Holiday Gift Guide For Very Good Little Dogs

Remember how excited you were to open boxes of clothes on Christmas morning when you were a kid?

Yeah, me neither.

I decided to make a gift guide full of things your dog actually wants.

Not like, organic shampoo or cute sweaters, but things that are going to actually make your dog tail wag when she gets them.

Treats

A Dehydrator For Making Treats

The best treats are single ingredient, dehydrated treats that you make yourself with a dehydrator.

There are some dog treat companies that make pretty good single-ingredient dehydrated treats, but when you make them yourself, you know exactly where the ingredients came from, when the batch was made, and you can eliminate contact with allergens or ingredients to which your dog may have an intolerance.

My dehydrator has saved me SOOO much money on treats. It only cost $3 to make my Turkey Balls.

If I ever have to get another dehydrator, I’d spring for one with steel trays, rather than the plastic trays I have.

Steel trays have smaller holes so it’s easier to make tiny treats, but you can also just put parchment paper on a plastic tray.

Ready Made Treats We Like

We can’t get enough itty-bitty treats around here.

Matilda and Cow are such good girls, so we always need small treats that I can give them in high volume.

Both Tricky Trainers and Natural Balance make delectable tiny treats that are decently healthy, depending on the flavor.

Pet Steps

Steps or a ramp may not be a *fun* gift, but they can really help your dog feel more welcome on your furniture, and more like part of your family.

Your dog doesn’t have to be old, or have arthritis or a disability to appreciate pet steps.

In fact, jumping on and off your couch can lead to joint damage over time, even if your dog doesn’t seem to mind it.

I just ordered steps from Pet Gear, so I don’t know yet if we’ll like them, but I’m sure they’ll work as expected.

I opted for hard plastic so they’ll be easy to clean, plus, I think Matilda would camp out on the soft foam ones.

Dog-Friendly Eggnog Mix

If you ever saw how much eggnog I have in my fridge from November 1-January 31, you’d probably judge me.

Unless you, too, like eggnog in your coffee, in your cereal, and in your life as much as possible. Then, you probably get it.

Naturally, I introduced my dogs to Honest Kitchen eggnog mix, and now they, too, are believers.

Toys, Toys, Toys!

Of course I didn’t forget about the most important gift of all: toys!

I already have a list of tiny toys for tiny dogs if you’re in need of mini plush toys that actually fit in your Chihuahua’s mouth.

We have more than enough plush toys, so this year, I’m going to get Matilda and Cow some snuffle mats.

A snuffle mat is a fabric mat with folds of fabric in which you can hide dry treats or kibble. It’s great mental stimulation for a rainy day, and you can also use it to help your dog slow down if she gobbles her food.

For Matilda, I’m actually getting an activity mat because I think she’d appreciate the challenge.

A Freebie!

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Lindsay Pevny

Lindsay Pevny lives to help pet parents make the very best choices for their pets by providing actionable, science-based training and care tips and insightful pet product reviews.

She also uses her pet copywriting business to make sure the best pet products and services get found online through catchy copy and fun, informative blog posts. She also provides product description writing services for ecommerce companies.

As a dog mom to Matilda and Cow, she spends most of her days taking long walks and practicing new tricks, and most nights trying to make the best of a very modest portion of her bed.

You'll also find her baking bread and making homemade pizza, laughing, painting and shopping.