Dog Christmas presents: A list of 12 gift ideas for your dog!

The race against time has begun.  There are only a dozen or so days left until Christmas.  Have you already chosen a gift for your dog?  You don’t know what to buy, because the choice is huge, in addition, you are worried whether the toy you buy will be safe for them?  Or maybe you don’t want to buy and you are wondering if you can prepare something else?  Do not worry!  We have prepared a handy cheat sheet for you – here is a list of 12 gift ideas for your dog 🙂

What must a dog gift have to be safe?

Just the right size so it doesn’t get stuck in his throat.  It has to withstand enough so that the animal would not be able to tear it and eat it.  It must also be made of safe materials that will not harm the dog while using it (cheap plastic toys may contain heavy metals).  There are thousands of products available in stores, so how do you choose something that will please your dog, but at the same time will not be a problem for you?  

Dog gifts to buy in stores:

Kong extreme rubber toys

Kong toys are perfect dog toys for pups that can destroy anything with their teeth.  Made of material that is really hard to bite, and their additional advantage is the ability to fill them with food.  If your dog has had adventures with swallowing pieces of other dismembered toys, try these!  In the Tromplo team we have a bull terrier caregiver, who confirms that these are the only toys that have not yet been destroyed and eaten 😀

A decent muzzle

Not only for problem dogs that have to wear them every day.  Every dog ​​should have a muzzle and be taught to wear it (see how to do this here).  This can come in handy in public transport, at the vet’s or in more crowded places if we have to go there.  Personally, if we were to name one company whose muzzles we recommend the most, it would be of course BUMAS!  Physiological, biothane, soft muzzles that won’t chafe your dog’s nose.  The most important thing is to pay attention to the appropriate size of the muzzle and enough space for the dog to breathe easily.

Something tasty to chew on

Natural chewes, no preservatives or other unnecessary additives, it’s a great gift idea!  Any dog ​​will love to relax by chewing a dried buffalo penis (very hard) or a hare’s ear (softer).  It’s best to look for natural, dried animal chews.  Avoid any white pressed leather ones so widely available at many stores.  Buy only in closed packages, from which you can read the ingredients and you can be sure that they have not been in stock for the last 2 years.  Also, avoid giving fresh and prepared bones, which can be dangerous and could break into sharp pieces or clog your dog’s digestive tract!  (Raw bones served on the barf diet are different from bone products available at pet stores)

Puzzle toys

There is a lot to choose from!  In recent times, a lot of different logic toys have been created in which you hide food, and your dog has to extract it by appropriate actions.  There are different levels of difficulty and different complexity of the puzzles, so there is something for everyone.  Remember to choose the appropriate difficulty level for your dog.  Too difficult a challenge will end up frustrating the dog and destroying the toy or abandoning it.  It’s best to help your dog with his first attempts, or think about how you can facilitate the first attempts so that it is fun for him! Make sure your dog has necessary skills to use the toy!

A comfortable place to sleep

There is nothing worse than an uncomfortable mattress.  You will agree with us, don’t you?  Therefore, it is worth considering whether our dog would not take advantage of the opportunity to lie down on a comfortable bed in the place that he chooses to lie down most often 🙂 Who would not want to rest on a soft pillow instead of a hard floor 🙂 If your dog is an old man or has had injuries or dysplasia of the joints, consider investing in a bed with an orthopedic mattress!  A more comfortable fit of the mattress to the dog’s body will ensure greater comfort and allow for a better quality sleep.

Homemade dog christmas presents

Homemade toys

Do you have a few cardboard boxes and old written cards at home?  Create a cardboard box full of treasures!  Wrap a few tasty morsels in cards, toss them inside the carton.  You can also throw in other items that will make the task more difficult.  On the Internet you will find many examples of homemade toys for which everyday items are useful.  Run your imagination too.  Look around the room and think about what you can use to set up the obstacle course, what can you use to hide the food, how can you use old paper rolls or tissue boxes?  The possibilities are endless!

