Holiday gift guide for dogs and cats: gifts they'll actually use
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Time to read 7 min
Every December we watch the same thing happen. A dog gets a squeaky reindeer, sniffs it once, and walks back to the Chicken Chips bag. So this guide is organized by who you’re shopping for, not by what’s new, and every pick is something a dog or cat will actually use.
Short answer: Buy for the pet you have, not the one in the ad. Match a chew to how hard your dog bites and how big they are, keep treats to one protein if their stomach is touchy, and pass on anything with sugar, dyes or a long ingredient list. A novelty gets one sniff. A treat they love gets finished.
How to pick a pet gift they’ll actually use
Three questions do most of the work. How does your dog chew: gulper, gnawer or nibbler? How big are they? A chew that suits a Lab is a choking risk for a Yorkie. And does anything upset their stomach?
Cats get the same three questions. A cat who ignores every toy in the house will still come running for a piece of dehydrated fish.
Here’s the cheat sheet. Every Farm to Pet pick is a single ingredient, gently dehydrated in our own Chicago facility.
| Pet | What they’ll actually use | Our pick | Partner pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| The dog who chews through everything | A dense chew sized above their mouth | Elk antlers | Jolly Pets ball |
| The puppy | Small training treats and something to lick | Puppy Treat Bundle, lick mat | Sassy Woof collar |
| The cat | Meat, cut small | Fish cat treats | Still looking |
| The dog with a sensitive stomach | One protein they already eat | Turkey Chips | SodaPup slow feeder |
| The dog mom or dog dad | Something that makes the routine easier | Antler Powder Topper | Django coat |
| The multi-dog house | Enough to go around | Variety packs | Jolly Pets, one each |
| The stocking | A small bag with a big smell | Chicken Chips | Sassy Woof bandana |
For the dog who chews through everything
Rope toys last an afternoon. Plush toys last an hour. An antler lasts weeks or months, because it’s dense enough that a dog wears it down instead of biting through it. Our elk, deer and reindeer antlers are organic, naturally shed chews. Antlers grow and drop off every year on their own, so no animal is harmed for them (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).
Two rules. Buy a size up from what looks right, so the chew is longer than your dog’s muzzle and can’t be swallowed whole. And check on it. When it wears down to a nub, it goes in the trash. Read our chew precautions before the first session.
Skip the ham bone. Cooked bones splinter, and VCA lists broken teeth, choking and blockages among the reasons bones aren’t safe for dogs. For the dog who’d rather play than gnaw, Jolly Pets makes a thick rubber ball.
For the puppy’s first holiday
A puppy is teething until the adult teeth finish coming in, around six to seven months (VCA). Hard chews like antlers can wait. We explain why in our post on when puppies can chew antlers.
A puppy wants a lot of small rewards, because you’ll spend the holiday saying “sit” in front of relatives. Our Puppy Treat Bundle collects the treats we’d start a puppy on: single-ingredient Chips you can snap into pea-sized pieces, with no fillers to fill up a small stomach.
A lick mat smeared with plain yogurt keeps a wired puppy busy while the turkey comes out of the oven. A collar or harness from Sassy Woof covers the photo. More ideas in our new puppy gifts post.
For the cat who isn’t impressed by anything
Cats are obligate carnivores. They need nutrients found in animal tissue, including taurine, an essential amino acid for cats that’s found in meat (Cornell Feline Health Center). So the gift that works on a cat is meat, cut small.
Our cat treats come in chicken, turkey, fish and beef. Each is one ingredient, gently dehydrated, and the bag smells like exactly what’s in it. That’s the point.
Break pieces up for a small cat, and count treats as part of her day’s food. The full cat treats collection is here.
For the dog with a sensitive stomach
The kindest gift for a dog with a touchy stomach is a boring one: one protein, nothing else, and ideally a protein they already eat. Read the bag. If you can’t pronounce half of it, put it back.
Our Chips are one ingredient each, so you pick the protein that agrees with your dog. Turkey Chips are the usual first pick for dogs who react to chicken. Walleye Fish Chips give you a protein most dogs have never had. Beef Chips round out the set. No fillers, additives, preservatives or hormones in any of them.
