Questions about Meetup Groups

[DBlain]

For those of you in meetup groups I was wondering what yours were like and if you had an official membership where you paid dues or meetup fees. Also curious about where you meet, do you guys bring food, play games, ect. What is the longest distance someone will travel to attend a meetup, how often do you meet and for how long. The meetup group I belong to (which I like) is sort of far and one for the whole state of MI is just not enough, so I have been toying with the idea of organizing another one. Since the MI one is the only one I have been to I am curious about what others like and don't like about their's. Thanks Donna

[Tessa327]

The only yorkie meetup I've attended was the one hosted by Kendra last summer. It was fun and was done outdoors. The meetup was a gift exchange pot luck type of gathering. I even bought a shirt that says Texas Yorkie Mom with my SN on the back for keepsake. This was a meetup off of YT held in N. Texas and I sure hope she hosts another one this year.

I also joined a yorkie group off of the meetup site but they haven't been doing well and there are no fees or dues collected. I think it's a great idea that you want to organize a meetup. I always enjoy seeing pictures. Good luck to you

[MaxYorkieBear]

As a co-organizer for the. oc yorkie group I may be a little bias but I love our group. We have a core group about 23 that regularly attend and we have a lot of people that come in whenever they have time(about 300 members signed up on the site). We do have a membership fee which is about 25 for the whole year and we have 2 events a month, one indoor and outdoor. We use the money to pay the cost of the meetup site and for other things as well such as food for the events and other things members can use such as party equipment (platters, cake stands, food trays) all which is accessible to anyone in the group who would like to borrow it. We regularly post the expenses on our meetup site so everyone knows how much money we have and where it's going. we recently purchased multiple baby gates that interconnect so all our baby's can run off leash when we host outdoor events.

We have training classes together that people sign up for (we negotiate deals for this too) and we also are working on have some of the dogs in our group therapy certified so we can do group hospital visits. We host doggie birthday parties (we have one this Sunday) and are looking at working with a rescue to help them fundraise. A lot of our members are local but we do have a few that drive more than an hour away and come when they can. we host our events at parks , dog boutiques( that give us discounts), peoples houses, & we're also trying out a baseball game this year for bark in the park. We do potlucks sometimes and bbq's when the weathers nice. we also hAve a member that's a photographer that likes to take photos of he dogs at the events which all the ladies love.

We've managed to make the group self sufficient so we don't have to pay all the meetup fees out of our pocket. We have a lot of members that donate at the events also usually a few dollars here and there which really helps.

I think starting up your own meetup group would be fun! Good luck!

[chachi]

I think a neat meet up would e going to an organized dog walk then going to an outdoor cafe where you could take the dogs and eat

[DBlain]

M Y B your group sounds awesome, now I am even more sorry I left Irvine
ours so far have been at people's homes and of course in MI it is cold half the year. I am going to one this Saturday but it is a two hour drive each way I will be hosting in April and one of the gals is helping me be a co hostess. I am nervous since my outside space while big and on a lake is not fenced in so I am telling everyone to make sure to have collars and leashes. Many of the dogs are not housebroken or are pee pad trained so I am taking up all of the loose rugs and in my great room will be removing all my furniture covering the floor with this clear plastic stuff that contractors use, then putting my furniture back in a way that will work better for a meetup, just typing all this makes me feel exhausted, but I am looking forward to hosting it. We did try to find a place like a training center that would let us host it, but since our locations are so spread out, no one could find a place. That's why I want to start a more local group, this way we could have training classes and get discounts from local companies. My groomer said she does a lot of yorkies and will pass information out, I also I thought I would pass around flyers to other groomers and vets.

[BellarousasMom]

Originally Posted by chachi

I think a neat meet up would e going to an organized dog walk then going to an outdoor cafe where you could take the dogs and eat

I would be for that. I live west of Indy.

[yorkieusa]

Another fun thing that we've done is to have pictures of everyone's yorkies printed on t-shirts.

[Jesslmetz]

Originally Posted by chachi

I think a neat meet up would e going to an organized dog walk then going to an outdoor cafe where you could take the dogs and eat

Oh! I agree, that sounds like fun!!

[yorkiemini]

Live in Southern Indiana but go to Indianapolis often. A dog walk and outdoor dinner sounds like a fun thing to do!

[DBlain]

LOL no help to me but a Indy meet ups sounds like it could be in the works, go for it and please post pics

[MaxYorkieBear]

Originally Posted by DBlain

M Y B your group sounds awesome, now I am even more sorry I left Irvine
ours so far have been at people's homes and of course in MI it is cold half the year. I am going to one this Saturday but it is a two hour drive each way I will be hosting in April and one of the gals is helping me be a co hostess. I am nervous since my outside space while big and on a lake is not fenced in so I am telling everyone to make sure to have collars and leashes. Many of the dogs are not housebroken or are pee pad trained so I am taking up all of the loose rugs and in my great room will be removing all my furniture covering the floor with this clear plastic stuff that contractors use, then putting my furniture back in a way that will work better for a meetup, just typing all this makes me feel exhausted, but I am looking forward to hosting it. We did try to find a place like a training center that would let us host it, but since our locations are so spread out, no one could find a place. That's why I want to start a more local group, this way we could have training classes and get discounts from local companies. My groomer said she does a lot of yorkies and will pass information out, I also I thought I would pass around flyers to other groomers and vets.

Aww... i truly wish you were still in irvine you would love it. The puppy party we're having this sunday will be crazy. i will have to post pictures of all the craziness LOL that's exciting that your able to host an event at your place! good idea to use the plastic. a large amount of male yorkies makes a lot of marking LOL I think a local group would be great/ its a lot of work but it is also a lot of fun. im sure you'll be surprise at how many people have yorkies in your area. starting at the groomers is an excellent idea. i would make business cars and keep them in my wallet because you never know when you will meet another yorkie ... we also open up the group to yorkies and other small breed dogs so it increase your chances of more members but we do have a weight limit for the safety of ll the dogs. If you can't do a full on meetup i would definitely have your own mini meetups. I host them all the time at my place. i just invite yorkies over and lilo runs with them for about an hour or so. soo cut! Packwalking is a good idea also. we do them in our own group occasionally. Chachi made the perfect suggestion of starting off with a packwalk and grabbing an outdoor lunch.

[chachi]

Originally Posted by BellarousasMom

I would be for that. I live west of Indy.

We should get together sometime

[chachi]

Originally Posted by yorkiemini

Live in Southern Indiana but go to Indianapolis often. A dog walk and outdoor dinner sounds like a fun thing to do!

We should organize a meet up. There is a dog park in Indy also there is this little town that has outdoor cafes and the town is dog friendly

[chachi]

We also have a nice canal in downtown Indy that would e a good place to walk or the monon trail

[DBlain]

Ok I am moving to Indy Max I was thinking about having all breeds, what is your weight limit, I was thinking around 12 lbs, is that to small