These are treats for the humans at the party for Sharon Liles’ Yorkshire terrier Lexie at Foxy Paws dog boutique in Plano, Texas, but the canine guests had their own baked goods.

MCT / COURTNEY PERRY

Sparkling in rhinestones, the birthday girl preened prettily in pink, from her pearls to her new party dress with her leash snapped onto the dainty little loop on the back.

It was Precious Alexis “Lexie” Liles’ first birthday and her mom, Sharon Liles of Plano, Texas, was going all-out with Happy Birthday Princess balloons, streamers and “pup” cakes at Foxy Paws Dog Boutique & Bakery.

Owner Michelle Lamont has been catering to the tastes of demanding dogs and their doting humans for a decade now, starting first with a gourmet dog treat company, later with the store, which opened in Plano in 2001. They moved to a new space in April, and added their Barking Birthday Center in May.

You would think that someone whose bestsellers include crystal letter pendants, piggy pooch dog costumes, slide-on rhinestone letters and hot dog costumes with mustard would have seen it all. But Lamont admits to being surprised by how quickly parties have been booked by owners.

Lamont sold five dog cakes the first week she opened her center and 36 cakes in the first four weeks; Lexie’s party was her third of the day. Party packages range from $39.99 to $164.99 (which includes cake, hats, balloons, personalized goodie bags, a disposable camera and more).

Such parties are part of a growing trend, according to the American Pet Products Association. That group’s 2009-10 survey says that about 7 percent of dog owners hold holiday or birthday parties for their pets. That’s up from 6 percent before 2008. And the APPA projects those numbers will keep growing even through the recession, as overall pet spending hits $45.4 billion this year.

Even so, the Foxy Paws parties are relatively lavish. The APPA notes that 80 percent of pet owners, or about 36 million, buy their pets an average of five gifts a year at $9 per gift. That wouldn’t cover Liles’ $64.99 plan, to which she added a $24.99 birthday shirt for Lexie.

Still, for Liles, 60, the party was a chance to celebrate an adored Yorkshire terrier whom she has nursed from a 9-ounce pup to her current, full-grown 3 pounds, 10 ounces.

With her two daughters grown and married, Liles admits to having been lonely when her husband, Bob, 62, was away on business trips. But all that changed when Lexie began romping around. Liles has a picture in her wallet of a grinning Lexie, her head peeking out of a pocket of a purse the dog had climbed into.

“Lexie is our furry child,” Liles says. “She is part of our family.”

Lamont knows how passionately Liles and her other patrons feel about their pets because that’s the relationship she and her husband have with their own dogs. Their dog treat company, Nixon’s Top Dog, was inspired by their desire to create something dogs would love in memory of their Nixon, a lab-chow mix that died after being hit by a car. Foxy Paws is named for one of their five current dogs — all rescued from shelters.

One of Lamont’s missions is to encourage parents of the pampered pooches to help less fortunate dogs. She hosts animal adoption shelter visits in the Barking Birthday Center and organizes fundraisers.

But the star from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. on a recent Saturday was Lexie. And she seemed to know it.

Her little tail wagged from the minute she arrived and was ushered behind the white picket fence of her party room as if showing off for daddy, who was capturing it all on the video camera as guests, both two- and four-legged, arrived.

“Hi, birthday girl,” Liles crooned to Lexie. “Are you a big birthday girl? Yes, you are. Yes, you are.”

Her grandsons Ryan and Evan Grimsley delivered their handmade presents to Lexie — a paper birthday crown from Ryan and a birthday card from Evan. Liles helped Lexie open her other presents, too — a new dog bowl and lots of new toys, including a stuffed “iPaw” from Mom and Dad. They cut the human cake (in the shape of a dog) and the dog cake, made of peanut butter, carrots, soy flour and carob. Lexie was too excited to eat, but Maggie, a Yorkshire terrier owned by one of Liles’ friends, had her cake and Lexie’s, too.

Not everything went according to plan. Maggie squeezed through the bars of the fence and had to be chased back. Lexie did not want to wear her tiara or her birthday crown.

Meanwhile, Liles’ grandson William sat in his stroller outside the picket fence, staring curiously through it as the festivities unfurled.

His mother, Heather Grimsley, 34, says he didn’t have anything like this for his first birthday.

“We had a quiet party — just family and a few friends.” But she’s glad, she says, that this makes her mother happy.

“She loves parties,” Grimsley says.