National Puppy Day is an unofficial national holiday designed to celebrate everything about puppies! It is celebrated annually on March 23rd, and it allows all dog owners to celebrate the unconditional love a sweet pup can bring into their lives. When you have a young dog in your life, celebrating this holiday is a wonderful way to bond with your pup and enjoy your time together.
A Special Day for Reflection
This special day is also a time to reflect on the plight of orphaned pups and the problems associated with puppy mills. The first few weeks of life are a formative time when a pup develops his or her fears and comfort level with people, noises and other dogs. Pups who miss out on living in a normal household, playtime with their littermates and exposure to everyday items in the world may develop into a fearful dog with behavioral issues. When puppies are spending these formative weeks in a shelter or mill environment, they may miss out on critical socialization that can impact them for a lifetime. The importance of carefully guiding these formative weeks cannot be overemphasized.
Celebrating Outdoors with Your Pup
How will you celebrate this holiday with your pup? Springtime is a wonderful time to spend the day outdoors, and exposing your new pup to places and things he or she hasn’t seen before will help him or her to grow and thrive. A park where your pup can meet children and walk on unusual surfaces such as gravel, concrete, bark mulch or grass will help to further his or her socialization and comfort with different types of surfaces. Meeting children of various ages, activity levels and noise levels will help your pup gain comfort with people. You can also take the opportunity to teach children about how to properly interact with your sweet little pup – gentle petting, a slow approach and letting the pup have a choice about they way they interact.
Celebrating your Pup at the Office
If your workplace allows dogs, you can take your pup to the office to spend the holiday with you. A long day may be very tiring for your pup, so make sure you bring his or her bed and have a space available for rest time. Not only will your co-workers enjoy spending time with your pup, he or she will learn patience, appropriate interactions with other people and being comfortable in a space that is not his or her home. Throw your pup and your co-workers a party with doggie-themed cupcakes, decorations and special treats that are dog-friendly. You can also share information about other doggies that are available for adoption in local shelters to encourage your co-workers to adopt.
Throw a Pup Party at Home
A fun way to spend this holiday at home is to invite your friends, neighbors and other puppies to your home for a pup playdate. The humans can enjoy a barbecue or picnic while the pups play with each other in your backyard to learn socialization and appropriate play skills that will serve them well for a lifetime. Pups who play appropriately with each other will grow up to become well-adjusted dogs. You can also hire a pet photographer to capture beautiful images of the pups at play!
However you decide to celebrate National Puppy Day, you’ll be sure to have a wonderful time with lots of doggie friends, canine kisses and memorable times with your special pup.