7 ways to celebrate Galentines Day with your dog

Same old Spiel, Valentine’s Day is around the corner and all my favorite shopping temples are telling me that only with expensive gifts will my husband prove to me that he loves me, and only with the most kitsch pink and red hearted decorations will I be an accepted member of society. The consume mills are working…

Being from Germany, Valentine’s Day traditionally has a much lower importance than here in the capitalist part of the world, though of course especially the flower industry has caught up in the last 5-10 years. And yes, I did receive a flower bouquet delivered to my office from my now husband in our first year of dating when he was out of town. I was the talk of the office on 5 different floors for an entire week though…

So, while I believe in the deeper meaning of Valentine’s Day (Cupid, true love and all that goo-goo eyed stuff), I was excited to discover Galentine’s Day on February 13th only a couple of years ago. Turns out when I researched this, Galentine’s Day is only a couple of years old (long story short, Parks & Rec invented it 10 years ago, but it only got pushed on Social media about 4-5 years ago)

Back to the point: Let’s celebrate L-O-V-E! Loving our friends, loving our family, loving “our girls”. I like to think of Galentine’s Day as a more empowered version of Valentine’s Day, hoping that this is the one day we break the chains of consume (No, I’m not a socialist), and connect with our loved ones, enjoying each other’s company if COVID permits (on Zoom if not) and celebrating our female friendships accordingly. If in doubt, send a Galentine’s Card!

Well, guess who’s my best girlfriend…my own little baby, and yes, I am talking about my dog. Tough titties. No judgement.

So of course, I am all ready to rumble to do all the above: Love my baby, spend time with her and do something awesome, making memories…and take nice photos anyway. We are millennials after all, right?

So here are my TOP 7 Galentine’s Day Activities for me and my baby girl Missy…

1. Go to a Dog Friendly Coffee Shop

Missy loves Dish Society because I always order fruit to share with her…

There’s nothing more that makes my heart skip a beat than when I take Missy to the coffee shop. While we live in Houston, and weather won’t be a problem, you might want to check your local coffee shop’s outside arrangements before you go in case you live in colder weather.

Our go-to is of course @dishsociety, in our opinion, Houston’s most dog friendly restaurant!

Your dog is not used to going out? No worries. In preparation, teach and train down with your dog. Have a little towel or placemat for your dog to settle on and have a bowl with water ready (don’t trust the restaurant has that. We like to use our collapsible travel bowl). Usually, I always have some kind of long lasting chew or a kong for Missy too to keep her busy.

Make sure your dog is tired to be calm…you can achieve that by going for a nice long walk beforehand which leads me to…

2. Go for a Galentine’s Walk

Go for a nice long walk, take breaks, little training sessions sprinkled in between.

I love taking Missy for a long walk and giving her enough opportunities to sniff all the smells.

Every couple of blocks I will do short little training sessions of 2 minutes or less. Just simple stuff. Heel, sit, down, high five and stuff. If you don’t have a training agenda, don’t come up with new crazy commands just now, but reinforce known tricks and commands in a new environment. With lots of treats, this will make their day!

3. Be creative

Missy and I built this Kissing Booth last year together.

I love to be crafty myself and while in my head I often have to remind myself Missy is not actually my biological offspring, I tend to think I would like to pass on some creative juices to her.
Ideas how to be creative:
Make a paw painting
Sniff game with paint as seen on TikTok.
Draw your puppy (no shame, just try!)
Built a Kissing Booth and Post on Instagram

Or, if you don’t like being crafty yourself, order a painting of you and your pup.

Allure&Verve founded by yours truly, makes custom Paw Print designs of your favorite pooches. Order a digital file to print or get a screensaver with your four-legged friend’s paw!

Get a custom art print from your dog’s own paw print with your favorite design from Allure&Verve for $15

4. Be a Super Model

Treat yourself to a Doggy Photoshoot.

This is the kind of photos I have of Missy as a pup together with me.

One thing I regret not having done when Missy was a puppy: pay for professional photos. Back then I refused to be what I back then considered a crazy dog mom and thought my blurry iPhone selfies were good enough. WRONG! Look at the kind of photos I have of Missy and me!

Contact a dog photographer in your area ahead of time and book a socially distanced photo session for you and your pup!

We have @thephodografeur on our list (if you live in and around Houston book Mickey here), but mommy still wants to lose some weight before we actually do it …we’ll let you know how that plan goes…

This beautiful photo was taken by @thephodografeur, book your session with Mickey now!

5. Puppaccino me…

We are all busy these days that’s for sure, so if you don’t have time or the money to do any of these things...maybe you can spare $5?

Grab your pup, fasten their seat belt (please always secure your dog in the car) and rock up to the Starbucks Drive-Thru for…yes, you guessed right, a fantastic bombastic Puppaccino.

While you can of course go through the Drive-Thru, please re-check the possibility to stay in your car and have the drinks delivered directly to your car (pre-order by app, anyway), check my post here about why that is so important for the environment.

6. Have a Bake Party!

Get artsy and foodie and bake some yummy treats for your dog. Check back here for my blog post about my 5 favorite Recipe Blogs.

How about making your own Peanut Butter with this yummy and super easy recipe here from @BobbyandBambisdogbakery ?