10 Reasons to Buy Your Dog a Christmas Gift

Your spouse. Your kids. Your friends. Your coworkers. Your mailman. Your mother-in-law, who will inevitably ask for the receipt. Chances are, your Christmas list is long. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for Fido!

In fact, there are several reasons to buy your dog holiday presents. Ten of these reasons include:

• Shopping for your pet is easy: You can shop online from anywhere for gifts for dogs. Do it from the dog park! Are you shopping for friends? It’s also easy to find gifts for dog lovers.
• Dog gifts are affordable: You know what your dog wants? A new toy. You know what they don’t want? A Sony PlayStation 4.
• Dog presents are practical: Sure, it sounds silly to insist that buying a Christmas gift for your dog is cloaked in practicality. But toys that stimulate, entertain, and meet your canine’s various needs are important parts of your puppy arsenal.

• Dogs that do not have their needs met are likely to engage in bad behavior: If they don’t have a chew toy, for instance, your brand new gloves become their chew toy.
• Dogs know it’s Christmas: Okay, so they don’t technically know it’s Christmas – they’re not spending their days decking the halls, hanging stockings with care, or making pralines from their grandma’s secret recipe. But they are perceptive. The hustle, the bustle, the sight of their owner hauling a Douglas Fir through the doorway – dogs know something is up. And all they want is to be included.
• Presents help foster good behavior: Are you having a New Year’s Eve party? Did you invite your boss, the one who holds your promotion in the palm of her hand? Do you want to impress her with your wit, your charm, your ability to kill it at a game of charades? Then you probably don’t want Rover digging through the trash. Keep him entertained with a new toy instead.
• Shopping for your dog makes them happy: Dogs love to receive gifts from their owners, mainly because they love their owners. And a gift lets the dog know that you love them back.

• Shopping for your dog makes you happy: Let’s face it, we like to buy things for our pets. Making our pets happy makes us happy too.
• Buying your dog gifts is normal: According to a poll conducted a few years back, the vast majority of pet owners buy their dog presents. In fact, 96% of those who own only dogs buy holiday gifts for their furry family members. For people who own cats and dogs, 89% still purchase. So, it’s not weird to buy your dog toys and bones and stocking stuffers. In fact, not buying them presents is the strange part.
• Giving gifts gives back: Some pet companies donate a portion of their profits to various animal rights causes; this is especially true around the holidays. Buy from a company that does this and your gift-giving will allow you to give back to animals in need.
• Dogs deserve it: Really, that’s the only reason we need.

JJ Keeler

JJ Keeler lives in Colorado with a house full of pets. She owns three dogs, two cats, and a hamster she bought as a bribe to get her daughter to ride the school bus. She has a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado and has worked as a professional writer for fifteen years. Her clothes are perpetually covered in pet hair.