Before the Baby Comes Home, Someone Else Is Already Family

This weekend at Bentley’s Barkery was all about baby girls.

Two families were preparing to welcome twin girls. Another was celebrating a singleton baby girl. And somewhere in the middle of all that pink, one little boy made his appearance too.

But the cakes coming out of our Barkery weren’t for the babies.

They were for the dogs.

We made gender reveal cakes so pups could be included in one of those wonderfully exciting family moments when everyone finally learns: Is it a boy or a girl?

And every time we get one of these orders, it makes us smile.

Because before the nursery is finished, before the baby comes home and before a dog has any idea why suddenly there are tiny socks and boxes arriving everywhere, their humans have already made one thing clear:

You are part of this family, too.

The Family Is Changing. Your Pup Is Part of It.

There are plenty of ways to announce a baby’s gender.

Balloons. Confetti. Cakes for the humans. Elaborate parties. Quiet announcements around the dinner table.

But somewhere along the way, pet parents started asking a different question:

How can we include the dog?

We love that.

For many couples, their pup was there first.

They were there for dating, moving in together, engagements, weddings, first homes and ordinary Tuesday nights on the couch. They’ve been part of the routines and traditions that made two people feel like a family long before a baby entered the picture.

So when that family grows, including the dog isn’t necessarily about doing something cute for Instagram.

Sometimes it’s simply an acknowledgment of the place that pup already holds.

This weekend, we got to make that acknowledgment edible.

It Was Definitely a Girls’ Weekend at the Barkery

Three gender reveals.

Twin girls. A singleton girl. And one baby boy.

The girls certainly had the numbers this weekend.

Each cake carried a secret that the humans already knew—or were anxiously waiting to discover—and the pup got to be part of telling the story.

There’s something wonderfully funny about the whole thing.

The humans are emotional. Someone is trying to get the perfect photograph. Everybody is waiting for the big reveal.

Meanwhile, the dog is thinking:

Cake.

And somehow that makes the moment even better.

Our Fur-Babies Are Already Part of the Story

We don’t use the words fur-baby very often around here.

But this might be one occasion when it feels exactly right.

Before the human baby arrives, that dog has often occupied a very particular place in someone’s life. They’ve been cared for, worried over, celebrated, photographed approximately 8,000 times and probably given more nicknames than anyone would admit publicly.

Then life changes.

A new little person enters the family.

Including your pup in a gender reveal can be one small way of saying that while the family is growing, their place in it still matters.

And soon enough, that pup may have an entirely new role: big brother or big sister.

This Is Enrichment, Too

If you read our last blog about why monthly enrichment matters, you might remember that we said enrichment isn’t just about toys.

It’s about experiences.

A new activity. New smells. Going somewhere different. Learning a game. Participating in something with their human.

And sometimes enrichment is simply being included in the life you’re building together.

A gender reveal cake isn’t a substitute for your pup’s walks, sniffing, play or mental stimulation, of course. But the celebration itself represents something we care deeply about at Bentley’s: creating experiences with our dogs rather than always leaving them behind.

That’s the idea behind our Bentley Boxes.

It’s why we’re developing more activities and events for pups and their people.

And it’s why we love seeing dogs included in birthdays, weddings, vacations, baby announcements and all the wonderfully ordinary moments in between.

Dogs don’t understand a gender reveal.

But they certainly understand being with their people.

From Gender Reveals to Howl-O-Ween…

And just like that, we’ve gone from baby announcements to spooky season.

🎃 Bentley’s Howl-O-Ween cookie orders are officially open!

And we’re getting ready for our upcoming Make Your Own Howl-O-Ween Costume experience, where pups and their humans can create costumes for the Halloween parades and competitions happening around town.

Subscribe to the Bentley’s Barkery blog so you don’t miss the event announcement or the rest of our Howl-O-Ween festivities.

Because whether we’re celebrating a new baby, a Barkday, Halloween or absolutely nothing other than the fact that it’s Tuesday, we think life gives us plenty of reasons to include our pups.

What Has Your Pup Been Part Of?

This weekend reminded us that some of the best Bentley’s orders aren’t really about cake.

They’re about what the cake represents.

A family growing.

A milestone reached.

A memory being made.

And a four-legged family member who gets to be right there in the middle of it.

If your pup has been part of a proposal, wedding, pregnancy announcement, gender reveal or another big family moment, we want to hear the story & see the pictures.

Tag Bentley’s Barkery or send them our way.

Because apparently this weekend belonged to the girls.

Three little girls, one little boy, and some very important future big brothers and sisters who got cake first. 🐾