Animal Welfare Professionals

I've got to write a newspaper column on good gift ideas for dogs this year. Does anybody have ideas for something new or unusual or even a classic dog gift?

The flip the bottle game. Make a woodbase, use dowels that go through regular water bottles or 2 ltr bottles, so they'll flip around the dowel. Insert treats in the bottles & the doggy has to flip it over slow enough to get a treat.

food puzzles.  Keeps dogs interested and slows down dogs that tend to gobble food too quickly

Hi Mark!  I subscribed to Bark Box last year for my pups as a Christmas gift.  If you pay for the year, you get a discount.  It is the gift that keeps giving for 12 months!   Another note, their customer service is top notch! 

I also like to get them Benebones.   They are all natural and they last for a long time.  

Hope this helps!

How about donating to your favorite shelter in your dog's name? 

I'm also a big fan of food puzzles for dogs. Kongs are awesome. I'm also a fan of Nina Otteson's Food puzzles: https://www.nina-ottosson.com/ . And snuffle mats are a great way to work a dog's brain. You can buy them on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Wooly-Snuffle-Mat-Encourages-Foraging/dp/B01N1FV55I/ref=sr_1_4?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1543860081&sr=1-4&keywords=snuffle+mat+for+dogs or make one yourself: https://www.thehonestkitchen.com/blog/diy-make-your-dog-or-cat-a-snuffle-matt/.

As for classic dog gifts, squeaky tennis balls are a hit in my house!

In the winter months, my dog tends to get really cracked and sensitive paws due to the cold weather, snow and ice. A friend recommended these awesome PawSoother and Pawtection paw balms that help to heal those rough and chapped paws. It's worked wonders and would be a great gift. They even have some for snouts! https://naturaldogcompany.com/product-category/paws/ 

Similar to the dog food puzzles, dog toy puzzles are pretty awesome. Ones like this where there are a bunch of squirrels in the toy the dog can take out and play with, very stimulating.