My Furry Valentine

On Valentine’s Day, who better to spoil and show some love to than your devoted canine?  Here are some fun Valentine’s Day activities to share with Your Dog.

MAKE A JAR OF HEARTS FOR YOUR DOG
Take any kind of jar, and fill it with hart shaped treats or dog friendly cookies.  Decorate the jar with stickers or ribbon.  It’s a great way to say I Love You to your dog, or give as a Valentine to someone else’s dog.

You can find several kinds of heart shaped treats for your jar.  At Petco, you can pick & choose goodies from their treat bar.   They cost about $4.95 per pound and you get a lot of treats in a pound.  For Valentine’s Day they have pink, purple, or natural colored heart shaped treats.  The treats have Valentine messages on them such as “Hug Me”, Kiss Me”, “I Love You”, and “XOXO”.   I got this bag of treats for about 79 cents.
You can also find packaged heart shaped cookies and treats at pet stores, or better yet make your own if you have the time.  I found this bag of heart shaped Salmon flavored treats at the Dollar Store.  They are so cute, and my dogs went nuts over them – they love Salmon!     
Check out It’s The Dog’s Life for some really good dog friendly recipes.  The Saint Lover, as the author is called, has a recipe for Applesauce Peanut Butter Cut Outs in her K-9 Cookbook tab on the site. Perfect for Valentine’s Day!     http://itsthedogslife.com/treat-recipes/peanut-butter-applesauce-cut-outs/ . 

 
ADD SOME BLING TO A TIRED, PLAIN COLLAR OR LEASH.  
I got a plain black collar at the Dollar Store for a buck and jazzed it up with pink adhesive rhinestone strips from the craft store.  The strips peel & stick on and they stay on really well.  I added an inexpensive heart shaped charm with pink rhinestones I found at a pet store. 


 
 

HOST A VALENTINE’S DAY YAPPY HOUR  for some of your dog’s favorite playmates. 
You can host a yappy hour in your own home, or check out local pet boarding facilities, wine bars or local hotels and restaurants to ask if they happen to be hosting one themselves (many host them regularly). 

Serve dog friendly cocktails, treats, and dog friendly (non dairy) ice cream.  You can whip up doggie “smoothies” made with cooked chicken or beef, fruit and plain yogurt mixed well in the blender.  You can add some banana, peanut butter or applesauce for more flavor.  Whatever concoction you come up with, make sure you use only dog friendly ingredients, nothing  that contains chocolate, onion, garlic, raisins or other ingredients that can be dangerous for dogs should be served.  My Canine Crudite Platter post (December, 2013) lists dog friendly foods you can serve.

Set up games for the dogs such as the shell game.  Hide treats under one of three plastic cups, each dog takes a turn sniffing to find it.   Place one or two interactive dog toys out, like the one in my What Will the New Year Bring For Your Dog? post (January, 2014), and let the dogs have fun figuring out how to find treats hidden within them.    Search online for a fun new trick and teach it to your canine guests.  These games can be lots of fun for the dogs and their owners.

At the end of your Valentine Yappy Hour give out treat bags,  Jars of Hearts, or bling collars you’ve made as party favors to each guest, or raffle them off as prizes for the best Valentine’s Day outfit.

JOIN A VALENTINE’S DAY CHARITY WALK OR RUN  with your dog, giving some love back to your community.  Search online for “Valentine’s Day Dog Walks or Runs” in your area.  If there aren’t any, get a bunch of friends together and  organize your own dog walk, or gather donations for a local animal welfare charity and deliver them together.

TREAT YOUR DOG TO A RELAXING MASSAGE at the end of a long Valentine’s Day.  Your dog will love this quality time spent with you, her ultimate Valentine!  Check out Modern Dog magazine’s article on how to massage your dog: http://moderndogmagazine.com/articles/how-massage-your-dog/2028

Happy Valentine’s Day to you and your Furry Valentine, however you decide to spend the day that celebrates love!

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