TL;DR
Buy for the dog you have. Weigh it first. 30 lbs and up gets the Rugged XL and under 30 lbs gets the Standard. Puppies need soft toys sized for them and short chase games kept low, and seniors would rather do nose work than sprint. Put a lick mat, a snuffle mat and a chew that’s the right size in the stocking, and keep tinsel, ribbon, chocolate and anything sugar-free away from the dog Christmas morning.
Who This Guide Is For
- Owners asking what to get their own dog for Christmas
- Gift-givers shopping for a friend’s or a relative’s dog
- Homes with a new puppy or an older dog slowing down
- Two-pet households where the cat wants a present too
- Anyone who wants the dog safe while the paper flies
What to Get Your Dog for Christmas: A Game, Not a Thing
Get your dog something you’re gonna do together. A new toy is exciting for a day or two and then it wears off. The AKC says it pretty plainly, most of all dogs prefer any toy that also involves you. A game you run with your dog is still worth something long after the wrapping paper is in the trash.
That line comes from the American Kennel Club’s toy guide, and it also cites research where Labrador Retrievers lost interest in a toy once they got used to it. Most dogs don’t need more toys. They need more of your time, in short sessions with some structure to them.
Three questions before you buy
How big is the dog, or how big is it gonna get? Size decides about everything, from which chew is safe to which pole is right. Then how does it play, does it chase or chew or shred or sniff? And who’s gonna run the game, and for how many minutes a day?
Answer those and the gift about picks itself. A dog that shreds needs a chase game, not more plush. A dog that grinds needs a rubber chew sized to its mouth. For a sniffer I’d go with a snuffle mat or a nose game on the living room floor, and scent work games at home don’t cost anything.
The Best Christmas Gifts for Dogs, by Type
Match the present to the dog. Puppies need soft toys sized for them and short chase games down on the ground, and seniors want nose work and easy play. Small dogs get the Standard pole and big dogs get the Rugged XL. Power chewers need rubber that’s sized right and never hard bones, and if you’ve got a dog and a cat, each one needs its own game.
| Dog | Christmas gift | Stocking stuffer | Christmas-morning risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Puppy | Soft toys and simple food puzzles; chase waits until about 6 months | A lick mat | Gift ribbon and string |
| Senior | Food puzzle or snuffle mat; a low, slow pole only with the vet’s OK | A snuffle mat | Fatty table scraps |
| Small dog (under 30 lbs) | Standard flirt pole, $55.95 | A chew too big to fit fully in its mouth | Chocolate left within reach |
| Big dog (30 lbs+) | Rugged XL, $74.95, or the Bundle, $94.95 | A tough tug toy | Wrapped food under the tree |
| Power chewer | A sized rubber chew plus a daily chase game | Nothing it can swallow whole | Cooked bones from the kitchen |
| High-energy dog | A pole sized to its weight, run daily | A lick mat for downtime | Chewed light cords |
| Dog-and-cat home | A pole for the dog, the Standard for the cat | A lick mat while the cat plays | Tinsel |
Puppies
Buy for how old the puppy is and how big its mouth is. Soft toys and simple food puzzles are good for the youngest pups, and a teething toy should dent when you press a fingernail in it. The best puppy toys by age guide breaks it down month by month.
For chasing, the AKC’s puppy exercise guide lists chasing a flirt pole as enrichment, but it also says repeated jumping can hurt a puppy’s back. So I’d hold off on pole chase until about 6 months, and then keep it to 3 to 5 minutes with the lure on the ground. A puppy that’s gonna end up over 30 lbs will need the Rugged XL as an adult.
Senior dogs
An older dog still wants a job, just an easier one. Cornell’s Riney Canine Health Center suggests food puzzles and basic scent games for seniors, and talking to your vet about what’s safe. A flirt pole is the wrong gift for a senior with sore joints. If the vet clears it, keep the lure low and slow, and look at exercise for senior dogs for the full routine.
Small dogs
Small dogs chase just as hard, they just have shorter legs. The Standard ($55.95) is for dogs under 30 lbs and has a 450-lb Kevlar line, and a small dog can get a full session in a hallway. For the wet December days, the best indoor dog toys list covers the rest of what you’d want inside.
Big dogs
For a dog 30 lbs and up, skip anything it can fit in its mouth whole. The Rugged XL ($74.95) has an 800-lb Dyneema line on a one-piece fiberglass pole, and it ships free in the US. Tug is the other go-to present for a big dog, and the guide to tug toys for large dogs covers what holds up and how to play it with rules.
