the usual flea/worming etc etc. I like to talk about diet and ask what everyone is feeding. We do the touchy feely stuff so pups can get used to having feet/ears touched etc. A demo on tooth brushing, getting them all on the scales. We also have the local dog trainer come in to talk about training, do a few demos with the pups and she usually has lots of questions to answer!

This takes up a lot of the time which is handy when i run out of things to talk about! Is this something you can do? We don't pay her as she has volunteered to do it, and she gets a few new clients out of it too.

We also talk about kongs, types of leads, harnesses etc. We only have max 6 puppies and never let them all off together. We only have 2 off at a time and pick which ones should be let off together. If one week we have none suitable, then we don't let any off together. But may let one off at a time so they can have a walk about themselves and explore . TBH the dog trainer usually takes care of this side of things, as she can read the behaviour a bit better than I can.

Re: Puppy Party Ideas?

Jenblob2 — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:49:20 GMT

Thanks Nicky, what you've said is very helpful. Myself and the practice are new to puppy parties and I think we are learning little bits at each session. Before starting them I tried to read up as much as possible on how to try and organise them, including a little about the nervous pups and the more boisterous ones, and so far we haven't experienced any bullying as far as I can tell, but like I say, I'm new and I'm no dog expert either. The sessions are only an hour and as you have said, we do have a maximum of 6 pups, between the ages of 11 weeks and 16 weeks. A few toys are provided but they are usually too interested in each other to really want to play with them, and I do worry about them getting protective over toys? Maybe the interactive toys/feeders would be something for the clients to look at in cases of puppy boredom? Will definitely try the halti idea and perhaps a short tour around the practice, however, our sessions are during the day and although prep and theatre are not in use during this time, I would not be able to take them into cattery/kennel due to in-patients. There isn't a lot more to see at our practice

Re: Puppy Party Ideas?

nickyc — Tue, 02 Sep 2014 19:05:38 GMT

Don't mean to be negative, but the pups should not be allowed to just run around the place as it can actually have a negative impact on socialisation. As the more nervous pups can get bullied and then actually becoming afraid and worried and the more bolder pups realise bullying can be enormous fun, and become over confident with other dogs, which can lead to dog on dog aggression in severe cases in older life. You should have loads to talk about... and maybe concentrate on few specific subjects, maybe introduce a few suitable products which maybe useful to owners such as halti's/kongs etc. You could do a practice tour and maybe include a few refreshments then answer any questions owners may have. I would keep session to no more then an hour to stop pups getting bored or tired. I would have a maximum of 6 pups per party and try and match pups by similar ages and sizes. Pass the pup is a good idea. I would allow the pups to have some assess to each other, but would do in a controlled manor, and encourage owners to get them to settle down first then allow a couple to meet on lead, and if both pups seem happy and relaxed allow a few minutes off lead, but if they become crazy and to full on I would calm things down again...