Christmas Presents for Your Dog
(Written by Georgia Hatton)
We dog owners love to spoil our pets and buying them Christmas presents is all part of the fun of the festive season - take a look below at some different ideas!
Toys
Most dogs, old or young, love to play with toys - but pick your toy carefully! A ball small enough for a chihuahua to enjoy playing fetch with is a choking hazard for a Labrador, but one tough enough for a big dog's jaws will be too heavy for our little canine friends to carry.
Every dog has their favourite toy! In the house Zym likes a soft, plush squeaky toy and will proudly parade it around, but his all time favourite toy is a flying ring - perfect for fetch and tugging! His canine ‘sister’ Millie the whippet loves her hollee roller ball - perfect for playing outside with as, unlike other toys, it doesn’t get too soggy when it lands on wet grass!
Millie and Zym, with their favourite toys
For agility training we have a bag full of tuggy toys to rotate through - these are great for using as a reward at agility training, but don’t stand up to rough treatment, so are always used supervised.
Exercise
With our busy lives it’s all too easy to get stuck in a routine of walking the same routes at the same time everyday! This Christmas, treat your dog to an exploration somewhere new. You could drive out to a new area and take a new walk, or on a smaller scale just go a different route in your local area.
For us though, nothing beats the solace of hiring a secure field specifically for your own dogs. Usually costing between £10 and £15 per hour, they offer you the chance to exercise your dogs without disturbance from anyone else.
If your dog has injuries, is elderly, very young or simply isn’t used to walking long distances, be careful not to do too much all at once!
Enrichment
It may surprise you to learn but dogs enjoy working for their meals. Whether your dog is fed wet food, dry food, raw food or a combination of them all, there is a way to enrich their meal times. It can be as simple as scattering dry food across the lawn, allowing your dog to use their nose to sniff out each morsel - or as complex as an advanced level puzzle toy. Kongs and lickimats are perfect for stuffing and smearing with wet food sources, making mealtimes last longer! Start small and build up the difficulty as you go to keep their motivation.
Zym’s snake toy - it is hollow underneath so can be stuffed with a variety of treats
Treats
Every dog loves treats and you are in the right place to find over a hundred different types and flavours!
For a long lasting, festive treat, Zym recommends the pigs in blankets - or sausage rolls if you have a larger dog - made with our gourmet sausage wrapped in pork rind and gently baked.
For dogs who prefer a little more crunch, our turkey necks are a very popular treat - one that Zym will get on Christmas day itself!
Our most popular all round treat though, perfect for training or giving your dog a little snack has been the turkey and cranberry sticks, giving your dog a taste of the Christmas dinner goodies to come!
Of course, if your pet has been an extra good girl or boy this year why not spoil them with a Christmas treats hamper or 5 bird roast box of their very own?
Hoddy’s favourite part of Christmas is the treats!