If your dog is on a prescription diet, ask your vet before adding anything. We go deeper in our post on single-ingredient treats for sensitive dogs.
For the dog mom or dog dad
The best gift for the person is one that makes the dog’s day easier. A slow feeder bowl turns a thirty-second inhale into a ten-minute meal. A lick mat does the same for a treat.
Toppers fix the bowl of kibble the dog keeps ignoring. Our Chicken Topper and Turkey Toppers are the same single-ingredient meat in a form you can sprinkle. The Antler Powder Topper is ground organic antler. See the whole toppers collection.
For the dog who spends winter outside, Django makes coats that fit. Sassy Woof makes collars and harnesses for the person who likes their dog to match the season.
From our kitchen: Not sure which Chip your dog will pick? Our variety packs put Chicken, Turkey, Beef and Walleye in one box, each a single ingredient made in our Chicago facility. Variety packs.
For the multi-dog house
The rule in a multi-dog house is one of everything per dog. Our variety packs cover the treat side, one bag each. The dog treats collection has the full lineup.
Antlers need the same math. One per dog, handed out in separate rooms, picked up when everyone’s done. If your dogs guard food, skip long-lasting chews as gifts and stick to treats you hand out one at a time.
Stocking stuffers under $20
A stocking stuffer for a pet has one job: smell good. Our smallest bags of Chicken Chips, Turkey Chips, Beef Chips and Fish Chips fit a stocking and take no explaining. A bag of cat treats does the same for the cat.
Prices move, so we don’t list them here; the product page does. Every bag keeps for two years, so nothing in the stocking goes to waste.
Brands we like
We’ve partnered with a lot of small pet brands over the years. These four are the ones we keep coming back to. No codes, no fine print.
Sassy Woof makes collars, harnesses, leashes and dog apparel in prints that change with the season, plus a matching line for cats.
Django makes dog coats, jackets, harnesses and travel gear for people who walk their dogs in real weather.
Jolly Pets started with a ball for horses and now makes thick rubber toys for dogs who flatten everything else.
SodaPup makes rubber enrichment toys, treat dispensers and slow feeder bowls you can stuff, freeze and run through the dishwasher.
Why buy from an independent pet store
About 1,000 independent pet stores carry Farm to Pet. They were our first customers, and the person behind the counter has usually met your dog. They know which antler fits a 30-pound pit mix because they’ve sold a hundred of them.
When you buy there, the money stays on your street, and the store stays open for the January morning you run out of treats. Use our store locator to find one near you. Own a store and want to carry us? Start at wholesale.
Questions we get asked
What is a good gift for a dog?
A good gift for a dog is something they will use up or wear out: a treat made from one protein they like, or a chew sized for how hard they bite. Novelty toys tend to get one sniff. If you are not sure, single-ingredient Chicken Chips are the safest bet we know.
What can I give a dog with a sensitive stomach for the holidays?
Stick to one protein your dog already eats, in a treat with nothing else in it. Turkey Chips or Walleye Fish Chips are our picks for dogs who react to chicken. Ask your vet first if your dog is on a prescription diet, and skip table scraps entirely.
Are antlers a good Christmas gift for dogs?
Yes, for an adult dog who chews hard and can be supervised. Choose a size longer than your dog’s muzzle, take it away once it wears down to a small piece, and hold off for puppies still growing their adult teeth. Our elk, deer and reindeer antlers are organic and naturally shed.
What do you get a cat for Christmas?
Meat. Cats are obligate carnivores, so a single-ingredient meat or fish treat gets a better reaction than most toys. Our cat treats come in chicken, turkey, fish and beef. Break the pieces small and count them as part of the day’s food, not on top of it.
What should a dog not eat over the holidays?
Cooked bones, especially ham and turkey bones, because they splinter. Chocolate, grapes and raisins, onions, macadamia nuts, alcohol and anything sweetened with xylitol are toxic to dogs. If your dog eats something on that list, call your vet or ASPCA Animal Poison Control at (888) 426-4435 right away. We keep a longer list in our post on Thanksgiving food for dogs.
