Pet Gifts: Why Giving to Dogs and Cats Brings Us Joy

This giving season, many of us are busy shopping for gifts for our friends, neighbors, coworkers, family – and our pets. Despite money being tight, time being limited, and bandwidth being maxed, we still make room on our gift lists for all the fur babies. To pet parents, it only makes sense – in fact, we wouldn’t have it any other way! With the holidays up us, let’s look at some of the reasons, both practical and emotional, why humans make pet gifts a priority.

First, when you consider gifts for dogs from a practical standpoint, they can be powerful motivators for good behavior. Whether it is a healthy pet treat, a fresh dog chew, or a fun new dog toy, presenting a reward to your dog or cat positively reinforces a job well done and helps create a pattern of desired behavior. In fact, dog training experts (as well as those rare and specialized enough to train feline fur-iends) cite high value rewards as excellent and effective training aids for puppies and dogs of all ages. Once you find out what your pet values highly, in addition of course to your love and praise, you can consider it not just a gift for your dog or cat, but also a well-earned reward to show them you’re pleased with their behavior and incentivize them with the possibility of more should it continue.

More good - yet still practical - news is that dog gifts (or cats) don’t have to be expensive to please the recipient! A flat tennis ball in an old sock might be the piece de resistance for Petey, while a spare zip tie could be the cat’s pajamas for Cleo. Pet parents do understand that caring for a fur baby can be a pricey proposition, building pet expenses into household and holiday budgets to a larger degree every year. In fact, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, households will spend over $1500 this year on their pets, and that number is only growing. While it’s easy to go overboard with shiny new accessories and oversized toys, just keep in mind that the joy your dog or cat gets from a pet gift isn’t proportional to its price tag – fortunately for us humans!

Which brings us to the emotional reasons we gift our pets…We’ve just established that pet gifts such as treats and toys make cats and dogs happy. Wagging tails, purring motors, eager expressions, vocalizations, and maybe a little drool here or there make it clear when a furry friend is pleased with what we are offering. Yes, pets are keenly aware of and anticipating the taste of the healthy pet treat or the squeak of the toy you’re about to present, but they also know that with that pet gift comes some measure of your attention. And that makes them happiest of all. 

Also fortunate for pet parents is the fact that this happiness is contagious and mutual. Seeing our pets happy makes us happy, and it’s not just when a pet gift is involved. Pet displays of affection and contentment spill over onto us, lowering stress levels and increasing oxytocin levels in both parties – or should we say paw-ties? In fact, Psychology Today reports that a recent study showed spending on a gift for our pets makes us happier than spending on ourselves or another person!

Similarly, another reward for the gift giver is that giving our cats and dogs gifts imparts a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. Whether it is a gift for dog lovers or a toy for your favorite cat, our actions create a positive response from the beings that we love and care for. Very few things today have a direct, immediate and desirable cause and effect relationship. This is akin to the mutual happiness mentioned above, but more closely related to pride. Not only have we figured out what makes our pet happy, but we are willing and able to make it happen, and that makes us feel proud. That feeling of pride has beneficial effects on our minds and bodies as well, including increased self-esteem, confidence and even energy levels. Basically, a gift for your pet puts pep in your step!

All of the aforementioned points lead to one clear, all-encompassing, and inevitable conclusion: we give gifts to our pets because, just like the two-legged members, they are our family. While it doesn’t take a survey to prove it to pet parents, the Pew Research Center confirms that 97% of pet owners saying they consider pets members of the family, with 51% saying pets are just as much parts of the family as human members. Dogs and cats share our lives, its ups and downs and twists and turns, taking it all in stride and preferring our company to pretty much anyone else’s. They make us feel better when we’re sad, offer comfort when we are sick, provide companionship when we’re alone, and get excited when we’re happy – all without asking for anything in return. But it sure is fun and rewarding to give them pet gifts anyway!

P.S. Farm to Pet’s nutritious, healthy, single-ingredient treats make paw-fect pet gifts for all the dogs, cats, puppies and kittens in your family!