The Essential Bark-to-School Dog Gift Guide 2024

SOLID GOLD PET

While it is now well known that pets’ diets have a direct effect on their digestive and gut health, that wasn’t the case when Sissy McGill founded Solid Gold Pet over fifty years ago. She knew she wanted to enhance the length and quality of her pets’ lives and firmly believed that a high-quality diet was the pathway to their overall health and well-being. And she was right – in fact, the microorganisms in the gut impact 80% of immune system health! This vision inspired her to create what she called the world’s first holistic pet food and is still the guiding principle of Solid Gold’s nutritional approach today. 

Case in point: Solid Gold’s Barking at the Moon Wet Food. This hydration-rich recipe gives pups the flavor, energy and nutrition of real deboned beef, supplemented with canine superfoods like pumpkin, liver, blueberries, and added vitamin D and folic acid. For dogs who like to hear their food, Nutriboost Barking at the Moon Dry Food offers an equally healthy blend of functional superfoods, omega fatty acids and probiotics in kibble form.

ZESTY PAWS

The love of pets is a strong motivator, indeed! Ten years ago, it prompted the founders of Zesty Paws to develop an innovative and varied line of healthy pet supplements with high-quality functional ingredients to boost the wellbeing of the ones that matter most! With vet-approved formulas in pet-approved flavors, Zesty Paws now boasts a wide range of tasty bites and oils that support mobility, calmness, tummy and teeth to name a few.

Pups who suffer from bark-to-school separation anxiety are paw-fect candidates for Calming Bites^TM , while Probiotic Bites^TM are ideal to soothe upset tummies and keep gut rumblings in check. Cramming for a nutrition exam? Zesty Paws 8-in-1 Multivitamin Bites for Dogs support multiple areas of dog wellness – namely, joint, digestive, skin, coat, and immunity – in every bite. 

MY WOOF

Making life easier for pet parents is the driving force behind My Woof. Their design-oriented line of toy-adjacent feeding accessories does just that. Featuring ingenious treat and chew holders, toothbrushes, and more that help take the chore out of daily dog care, the mission of the makers of My Woof products is to create more time for pet parents to enjoy with their fur babies! Sounds like great gifts for dogs as well as their paw-rents!

Designed for long-lasting distraction, their flagship product, the Pupsicle, is an ideal dog gift for back to school. This ball-like roller can hold one of My Woof’s long-lasting Pupsicle Pops, a lickable ball of healthy goodness made of peanut butter and chicken or beef plasma. Just pop one in a washable, reusable Pupsicle – or use a DIY frozen treat of your own using their matching freezing trays – and watch dog boredom and loneliness disappear! Our pick? The Alpha Pack combo, including everything a paw-rent needs for hours of canine bliss!

FARM TO PET

What bark-to-school dog gift guide would be complete without the ultimate single-ingredient healthy dog treat! Family-owned and operated Farm to Pet has been all about treating pets to simple, wholesome nutrition since day one. We source only the highest quality poultry and beef from midwestern farmers to create our signature crunchy Chicken, Turkey and Beef Chips, gently dehydrated to perfection with nothing else added – ever. With tasty lean chicken breast, low-allergen turkey breast, and iron-rich beef round varieties, there is something for every pup to enjoy. Mix and match multiple bag sizes and flavors to create your own dog gift basket!

And let’s not forget about Farm to Pet’s long-lasting antler dog chews! These wild-gathered elk, deer and reindeer sheds for dogs make great anxiety relievers for a pup after a long day at home while the pack is at work or school. Long-lasting, odor-free and no-mess, these healthy organic dog chews slowly wear away, providing a rich source of protein and minerals with every chomp. What better way to treat your pup for back to school or any time!

PUPWELL

Step one of looking good? Being well-groomed! Pupwell understands just how critical grooming is for the overall pet health and wellness, - so much so that they built a brand around it! Their professional quality grooming products elevate your pup’s coat and appearance, making them look and feel their best and giving you the peace of mind that comes with a clean, brushed, clipped fur baby.