 Dried meat

You don’t have to search in pet stores and worry about ingredients!  You can prepare dried meat at home.  All you have to do is buy fresh meat and put it in the oven at the right temperature. For example, try this recipe: Cut the meat into small strips to allow it to dry evenly.  The thinner the better, they should not exceed 1 centimeter in thickness.  Set the oven to around 70°C (160 Fahrenheit ) .  This is the most optimal temperature that will allow us to prepare perfectly dried delicacies.  If possible, turn on hot air and slightly open the oven door.  This way you will get rid of the moisture generated during drying.  Prepared pieces are best stuffed on long toothpicks and hung in rows on the oven rack.  Thanks to this, we will save some space and we will be able to dry a larger batch of delicacies at a time.  In addition, bits of meat in an upright position will dry much faster and more evenly.  The entire process should take about 5 hours.  A lot depends on the thickness of the slices and the type of meat, so we have to determine the exact drying time ourselves individually, observing the degree of drying of the delicacies.  Meat prepared in this way, if you later cut it into smaller pieces, will also be great as a treat for training 😀

 Toys from old clothes

Can you sew, and at the bottom of the wardrobe there are old jeans that you will not wear anymore?  Sew something out of them!  Maybe a ball with a soft filling?  Maybe a teddy bear?  Or maybe a fabric cube?  You can also prepare logic toys from clothes in which you can hide tasty cookies.  If you have more materials, you can even make a dog bed or a pillow if he has his habit of leaning head against something when lying down 🙂

 Your time

When was the last time you spent 100% of your time with your dog without looking at Netflix or your phone?  It may turn out that there has been no such opportunity for a long time.  So plan a day for him, spend time with each other, without additional distractions.  Your dog will definitely appreciate it more than any other gift!  What can you do?  Go for a long walk, play with your dog, give him a relaxing massage, or just see what he offers you 🙂 It’s your time, spend it as you like!

Less common dog gifts, but just as valuable:

 Vet inspection

Each dog should undergo a general health check at the vet’s at least once a year.  When was the last time your dog had such tests?  If you just frowned because you can’t even remember, don’t worry.  This is a sign for you that it’s time to sign up;) What is worth doing during such a visit: blood tests (morphology, biochemistry, ionogram), urine tests, ultrasound of the abdomen (and testes in males).  Such a set of tests should give us a pretty good idea of ​​what condition your dog is in and whether his body is developing any disease. Prevention is extremely important!  Don’t hesitate with her!

 Visit to a physiotherapist

Do you have an athlete dog at home?  Your dog is already an old man?  Or maybe he occasionally limps on his front paw, jumps backwards when walking or shuffles a little?  Check out the symptoms of pain in your dog here.  In addition to check-ups at the vet, it is sometimes worth visiting a physiotherapist.  Dogs hide their pain very well, so it’s worth checking if their backs are aching, there aren’t any abnormal tension in the body, and if it is, take action to restore balance.  Living in chronic, even minor pain is really unpleasant.  So it is worth visiting a professional physiotherapist who will examine the dog and help to relax excessively tense muscles 🙂

 A course or webinar

Knowledge is always a great gift idea!  It is the only one that stays with us forever, while material things will sooner or later be destroyed!  Are you training in some direction – Nosework, agility, mantrailing?  Buy a training course and complete the stages.  

The time spent learning together with your dog is a great gift idea for both of you!

Also check us out, we have many courses that can be a perfect gift for you or your loved one!

* Just starting out?  This course will be perfect: Attention please

* Puppy kindergarten if a puppy has appeared or will come to your home soon

* You are a professional animal trainer and would like to train yourself?  Choose this course: R +

* If you are interested in Nosework?  Choose Nosework Stage 1 if you are starting your adventure with scent searching, or Nosework Stage 2 if you form a team that knows how to mark a sample, but you want to prepare for the first competition or more difficult searches at home just for fun

* Teach your dog that his choice matters and make him train with you because he wants to, not because he has to – you can do it here: Let me want it

* Target sticks, target mats, sticky-notes, hand target, chin target, shoulder target .. The list of targeting training is long, everything you need to know about targeting – Targeting targets

* As many behaviors as possible in the shortest possible time, with as little help as possible from your side?  Only with Catja on her Off cue – off control course vol.1 These are just a few examples of the courses that start in January.  

We have so much more!  All our courses can be found here – click.

Do you want to buy our course or webinar as a gift for someone?  

Write to us at [email protected]!  We will arrange the details and prepare a personalized, beautiful printable e-voucher for you 🙂 Do you want to buy more vouchers for customers of your dog school or company employees?  

Great idea!  Send us a message at [email protected].  

We can prepare a discount for larger groups 😉