Dog Christmas Gift Ideas

Here’s a list of some dog items that your friends and family (or even yourself) may find useful for dog training.

Leashes:

A 6-foot traditional length, or try a 10 or 15-foot leash if you have safe areas to allow your dog more room to roam on walks.

Harness:

The Seattle Balance harness (by Lori Stevens, a professional dog trainer) remains one of the top quality harnesses. It includes attachments on the back, and front for reduced pulling.

Clickers:

The i-click is great for indoors and handling comfortably. The box clicker may be less ergonomic to handle, but produces a louder sound, which provides utility for outdoor training depending on your distance from your dog or other ambient sounds.

Target Stick:

Target training is fun to implement and can apply to many different training scenarios. The Treat&Train box comes with a target (see below).

Treat&Train:

This is an ingenious device created by the late Dr. Sophia Yin, a veterinarian and animal trainer. Its basic function is to dispense treats either on demand with a controller, or on different pre-settings: such as set amounts of time (e.g., every 10 seconds), or on a variable rate (e.g., on average every 10 seconds). It provides many different strategies for training.

I have occasionally used the Treat&Train as a slow feeder to dispense my dog’s normal kibble meal. Rather than her eating it in a few seconds out of a bowl, she gets the food dispensed in different amounts of time, so it acts like an enrichment puzzle toy. Because of its design, this product is a bit pricey at about $100. It also needs a separate purchase of batteries.

Treats:

These are always a great choice of gift, and dogs will love them. Look for softer treats in smaller sizes or easy to break apart treats for training. In addition, there are even Advent calendars for dogs now that provide a treat a day for December 1st-25th.

Treat Pouch:

The Doggone Good treat pouch is excellent for holding treats and clickers. The magnet that closes the pouch works better than the treat bags with hinges, which rust over time.

Puzzle Toys:

Some quality enrichment toys include:

• Kongs
• Squirrel Dude
• Twist-n-Treat
• Kong Wobbler
• Nina Ottosson puzzles
• Tug-a-Jug
• Buster Cube
• Kong Satellite
• Snuffle Mats
• Green Interactive Feeder

By Dan Raymer