I’ve said it in some of my past articles, and I’ll say it again: dogs can have very busy social lives! Those non-dog owners may not quite understand why you’re sacrificing your Saturday morning to go on an organized walk through the city with perceived strangers, but you know the benefits are plentiful:
- Exercise for your dog (hello, making them tired so you can go out and not feel guilty about it later!)
- Socialization for your dog; it’s so important to get your dogs used to interacting with other dogs and humans.
- Meeting new human friends! Yes, this really happens. Just think of all the future doggy play dates with drinks meetups you can have with this new friend.
If you’re interested in how to find some of these events near you, you can check out my previous post here. In this post, I’m going to focus on some of the pup meetups in the Washington D.C. area.
If you live in the D.C. area, have a dog, and aren’t following @WeTheDogsDC, you have got to change that immediately! Though their website boasts one single goal: “To build and strengthen the DC dog community,” they achieve this goal through organizing events that support local animal rescue organizations. They also have one of the best mottos I’ve ever seen, “If my dog’s not invited I’m not coming.” We have only been in the D.C. area for a year, but we have attended a ton of fabulous events organized by them. Including but not limited to:
- A rooftop pool party Luau
- A “Pups in the Park” Nationals game
- A Bi-Pawtisan March ending at a dog-friendly beer garden
- Paint your pet nights
Finding any of these events is as easy as following their Instagram, Facebook, or looking at the event calendar on their website! Their Instagram lets local dogs hold their handle daily so you get to see tons of dog-friendly locations in the area!
Another awesome local community can be found through @dcdogmoms. Their mission is equally as fun: “We want to help people enjoy all that life in D.C. with a dog has to offer—whether it’s meeting new friends at happy hour, finding new puppy playmates, identifying the most dog-friendly establishments in the area, or getting advice from your fellow dog lovers. DCDogMoms is a broad, inclusive community for anyone who loves dogs—whether you’re a Dog Mom, a Dog Dad, or just a dog lover!” These events are more relaxed, but happen more frequently. You could find yourself at events such as the following:
- Winery trips
- Yappy hours throughout the city
- Howl-o-ween costume parties
Similarly as above, these events are broadcast across their social media channels and their website.
If you can’t find pup meet-ups that work with your schedule through either of those outlets, there are tons of impromptu meetups scheduled all the time! I wrote about this in the post linked above, but I’ve found out about even more D.C. dog communities since then:
- Tiny dogs of DC: events found on their Instagram or here: https://www.meetup.com/GeorgetownLittleDog/
- Chow Chows of the DMV: events found on their Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/315698192512886/?ref=share
- Wheatons, Whoodles, and Doodles of the DMV: events found here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/wheatenswhoodlesanddoodles/
- Capital Corgis: events found here: https://www.meetup.com/CapitalCorgis/
One of the best pieces of advice that I will leave you with is similar to what I said on my other post. Open up a web browser, type in “D.C. + your dog’s breed here” and the events or groups that already exist will amaze you! This can also be done on Facebook. If you are looking for events to take your dogs to, all the resources are here, it’s time for you to go have fun with them!
What pup meetups have you attended? Tell us about your favorite in the comments!
I’m Kelly and I am the human that pretends to be my golden doodle on instagram all day (@minidoodlebentley)! I’m a math nerd and CrossFit enthusiast who has recently married the man of my dreams. My love for travel, dogs, and prosecco is unmatched and it would be a life dream to travel the world with Bentley!
