Christmas Gifts for Dogs They Will Love

A small black and white dog sniffs wrapped Christmas gifts under a tree on a white rug.

Written by

Shell & KatyUpdated 13 September 2026 · 10 Min Read

Shell & Katy are two style-savvy dog mums celebrating the best in pet-friendly living. A pet photographer and dog lifestyle writer, together they share trending pet products, recipes, inspiration and expert tips with discerning dog lovers around the world.

Dogs do not care what anything cost, which is oddly freeing. The best Christmas gifts for dogs are the ones that get used past Boxing Day: something to chew, something to solve, somewhere soft to collapse afterward. These 23 picks are grouped by what they actually do, from festive treats and advent calendars to puzzle toys, beds and the practical gear that quietly earns its place all year. Shopping for the humans instead? The gift guide for dog lovers covers them.

How to Choose a Christmas Gift for a Dog

A good dog gift matches the dog rather than the wrapping. Enrichment beats novelty almost every time, because a puzzle or a chew gives a dog something to do rather than something to look at, and a bored dog with a new squeaky toy is still bored twenty minutes later. Match toy size to the dog, check a puzzle's difficulty level before buying, and keep edible gifts to a normal treat allowance rather than a Christmas free-for-all.

If the goal is a calmer household over the holidays, these ways to mentally stimulate your dog cost nothing and work better than most things with a bow on them. And if you would rather buy from small brands than big retailers, the collars and leads directory is the place to start.

Safety Checks Before You Wrap Anything

Plush toys are for supervised play, not for leaving in a crate overnight, and any toy that starts losing stuffing or squeakers goes in the bin rather than back in the basket. Rich holiday food causes a spike in vet visits every December, so keep dogs away from the table scraps entirely and introduce new treats in small amounts. Anything edible that arrives in a gift box should still be checked for ingredients before it is handed over.

Christmas Dog Treats Worth Wrapping

Edible gifts are the easiest win, as long as the portions stay sensible and the rest of the day's food comes down to match.

Bonne et Filou Christmas Themed Dog Treats Gift Box

The splurge of the treat picks, and the one that looks like a present before it is even wrapped. A boxed festive treat set from a brand built around gifting, so it suits the dog who is getting a gift in front of an audience, or a dog-owning friend you want to spoil properly.

Thoughtfully Pets Holiday Dog Gourmet Cookies Gift Set

Decorated festive-shaped cookies in a boxed set, which makes this the affordable version of the same idea. Nice enough to give as a standalone present, cheap enough to split between two or three dogs at a family Christmas, and easy to break into smaller pieces for little dogs.

Three Dog Bakery Candy Cane Lick'n Crunch Christmas Dog Treats

Sandwich-style biscuits from an established dog bakery, in a candy cane version made for the season. A good middle option between a plain biscuit and a gift box. Check the ingredient panel on arrival, as with any novelty treat, and count them into the day's allowance rather than on top of it.

Blue Buffalo Christmas Santa Snacks

The stocking filler. Festive oatmeal-style biscuits from a brand most dogs have already eaten without incident, at a price that makes them an easy add-on to a bigger gift. Small enough to double as training rewards through a chaotic week of visitors.

Puppy Scoops Christmas Dog Ice Cream Mix Gift Pack

A powdered mix you make up at home, which makes it the best-value gift here for anyone in the southern hemisphere facing a 35-degree Christmas Day. It also turns into a frozen enrichment activity rather than a thirty-second treat, which is exactly what a dog needs while everyone else eats lunch.

Dog Advent Calendars for the Countdown

An advent calendar is the one gift that starts on the first of December rather than the twenty-fifth, and it spreads the spoiling across the month instead of loading it onto one day.

Bonne et Filou 24 Holiday Treats Advent Calendar for Dogs

Twenty-four treats behind twenty-four doors, which is the traditional format and the one dogs learn alarmingly fast. Worth planning for: that is an extra treat every day for most of a month, so trim daily food slightly to match, particularly for a small dog.

Department Of Gifting Personalized Dog Advent Calendar

The reusable alternative, personalized with the dog's name, which you fill yourself. That makes it the better buy over several years and the more flexible one for a dog on a restricted diet, since you control what goes in each drawer. Being made to order, it needs ordering well before December.

Festive Dog Toys and Christmas Squeakers

Seasonal toys are half for the dog and half for the photographs, and there is no shame in that. Keep the plush ones for supervised play.

BARK Pully Dog Chew Toy

A tug and chew toy from the brand behind BarkBox, and the most robust of the toy picks here. A better choice than plush for a dog who dismantles soft toys on principle, and the sort of gift that survives into January rather than lasting until lunchtime.

Frisco Holiday North Pole Mailbox Hide & Seek Puzzle Squeaky Dog Toy

A plush mailbox with smaller squeaky pieces tucked inside, so it works as a soft puzzle for dogs who like to dig things out. The best toy on the list for a dog who has never met a puzzle before, since the challenge is gentle and the payoff is a squeaker.

