What gifts does your pet want to find under the tree or in her stocking this year? From a great hands-free leash that makes taking your dog along on your runs easy to interactive food puzzles to the world's best chew toys, treat your dogs to the best holiday gifts they'll love this season!
Don't wait for a special occasion (like her birthday or adoption day anniversary) to give a gift to your four-legged pal. Like our Ultimate Doggy Gift Guide, this holiday version is full of the gifts dogs would put on their wish lists for Santa — if they could write, that is!
Give the Gift of Exercise
Adequate exercise is important for your dog's physical and mental health. And a great hands-free leash makes giving him that exercise easy! Simply clip the Runner's Choice belt around your waist, load up on treats and water, and off you go.
Whether you're training for a doggy marathon or going for a stately stroll around the block, using a quality hands-free leash makes getting enough healthy exercise easy for both you and your pet.
Treat Your Pet to an Interactive Food Puzzle
The toughest of these interactive dog puzzles will give your pet's brain a serious workout. You might want to start out with an easier puzzle and work your way up to the most challenging version. After all, this is supposed to be a fun gift — not a frustrating one!
Watching your clever pooch figure out the puzzle to get at the hidden goodies is a treat in itself to any doting owner, so this might be considered a two-for-one gift!
Tasty Treats for the Puzzle
You'll need plenty of small, tempting dog treats to encourage your pup to tackle the puzzle so check out the choices at Chewy.com. Offering a variety of delicious treats will also keep your dog interested and excited to solve her new brain-teasing puzzle.
Speaking of Treats...
When thinking of holiday gifts for dogs, treat them to fresh, healthy, homemade treats using the DASH dog treat maker. This adorable little waffle iron makes eight bone-shaped treats from dog-friendly ingredients like oats, sweet potato or pumpkin puree, and peanut butter. Yum!
Do you feel tempted to share your favorite holiday treats with your best bud? Be sure to first check out our guide to keeping your dog safe around the holiday table!
A Seriously Great Tug and Chew for Your Dog
One of the best holiday gifts for dogs is something they can tug and chew on. And, no, we don't mean one of those ubiquitous and colorful rope tugs. Swallowing strings from one of those popular toys can lead to expensive abdominal surgery or even the death of your beloved pet. A better choice is a long-lasting (and non-shedding!) Goughnut tug. The figure-eight design helps keep your hands out of harm's way and the sturdy, nearly indestructible natural rubber is backed by a lifetime warranty.
The Goughnut is also designed with super-aggressive chewers in mind. Choose the appropriate size for your dog, and she'll enjoy endless hours of chewing without being able to close her jaws around it far enough to bite through it.
Encourage a Rousing Game of Fetch
Most dogs love a good game of fetch with their favorite person. So why not find holiday gifts that you can enjoy with your dogs? The Earth Rated natural rubber fetch toy is a great toy to fetch. Its wildly unpredictable bounce pattern adds an extra element of challenge that will keep your dog on his toes. The unique shape lets your pet breathe easily while returning it to you and lessens the chance of him accidentally choking on it. The shape also makes it easier for you to pick up so the game can last longer.
Natural rubber is also safer than synthetic rubber and plastic dog toys which all too often contain cancer-causing chemicals. Unfortunately, the regulations governing the safety of pet toys are only concerned with the safety of the human handling them — not the beloved pet carrying them in his mouth or chewing on them!
Make Bath Time Fun
Lick mats are also one of the best holiday gifts for dogs. These help calm anxious dogs and provide enjoyable stimulation for bored pets. They can also give you time for that conference call if you're working from home with a dog underfoot. Just smear the durable, dishwasher-safe mat with canned dog food, peanut butter, plain yogurt, pumpkin puree, or vegetable and/or meat baby food. Then watch as your dog concentrates on getting every tiny morsel.
Now about that bath... The Aquapaw Slow Treater lick mat is specially designed to easily attach to a bath or shower wall in order to distract your stinky pet while she gets a much-needed bath. The deeper nubs require more concentration to lick them clean. This helps in focusing your dog's attention on something fun and delicious rather than on that dreaded bath. Freezing the treat will give you even more time for bathing large or long-haired dogs.
A Luxurious Bedtime Treat
Nothing beats a comfy bed at the end of a long run — or a long, exciting day of opening presents! The PetFusion Ultimate dog bed features orthopedic memory foam encased in a waterproof liner and a washable outer cover. So if your pooch loves draping his head over the arm of your couch, he'll appreciate the cozy bolstered sides and back of this incredibly comfortable bed.
If your dog tears regular beds to shreds, don't worry — there's a comfy bed for him, too. It's an elevated bed from K9 Ballistics and it's made from waterproof, tough rip-stop fabric with all of the edges tucked tautly into the aluminum frame. He can't chew it if he can't get a tooth into it! There are even versions available to fit into standard dog crates so he'll enjoy a comfortable bed wherever he sleeps.
Wrapping it Up
Don't forget to wrap your dogs' holiday gifts. After all, why should she miss out on the fun of unwrapping them? Just choose pet-safe wrapping paper to ensure pets don't ingest potentially toxic inks or choke on bits of slick paper. A good old kraft paper roll or paper bags from the grocery store are great options for pet-safe wrapping paper.
You can decorate her presents with stamps and non-toxic ink pads if you like, although your pooch won't mind a bit if you leave them plain. She'll love tearing into them to get at the gifts inside no matter what they look like! A gift bag stuffed full of goodies is another popular choice with dogs and pet parents alike.
If you'd like more tips on making life with your dog as enjoyable as possible, visit our Dog Blog. And don't hesitate to send us a woof if you have questions about running with your dog. It's one of our favorite topics at any season!
