Christmas gift guide for dogs

We’ve been travelling the UK as full time pet sitters since 2018, and in that time we’ve cared for over 150 dogs! We’ve seen almost every kind of dog food, toy, and accessory there is, so with that in mind we’ve put together our ULTIMATE list of Christmas gift ideas for the four-legged friends in your life, no matter their breed or age! When you’ve finished reading, head to our Christmas gift guide for dog owners and sitters!

Advent calendar

Kicking things off with a gift you can give your doggo right at the start of the season! This gorgeous advent calendar by Lily’s Kitchen contains treats including their Turkey Jerky, Chicken Bites and Chicken with Beef, every one made using grain-free recipes and freshly prepared meat and offal. Or for a more traditional treat, this Pooch & Mutt calendar has two Pigs in Blankets treats behind every door! The treats are made with high-protein pork, as well as collagen for skin and coat health, and probiotics to support digestion. Both calendars are suitable for dogs from 6 months old, and your pooch will love a tasty treat each morning of advent to get them excited about the festive season!

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If you want to get creative, why not make your own advent calendar containing fun activities you and your dog can do together each day! Take a leaf out of Good Boy Ollie’s book and have fun coming up with festive activities for each day of advent.

Treats

Did someone say treats?! A perfect filler for your dog’s homemade advent calendar, or for their stocking! There are SO many fabulous options out there for your dog, from all the big-name brands you can trust. We love these Forthglade limited edition turkey soft bites, not least because they’re star-shaped which gives them a more festive feel! These soft treats are great for older dogs with fewer teeth, and can easily be broken into two to make them last longer, or to share between multiple dogs!

The prize for cutest packaging goes to Denzel’s for their adorable Gingerbread House gift box. Each grotto contains 3 limited-edition flavours – Gingerbread soft-baked bars, Denzel’s Crimbo Crackers bites and Mistletoe Kisses bites! Your pooch will love to be included in Christmas lunch on the day, and speaking of Christmas traditions, doesn’t every dog deserve their own stocking? This sweet Pedigree Christmas stocking is full of all your familiar favourites – from Jumbones to Dentastix! After all those festive treats, giving your dog a dental chew might not be the worst idea!

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If you’re making up your own stocking for your pooch, there are some super cute options for empty stockings available – from this sweet floppy-eared dog design to a more classic, personalised one.

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One of our favourite items for the season is this festive treat tin from Good Boy, filled with 4 different kinds of treats, plus a fun tug toy! Your pooch will love the variety of flavours, from Pigs in Blankets to Chicken and Carrot Dumbbells. Making festive treats at home could also be a good activity to add to your dog’s homemade advent calendar. The Kennel Club have a fantastic range of Christmas-themed treat recipes for you to get creative, from Snowball Pupcakes to Festive Gingerbread Owners! Just be sure to use xylitol-free peanut butter in your baking, and always exercise portion control!

Food

Now we’ve covered advent treats and stockings, what about your dog’s food? Of course you should always introduce new foods to your dog over time, and there are some great festive foods for them to try this season. If you’ve ever given your dog Lily’s Kitchen wet food, you’ll know how crazy dogs go for it!! LK’s Christmas Dinner contains turkey and ham with all the trimmings. Rich in protein and fibre, it’s good for your dog as well as tasting good!

Forthglade also have a Christmas turkey wet food, made with turkey, cranberry and parsnip. This food is high quality with a 75% turkey content, and a grain-free recipe making it easier for dogs to digest. No post-Christmas-lunch belly for your pooch!

What better way to reward your dog for getting through all the Christmas chaos than with a selection of fine foods. For the boujee poochie, we LOVE this Barkuterie board from Pets at Home containing a selection of nibbles from duck fillets to Doggy Dodger biscuits.

Toys

Let’s talk play time! There are some dog toys that we will recommend no matter the time of year, like Chuck-It Balls – the most durable, bouncy, buoyant and highly visible dog ball we’ve ever tried out! We love when we arrive at a house sit and the dogs have Chuck-It balls – the bright orange colour means there’s no digging through tall grass or undergrowth when a ball goes astray on our walkies! They’re also wipe clean which means they last longer than furry tennis balls.

Another toy we love to give dogs are snuffle mats. These textured felt mats have pockets to hide treats for your dog to find, and are a fantastic way to mentally stimulate your dog – we’ve read that just 20 minutes of playing with a snuffle mat is equivalent to an hour’s walk in terms of brain stimulation for your dog! We also discovered these snuffle balls while at a dog sit with Flat-Coated Retrievers Bramble, Nettle and Holly, and now we’re total advocates for those too – simply roll up treats into the fabric strips of the ball and let your dog have fun digging them out! Bramble, Nettle and Holly had one each that kept them occupied for at least half an hour on a rainy afternoon. For a festive twist, this Santa snuffle mat is perfect for hiding turkey treats!