This back to school season, as you treat your kids to haircuts and new duds, treat the dog families in your life to the Pup Parent Essentials kit from Pupwell. This collection of four different combs and brushes, each with a specialized function to keep furry friends’ coats on point for bark to school!

DJANGO

A pair of adventurous and devoted dog lovers started this family-owned company aptly named after their equally adventurous pup Django. The couple’s love of travel and adventure and passion – and bringing along the four-legged members of the family! – is the inspiration behind the brand’s innovative, fashionable and functional line of outwear, accessories and carriers for pets, all designed help you and your dog get outside, travel, and adventure more often.

Check out Django’s Tahoe Collection for fall, featuring colors inspired by the beautiful terrain of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevadas. The rugged, stylish and comfortable range includes a No Pull Dog Harness, Dog Collar, and Waterproof Leash in coordinating tones that make perfect dog gifts for the travel set! And not only are their products functional – they are philanthropic too! Django donates a portion of their proceeds to non-profits that support clean ocean, coastal community, and forest conservation initiatives.

SASSY WOOF

This woman-owned family business is dedicated to creating modern and high-quality pet products designed to keep pets stylish and safe. With a wide array of harnesses, leashes, apparel, toys, and more for dogs and cats (yes, Sassy Meow!), you’re sure to find one that fits your fur baby’s style and personality. And you can feel great about supporting them, because Sassy Woof is dedicated to giving back to the community and bettering the lives of dogs in the process, partnering with and donating to dog charities and organizations as well as supporting women entrepreneurship around the world.

The brand’s Harry Potter X Sassy Woof collection is perfect bark-to-school dog gift for the pup who prefers the library or TV couch to hiking rocky terrain! This adorable collection features a leash, harness, collar and bandana – or is it a wizard cape? – sure to put a smile on your face as your pup proudly prances showing off his new look! 

FI

Looking for a new breed of dog collar – and perhaps a new level of pet fitness? A fitness collar from Fi might just be what you’re looking for. Not only do these innovative membership collars track fitness metrics like steps, active time and even sleep, they offer a tracking feature that goes way beyond an air-tag, incorporating GPS that can track dogs regardless of how far they are from our phones. 

The Fi Series 3 allows you to choose the size of collar and level of membership that is right for you and your dog, with every level including a water-resistant collar, tracking device, and charger supported by a mobile app with 24/7 access, escape alerts and live GPS tracking. Now that’s a dog gift that keeps on giving!

KINDTAIL

Dedicated to inspiring kindness to pets and humans alike, Kindtail creates understated yet sleek crates, beds, bowls and more that work for every stage of your dog’s life, from training puppies to comforting seniors. Their safe, stylish and easy-to-use products merge functionality with innovative design to blend paw-fectly into your home. 

Their Puppy Training Bundle PAWD® makes an incredible puppy gift for crate training and beyond, and includes a PAWD Crate, Pad, Lounger Bed, and Portabowls. Not only do Kindtail crates grow with your pet, they are also lightweight, easily collapsible and portable, and free from sharp edges and corners to provide a beautiful nesting space for fur babies all the while.

BAXTER & BELLA

Full-service online puppy school Baxter & Bella was started by the Jensen family to help paw-rents more easily and successfully welcome dogs into their lives, families and homes. Their effective and innovative approach leverages their experience in puppy raising, positive pet parenting, therapy and service dog training to create a comprehensive curriculum, materials, resources and support that favors force-free training, positive reinforcement, and realistic expectations. And all online and on your time!

What could be better a better puppy gift than a Lifetime Membership to their rewarding and successful program? Yes, a lifetime of step-by-step programs, videos, activities and unlimited live sessions with Baxter & Bella’s expert staff! After all, a well-behaved dog is a happy dog – and so is their human!