Who’s on your shopping list for gifts this year? Your pet, pets belonging to friends, neighbors, and family members, plus all those people who love and live with all those pets? Of course!
We’ve rounded up some suggestions from our friends online—gifts for pets and their people.
Summer Storm Kingery DVM (North Carolina) My favorites right now: Sniffspots, FDSA classes, Susan Garrett’s classes, Animo GPS tracker, gift certificates to dog-friendly restaurants.
▪ Sniffspot is an app where you can rent a yard for your dog. For us, we are using it to get larger spaces to run our Borzoi and different places with different distractions to practice our competition exercises. Just remember to treat this like any dog park —have your dog appropriately vaccinated and on preventives for parasites.
▪ FDSA stands for FenzyDogSportsAcademy.com, which has great courses for pet dogs and competition dogs (and a few for cats and even one for kids) that come in a variety of formats, including workshops, on-demand, six-week practicals, and in-person. It’s a great resource for novices through pros and the online format works pretty well.
▪ Susan Garrett is someone I consider a mentor. I met her at a Clicker Expo over a decade ago and participated in “click the trainer” demo where I was clicker-trained while clicker-training my dog. Susan really changed my skill set as a trainer. She has a great program at dogsthat.com that goes from the very basics to agility and advanced learning theory. She can really change who we are as trainers by focusing on our skills and mechanics as trainers.
▪ Animo is a great GPS tracker for medium- to large-breed dogs that also monitors activity on a daily basis and has a nice app interface.
▪ As for dog-friendly restaurants, in my region, it’s a great way to get the dogs out, get the humans out, and support local businesses.
Alisha Ardiana (California) I’m a big fan of furry tug toys. Here are two places where I shop: https://saltydogcanvas.com/ and https://www.cleanrun.com/.
Photo by Alisha Ardiana
Julie Ellingson (California) I have a lady who comes in every year to buy grooming gift certificates for her friend’s dog.
Summer Storm Kingery DVM Julie, that is brilliant.
Kathleen Huggins (Washington) Giggle ball for dogs.
Stephanie Presdee (United Kingdom) Kathleen, I thought my flatcoat would love it, but the Pekingese hate it and leave the room.
Annie Zeck (Washington) Kathleen, my dachshund bitch is on her third. She bites a bit so she can pick them up if they get stuck behind a bush. Now the pup pulls the giggles out, so she gets a new one regularly!
Trish McMillan (North Carolina) Embark dog DNA tests for people who like to guess what’s in their mutt. Add the health testing for extra peace of mind.
Steven Cogswell (Colorado) Trish, I gave these out a couple of years ago and everybody was really excited. It’s something many folks want to do, but don’t want to or don’t have the money to spend … which makes it a great gift.
Celia Haddon (United Kingdom) Any cardboard box for cats!
Sherry Al-Mufti (California) Celia, dogs also love cardboard boxes—they love to tear them up.
Aradia Pettell (Washington) I have a sun conure. I try to think outside the box with his enrichment, and some of the ones on my Amazon wishlist are specific to him—e.g., the teeth, because he is obsessed with ours; the tablet cover cuz he has one for movies and baby games he likes, etc.—but I think mine is a fun selection.
Jennifer Johnson (Washington) Dog sweaters, sizing, types, temps …?
Jill Gibbs (Montana) Buster cubes with Jillcookies training cookies to fill them.
Micha Michlewicz (Maryland) I collect enrichment toys at every opportunity.
Jacqueline Greene Cpdt-ka (New Brunswick) Kicksleds for winter dogs.
Photo by Jacqueline Greene
Dae Grodin (Kentucky) Nina Ottoson has a new puzzle/toy feeder out.
Em E Wolf (Vermont) Toppl! Or a good snuffle mat!
Jessa Lewis (Washington) Anything Ruffwear will last forever.
Donna Weidert (Washington) I bake liver muffins for dogs on my list. I include the recipe. I have never met a dog who didn’t go crazy for them.
Diane Silver (Georgia) How about a dog agility class? I have lots of couples who attend my classes with their pups, so it’s a fun gift for everyone. Could also be a nice gift for an older child and dog.
Jane Finneran (North Carolina) Gift certificate for your time with your dog. I’m afraid a lot of dog owners don’t give their dogs time, then try to make up for it with toys and/or food.
Photo by Alisha Ardiana
NEXT WEEK: GIFTS FOR PETS AND THEIR PEOPLE (PART TWO)