ZippyPaws Holiday Zippy Burrow Christmas Tree Squeaky Plush Dog Toy

The same burrow idea in Christmas tree form, and the cheapest pick in the whole guide. Small squeaky pieces hide in the tree for the dog to extract and, inevitably, redistribute across the living room floor. An easy stocking filler for a small or gentle-mouthed dog.

Frisco Holiday Reindeer Rope Dog Toy

Rope rather than plush, which makes it the festive toy most likely to survive a tug session with a bigger dog. Rope toys still need checking for fraying, and a dog who swallows strands should be given something else entirely.

Nocciola 3 Pack Christmas Dog Toys

Three festive toys in one box, which is the sensible way to buy for a multi-dog household or to fill a stocking without buying three separate presents. Check the sizes against your dog before wrapping, since multipacks tend to be built for small to medium mouths.

Pawlipop Christmas Dog Toy Box

A curated festive toy box from a small Etsy maker, and the gift to send when you are buying for someone else's dog and want it to arrive looking like an occasion. Handmade and made to order, so check the shop's turnaround before counting on a December delivery.

Puzzle Toys and Enrichment Gifts

These are the gifts that buy you a quiet half hour while the roast is resting, which makes them the most useful thing in this guide.

Outward Hound Nina Ottosson Dog Brick Level 2 Puzzle Game Dog Toy

A level 2 puzzle with three difficulties built into one board, sliding blocks and lift-out bones, holding about three quarters of a cup of kibble. Start here if a dog is new to puzzles, since the first setting is genuinely easy. It is not chew-proof, so it is a supervised game rather than a toy to leave out.

Outward Hound Nina Ottosson Dog Tornado Dog Toy Treat Puzzle

Also level 2, so this is not a step up from the Brick but a different mechanism: three spinning tiers with twelve compartments, plus three bone covers to make it harder once a dog has the idea. Holds about half a cup, hand washes, and is free of BPA, PVC and phthalates. Buy this one if a dog already spins and paws at things.

Haute Diggity Dog Christmas Puppermint Bark Activity House

A plush activity house with pieces to pull out and rummage through, from a brand known for its parody designs. The most festive-looking enrichment toy here and the one most likely to end up in a photograph. Plush construction means supervised play only.

Dog Beds and Blankets for Cozy Christmas Mornings

Less exciting to unwrap, more used than anything else in this guide. A dog sleeps most of the day, so this is the category where money goes furthest.

Bedsure Calming Small Dog Bed Donut

Faux fur with a raised rim for head support, an anti-slip base and a machine-washable build, in sizes from 20 inches up, with the 30-inch fitting dogs to about 45 pounds. The donut shape suits curl-up sleepers rather than dogs who sprawl, and the washability is what makes it a sensible December purchase. If it is going inside a crate, check the measurements against this guide to dog crates first.

POMESEA Dog Calming Pillow

A plush calming pillow with a glow-in-the-dark finish, which is a novelty rather than a safety feature, so do not treat it as a substitute for a light-up collar on dark walks. A cheap way to add a second soft spot in another room, which is genuinely useful in a busy house over the holidays.

Bedsure ComfyFleece Waterproof Dog & Cat Blanket

The practical gift nobody asks for and everybody uses. A waterproof backing is the difference between protecting a sofa and washing a sofa, which matters most with a puppy, a senior dog or a dog who comes home damp. Confirm the size on the listing, since blanket sizing varies more than bed sizing does.

PetAmi Fluffy Waterproof Cat & Dog Blanket

The same idea in a fluffier finish and at a lower price, so pick between the two on texture rather than function. Dogs who nest and dig at their bedding tend to prefer the plush one, and buying two of something washable is never a mistake.

Practical Dog Gifts That Get Used All Year

The gifts that are not really about Christmas, and are all the better for it.

Alessi Lula Dog Bowl

The design piece of the guide: a stainless steel bowl under a lid with a small dog perched on top, which keeps ants out and leftovers covered. Worth checking both retailers, because the price difference between them is substantial. A gift for the owner's kitchen as much as the dog's dinner, which is exactly why it works as a present.

Lucy & Co. Hands-Free Rope Dog Leash

A rope leash that can be worn across the body, which frees up both hands for a coffee, a toddler or a poo bag. The nicest gift here for the owner rather than the dog, and it sits alongside these other rope dog leashes if the style appeals but the price does not.

Jasonwell Foldable Dog Bath Pool

The southern-hemisphere Christmas pick, and a strange one anywhere with snow. A foldable pool doubles as a bath, which makes it useful for rinsing a muddy dog outside rather than in the bathroom. For a Boxing Day heatwave it is the best present on this list, and a shaded pool beats a hot walk every time. Check the size against your dog on the listing. If a dog roams in summer, a tracker from these GPS dog collars is the less fun but more useful gift in the same spirit.

Love what you're reading?

See more of Pretty Fluffy on Google

Add us as a preferred source and our latest stories show up more often in your Google results.