dog christmas stocking

Hanging A Dog Christmas Stocking

dog christmas stocking

Hanging a Dog Christmas Stocking

A survey earlier this year revealed an interesting stat about millennials and their love for their dogs. It showed that they are more likely to buy a home so that their dog has a yard or more space for playing than for having children.

As a pet parent (and as a human parent, too), I know how strong that bond can be. It's one of the reasons we celebrate our dogs' birthdays each year. It's also why if you came over in December, you would find a dog Christmas stocking hanging on our fireplace, along with stockings for the human members of the family. Each of our dog's gets their own Christmas stocking.

dog christmas stocking

Dog Christmas Stockings and More

Turns out that our family isn't alone. Many families put up a dog Christmas stocking at the holidays for their pups or put a silly Santa hat on their dog for the annual holiday picture or place a present by the menorah during Chanukah. Rover.com, the dog walking and pet sitting referral site, recently surveyed pet families on their thoughts about giving their pups (and other animals) presents for holidays. The findings were astounding.

Not only are pet families stocking up on dog Christmas stocking stuffers--and the stockings to put all those presents in--but 95 percent are giving their pups legit holiday presents. Every year.

We know that plenty of people celebrate their dog's birthday each year. We love to gift them with a doggie birthday cake at the very least. But let's get back to why so many pet parents are hanging a dog Christmas stocking and putting presents under the tree or by the menorah each year. Because dog people are crazy in love with their dogs.

Crazy Dog People

Another Rover.com survey found this about crazy dog people:

  • 24 percent make up songs to sing to their dogs (guilty!)
  • 29 percent share more pictures online of their dog than of friends and family (guilty!)
  • 54 percent would consider ending a relationship if their dog doesn’t like their partner

Thankfully, I've been married for 25 years and have had four dogs--and two children--with my husband. So this last point is not an issue!

Here is what else we crazy dog people do for our dogs at the holidays: spend about $36 on average on those dog gifts. However, some people have been known to spend as much as $100.

"Our pets love us unconditionally, so it's no surprise many pet parents treat their dogs like another member of the family," says Brandie Gonzales of Rover.com, who conducted the poll.

On the flipside I know I've been guilty of giving a holiday card from my dog or a Christmas gift from my dog to another family member. Are you guilty of the same?

Here I have some additional fun info about how we crazy dog people treat our dogs at the holidays

Wrapping a Dog Christmas Present

Turns out that 75 percent of us giving our dog a holiday present will wrap that gift in holiday-themed wrapping paper. Without opposable thumbs, I'm wondering, how do the dogs unwrap the gift? Yes, I realize that we actually do the unwrapping for them, but it is funny to imagine how a dog might go about doing this task. With their mouth, of course!

But seriously I know that whenever we've bought our dogs a Christmas present and then put it under the tree, they can always sniff out which package is theirs. How do they do that? I mean gifts are not always dog treats so I don't believe they have a discernible scent to them. Or do they?

One survey I read said that 80 percent of dog people report that their dog has destroyed at least one Christmas present under the tree. Hmmm. Maybe I should rethinking putting out those presents ahead of time and just stick to hanging a dog Christmas stocking--high enough, of course, so that they can't grab that off the mantel!

Including Dogs in a Holiday Photo

I have passed along the crazy dog gene to my dog-loving daughters. Each year they insist that our dogs appear in our annual holiday card. Rover.com says that nearly eight in 10 dog people do something similar with their holiday greetings. One year we even snuck our dog into a mall photo booth just so he could be in our family picture.

dog christmas stocking

We always try to come up with the next best dog holiday card idea, usually taking the photo when my daughters are home at Thanksgiving. However, this year is the first that my oldest isn't in college and won't be able to visit for Thanksgiving. So we may have to Photoshop her (not the dogs) into our family photo.

The photo above is from Thanksgiving 2015 when both of my daughters were home from college. You can see the dog Christmas stockings behind them. Clearly, the dogs weren't ready to cooperate for our annual holiday photo.

Create a Gift List For Our Dog

I don't know about you, but I shop for holiday and birthday presents all year long. Whenever I see something I think my dogs will like and the price is right, I'll snap it up and put it away for later in the year. Of course, I do the same for my family members, too. The one challenge with shopping all year long for gifts is forgetting where I put the dogs'--or the children's--gifts. Have you ever done the same?

I would love to hear how you celebrate Christmas or Chanukah or other holidays with your dogs. Do you hang a Christmas stocking? Give your dog eight little presents over the eight nights of Chanukah? Do something else completely different?

Of course, we would be thrilled if you considered buying your dog's Christmas stocking from us and have it personalized with their name. These dog Christmas stockings are handcrafted, Made in the USA, and lovingly embroidered by our talented seamstress here in New Jersey.

We'd also be thrilled if we could help you find a gift for your dog or for a dog lover on your holiday list here on Puppieware by Pawsome Doggie.

If you shop before Black Friday, you can save 10% on your order. Just use code BF17 at checkout.

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