Power chewers
No toy is indestructible, no matter what the label says. VCA Animal Hospitals says a chew should never be small enough to fit all the way in the dog’s mouth and should dent with a fingernail. It also warns that bones, cow hooves, pig ears and hard rawhides can chip or break teeth, and that rules out a lot of what gets sold as stocking stuffers. For picks by how your dog chews, see toys for power chewers.
High-energy dogs
A dog that runs your house needs somewhere to put that energy every day a lot more than it needs a new thing. A flirt pole sized to its weight lets it stalk and chase and catch in about ten minutes. I broke it down by budget, from under $30 up to the Pro Kit, in the full high-energy gift guide, so I won’t repeat it here.
Dog-and-cat homes
Two animals means two presents and two separate sessions. If the cat wants in on it, there’s a page on the flirt pole for cats, but the dog gets its own pole picked by its weight, and never run them together. If your dog is already locked onto the cat, work through stopping a dog chasing cats before any play with both of them around.
Dog Stocking Stuffers That Are Actually Safe
A good stocking stuffer is small enough to fit in the stocking but too big to swallow. So a lick mat, a snuffle mat, a rubber chew sized to the dog, a jute or rope tug for when you’re playing with it, and treats you’ve read the label on. Skip rawhide and hard bones and anything with eyes or ribbons on it.
What stays out of the stocking
Leave out anything small enough to swallow, anything with eyes or ribbons that can get pulled off, and the chews that are too hard from the power chewer part above. Cooked turkey or chicken bones from the kitchen don’t go anywhere near the stocking either. And don’t hang a stocking full of treats at nose height, cause your dog can smell exactly what’s in it.
Christmas Morning Safety for Dogs
Keep tinsel, ribbon and wrapping off the floor, hang the breakable ornaments up high, and tie down the light cords. Chocolate, anything sugar-free, fatty scraps and cooked bones stay off the dog’s menu. Open the dog’s gift with the dog, throw the ribbon away as you go, and watch the first time it plays with any new toy or chew.
The tree and ornaments
The AKC’s holiday decorating tips say to hang breakable ornaments higher up the tree where a wagging tail can’t knock them off, and to skip ornaments made of food like popcorn strings or candy. A broken ornament is more than a mess, cause the ASPCA says the pieces can hurt a pet’s mouth and gut. VCA’s holiday safety tips for dog owners add that a curious dog can pull the whole tree down, so set it up solid. VCA also says the tree water can have fertilizer or bacteria in it that upset a dog’s stomach.
Tinsel, ribbon, and wrapping
Tinsel is the worst of it. The ASPCA’s holiday safety tips say swallowed tinsel can cause bad vomiting and a blocked digestive tract, and it may need surgery. VCA warns that gift ribbon and string are a big risk for young puppies cause they play with it and chew it and swallow it. Throw the ribbon away as each gift gets opened, not after the whole pile is done.
Lights and cords
VCA says a dog that bites through a plugged-in cord can burn its tongue or get a shock that damages the lungs or heart. Run the cords up high or behind furniture and unplug the tree lights any time nobody’s home.
Holiday food
Most of the real Christmas emergencies start in the kitchen. VCA’s holiday toxins guide says baker’s and unsweetened chocolate have the most theobromine, which is the toxic part, and white chocolate has the least. It warns about xylitol too, that’s the sweetener in a lot of sugar-free gum and candy and baked stuff, and the grapes and raisins in fruitcake, cause those can cause kidney failure. Fatty meat scraps can bring on pancreatitis, so I’d just give the dog its own food for Christmas dinner.
Call your vet or an emergency clinic right away if the dog swallows tinsel, ribbon, chocolate, anything sugar-free or a piece of a broken ornament. I’d look up your clinic’s holiday hours ahead of time so you’re not trying to figure it out on Christmas Eve.
Put the flirt pole away after play. You run the pole, so it’s not something to leave under the tree with the dog. Put it up out of reach, and read is a flirt pole safe for dogs for the full checklist.
Gifts That Are Really for the Owner
A lot of dog gifts are really for the person holding the leash, and that’s fine if you’re honest about it. The best ones give the owner some time back, like a game that wears the dog out in minutes, a lick mat for bath night or a snuffle mat for busy mornings. The worst one is a surprise puppy.
