Holiday Gifts for your Peaceful Dog
Looking for the right Holiday gift for your four-legged friend this holiday season? My dogs bring me unconditional love and companionship 365 days a year and the holiday season is one of my favorite times to spoil them! The key to creating the perfect doggy gift list is to understand what your dog enjoys and values the most.
1. Your All I Want For Christmas…..
We often think of the holiday season as a time to do special things for the ones we love, set up dinner dates with family friends and relax from the hustle of our daily lives to appreciate those who we love the most. There isn’t probably a person on this earth who enjoys your love, attention and praise more than your dog. If you have a well socialized dog take her with your on Holiday Errands. Some of the most dog friendly stores in NYC are Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdales and Saks Fifth Avenue. If shopping isn’t your thing, plan an outing once a week for the month of December with your dog. Some pet friendly city outings include: a stroll in Central Park, a visit to a favorite pet store to pick out a new toy, a trip to a dog-friendly bed and breakfast, or a night on the sofa where you share a good movie and popcorn.
2. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
Some of The Peaceful Dog’s favorite presents to find under the tree include:
Puzzle Toys
Puzzle toys are toys that dispense your dog’s meal or treats. Pet dogs are often under challenged in their day-to-day life, especially when it comes to getting their meals. Dogs have a natural hard wired instinct to want to hunt and use their nose. Meal times are a great opportunity to mentally stimulate your dog, fulfill that instinct to hunt, and have fun! Instead of giving your dog their food for free give your dog a problem to solve in order to obtain food. Dogs thoroughly enjoy unpacking stuffed chew toys and finding hidden food treasures!
JW Amaze a Ball
This may be a basic toy but I love it and so do my dogs! They use it almost daily. I often put their meals into it. You can fill it with dry kibble, dog treats or any healthy people food snacks such as chopped up carrots, apples or chicken!
http://www.amazon.com/JW-Pet-Company-Puzzler-Medium/dp/B00106VC32
Twist and Treat
This is another classic in my mind! I love the Twist and Treat and so do all my dogs. Another great toy for dispensing meals.
https://www.premier.com/store/Products.aspx?cid=3&pid=34
Kongs
Check our The Peaceful Dog’s Blog on Kongs and for tips on how to use this incredible toy!
To learn more about how to feed your dog their meals out of Food Puzzle check out our article “Rock Star Meal Times”
3. He’s making a list and And checking it twice; Gonna find out Who’s naughty and nice
Training is the number one gift you can give your dog. Training with your dog is about relationship building, having fun and learning new things together. From the dogs point of view training involves the 3 coolest things that there are in life: attention from its parent, yummy cookies and play!
See The Peaceful Dog’s article on Training isn’t just for Trouble to learn more about this great gift idea.
4. Holiday Dinner
Healthy home cooked meals are a great way to say I love you to your dog over the holiday season. Another option is make some yummy treats for your dog to give his/her best friends with a family Christmas card.
One of my favorite holiday meals for the dog is Burger Meatloaf
TPD’s Burger Meatloaf
Ingredients
- 1 pack ground beef
- 2 ¾ c cooked white rice- enriched
- 1 or 2 Eggs
- 2 Tblsp coconut oil
- 1/2 total of carrots, zucchini and green beans grated
- 1 large regular or sweet potato- cut into bite size chunks
- ½ garlic clove
Directions: Preheat oven 350. Use a cupcake pan. Lightly coat pan with olive oil or use nonstick pan. In large bowl mix all ingredients. Fill cupcake pan. Bake for 2-30 minutes until meat is cooked through
TPD’s Italian Christmas Treat
1 cup ground turkey meat
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 cu cheddar cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
¾ cup water
1 6oz can tomatoe paste
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F.Cook and drain the turkey meat. Set aside. Whisk the flour and parsley together. Mix the cheddar cheese and the cooked turkey meat. Beat the egg in small bowl. Mix the egg, water and tomato paste together. Slowly add the mixture to the turkey meat and cheese. Slowly add the flour and parsley. Stir until all ingredients are combined. Lightly spray a cookie sheet. Mold the mixture into teaspoon or tablespoon size balls. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool completely
5. Oh Silent Night
A new dog bed makes a great gift for a new or old kindred canine. The floor, blankets, and lumpy beds are not good for your dog’s joints and bones. Just like people, as our dogs grow older they get the same muscle and joint aches that we do. It is important that your dog has a surface that they find comfortable, not a surface that you picked because the pattern matched your home décor, or the bed “looked” comfortable.
Think about your dog’s sleeping position: Does he curl up, does he lie on his side, stretch out, belly up? In addition, if your dog could sleep anywhere they wanted what type of surface would they pick? Firm, soft and cushy, small and cozy, open and wide? Take it from someone who once bought at $375 dog bed only to find out that my dog didn’t like it! The bed wasn’t long enough, was way too cushy, and slightly tilted down on one side. My black lab tried it out a few nights and ended up right back in bed with us! We returned that bed and purchased a sofa style with a memory foam mattress, which is firm but soft, and she loves it!
Two of my favorite dog bed sites:
http://www.inthecompanyofdogs.com/ShopCategory.aspx?id=17,470&dispRow=470
http://www.orvis.com/store/shop.aspx?dir_id=1633&shop_id=1645