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If you love to give your pooch a new festive toy each year (or if all their toys seem to have a life span of less than 12 months!!) there are a few Christmassy toys that we adore this year. Good Boy have created this Snowdog squeaky toy, based on the classic Snowman story, that also has rope legs for games of tug. The perfect Winter buddy for your four-legged friend!

Suze is OBSESSED with these oinking pig toys – she can’t resist oinking them when we find them at house sits, or any time we see them in a shop!! The addition of a Santa hat makes it a good Christmas gift for your dog to play with come the big day. If you have more than one doggo, this set of 3 squeaky, crinkly toys are great to keep them all entertained – even if they all want to chew the same one! Each toy features both squeakers and crinkle paper to keep your dogs occupied, and they’re made with a combination of a durable inner mesh and fabric, so they’re build to withstand even the most intense chewing!

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For the grumpier dog in your life, this Grinch squeaky plush toy is the perfect gift to put a smile on their face. Whatever you choose, your dog will love to play with their new toy on Christmas Day, and the more interactive play things will serve as good entertainment while you’re all gathered around the table for Christmas lunch.

Dress up

One way to have fun with your dog come the festive season is to have a photoshoot together! (This could be another creative activity to add to your dog’s advent calendar!) For a way to add in another gift for your dog, why not have them pose in front of your Christmas tree, and hang a personalised dog bauble behind them! This hand-painted bauble from The Mermaid Effect on Etsy is our top pick for a personalised ornament, handmade with love for any breed of pooch.

Now let’s talk clothes! We can’t stop laughing at this red outfit with a little Santa riding on the back (this is when we LOVE looking at photos in reviews to see all the doggos living their best festive lives!!). Imagine your furry friend padding around the house on Christmas day with their own little Santa bobbing around on their back – totally adorable.

If your pooch has more main character energy, you can turn them into Santa with this little costume! Or for bigger dogs, a snuggly jumper with a Christmas pattern. If your dog doesn’t do well with wearing costumes, these sweet little knitted scarves could be the perfect alternative to achieve a Christmassy look without stressing out your dog.

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If the weather in Winter permits, take your doggo out for a festive photoshoot on their favourite walk, and add some Christmas sparkle to their walkies outfit! We love this jinglebell collar for a fun festive look. You’ll never lose your dog on walks if they’re wearing a ruff of jingling bells! We also love this Christmas lights lead for Christmas Day walkies, paired with a cute bowtie for a more traditional look.

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For the home

We often spend so much time buying gifts for the lead up to Christmas, or for the morning when everyone exchanges presents, but what about gifts for the evening of Christmas Day when everyone’s too full of turkey and Quality Street chocolates to move? We’ve got you covered with one of the best purchases we’ve made this year – a super soft, snuggly Oodie! Not only do Oodie make incredibly warm, high quality hoodies for humans, they now have a range of Oodies for doggos too! If your dog is often left out of matching-jammies shenanigans at Christmas, this is the year to tag them in and get them their very own dog Oodie to match with yours! We both invested in an Oodie for the colder months and we’re SO glad we did – the hype about them is real as they keep us super toasty on chilly nights in our van, and dogs LOVE to cosy up in them with us!

While you’re relaxing in your snuggly Oodies, with the chaos and buzz of the day mostly over and you’re lying on the sofa watching some classic Christmas telly, it’s a great time to give your doggo a gentle brush. The Zoom Groom brush by Kong is made of rubber and gently massages your dog while grooming, so they’ll be super relaxed and happy, as well as tangle-free! For smaller dogs, we love brushes with a push button for easily removing fur from the brush once you’re finished grooming – it makes us happy every time a house sit has one as grooming becomes a breeze!

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Once everyone’s got to the stage where they can no longer keep their eyes open, and it’s time to head to bed, there’s no snugglier place for your pup to rest their tired head than in an envelope bed. Essentially it’s a cosy bed with a hood over the top, so your dog can burrow in and get comfy while bring enveloped in fluffy material to keep them warm! When we pet sit Rocco, Raffles and Violet – the long dog trio – we see how much they absolutely LOVE theirs! So much so we struggle to get them out of it when it’s time to go outside!

If you’ve found this post helpful, and would like to see more of the pet products we use at our house sits, head to our Products We Recommend page below.