A flirt pole is as much for the owner as it is for the dog. In general my clients tell me their dogs are a lot more relaxed and calmer and seem more satisfied after using one. That’s what people tell me, not a study, so read the Whimsy Stick reviews and judge for yourself, the one-star included.
Never a surprise puppy
A puppy isn’t a present. The AKC says to never surprise somebody with a puppy they aren’t ready to keep for its whole life. It suggests wrapping up a leash or a bowl as a promise that a dog is coming, once the family has done its homework.
Buying for someone else’s dog
Find out what the dog weighs before you go shopping, cause that decides the size on every toy and chew and pole on this page. A lot of walks get cut short in December, so get something that works for a quick session in the yard or inside, cause that’s the gift that actually gets used. The guide to exercising a dog in winter fills in the rest.
Which Whimsy Stick to Wrap
Pick by weight. The Standard ($55.95) is for dogs under 30 lbs and the Rugged XL ($74.95) is for dogs 30 lbs and up. The Bundle ($94.95) comes with three lures if your dog bites hard and goes through them, and the Pro Kit ($129.95) has five lures and a spare line. If nobody’s gonna run it, skip the pole altogether.
When a flirt pole is the wrong gift
Be honest about your dog. A flirt pole is the wrong present for a senior with joint problems, a puppy under about 6 months, a dog coming back from an injury, or a house where nobody’s gonna pick it up after the holidays. In those cases a snuffle mat and a nose game every day do more good. If you’re not sure, ask the vet first, and read how to introduce a flirt pole before the first session.
Returns and ordering early
Every Whimsy Stick flirt pole has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and that counts from delivery, not Christmas morning. So order early, but know the clock starts when the box shows up. The refund and returns policy spells out that you pay the return shipping unless the pole failed. I’m a one-man company and I want you happy with it, so I’ll work with you.
Whimsy Stick Rugged XL
For dogs 30 lbs and up, with a one-piece fiberglass pole, an 800-lb Dyneema line, and a lure made to get caught. Free US shipping included. If you want three lures, add the Bundle to your cart, or look at the Pro Kit on the Whimsy Stick shop.
Read These Before Christmas
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Christmas Presents for Dogs: Questions
What is the best Christmas gift for a dog?
Something you do together that’s sized to the dog. For a healthy adult dog that loves to chase, I’d get a flirt pole, so the Standard ($55.95) for under 30 lbs or the Rugged XL ($74.95) for 30 lbs and up. For a young puppy or a senior, a food puzzle or a snuffle mat is the safer pick.
What should I get my dog for Christmas under $30?
A lick mat, a snuffle mat, a rubber chew too big to fit all the way in the dog’s mouth, or a jute tug for games you play together. None of those burns energy like a chase game does, but they’ll fill a quiet hour safely.
What can I put in my dog’s Christmas stocking?
Small, safe things it can’t swallow whole, like a lick mat, a rubber chew that’s sized right, a tug toy, and treats you’ve checked the label on for xylitol. Leave out rawhide, cooked bones and toys with eyes or ribbons.
Is tinsel dangerous for dogs?
Yes. The ASPCA says swallowed tinsel can cause bad vomiting and a blocked digestive tract, and it may need surgery. I’d skip tinsel in a house with a dog, or at least keep it way out of reach.
What Christmas foods are toxic to dogs?
VCA Animal Hospitals flags chocolate (baker’s and unsweetened are the worst), xylitol in sugar-free gum, candy and baked goods, grapes and raisins, fruitcake included, and alcohol. Fatty scraps and cooked bones are risky too.
Is a flirt pole a good Christmas gift for a puppy?
From about 6 months on, with puppy rules, so the lure stays on the ground, sessions run 3 to 5 minutes, and no jumping over and over. Before that, stick with soft toys and simple food puzzles.
What is a good Christmas present for an older dog?
A food puzzle, a snuffle mat or a scent game you play together. Cornell’s Riney Canine Health Center suggests food puzzles and scent games for seniors, after you talk to the vet about what’s safe. Skip the sprinting and turning games for a dog with sore joints.
Should I give someone a puppy for Christmas?
Not as a surprise. The AKC says to never surprise somebody with a puppy they aren’t ready to keep for its whole life. Wrap up a leash or a bowl instead as a promise that a dog is coming.
What if I buy the wrong size flirt pole as a gift?
Every pole has a 30-day money-back guarantee from delivery, and you cover the return shipping unless the pole failed. Email me first and I’ll work with you. If you’re not sure about a big or growing dog, the Rugged XL is the safer pick.
