As the festive season approaches, many families begin their countdown to Christmas with an Advent calendar and these days there are plenty of dog Advent calendars so that your four-legged friend can join in on the fun!
While traditionally filled with chocolates or tiny toys, pet Advent calendars have been invented to include options for our beloved fur-babies. So, if you're looking to spoil your four-legged friend with treats, toys, or even pampering products during the festive season, a dog advent calendar is a perfect choice.
Best dog Advent calendars at a glance
From Lily's Kitchen to Pooch & Mutt, our furry friends have tried and tested the best Advent calendars for dogs, to help you to make the right decision for your pooch; check out their favourites below.
Best dog Advent Calendars 2024
TESTED
Arabella Horspool/Yours.co.ukThis Lily's Kitchen Dog Advent Calendar features three different treats (Turkey with Cranberry Bites, Chicken and Quinoa Bites and Chicken & Beef Training Treats) and will surely be a hit with your pooch. Behind some windows, there's more than one treat, which is a nice touch, as they can have one in the morning and one in the evening, or you can share them if you have multiple dogs like I do.
My older dogs Bailey and Toby love the treats in this Lily's Kitchen Advent calendar. Now that they're getting older, they can't quite crunch biscuits like they used to, but these meaty treats are soft enough to sink their teeth into. As a pet owner, I love that they include vegetables and quinoa, which adds an extra source of nutrition.
Arabella Horspool, our Commercial Content Writer, reviewed this product with the help of her three dogs.
Pros
- Soft composition, making them easy for dogs to break up and chew
- Responsibly sourced, natural ingredients
Cons
- Not all of the doors have two treats behind them
| Suitable for: | Dogs of all life stages (from 4 months+) |
| Number of treats: | 24 plus extra behind some windows |
| Ingredients: | Chicken bites: Chicken* (80%), Vegetable Glycerine (derived from Rapeseed Oil), Pea Protein*, Quinoa* (2%), Ground Ginger* (0.5%). Additives: Technological Additives: Antioxidants (Tocopherol extracts from vegetable oils);<br>Turkey bites: Turkey* (68%), Pea Protein*, Vegetable Glycerine (derived from Rapeseed Oil), Pumpkin Seeds*, Distilled White Vinegar, Dried Cranberries (0.3%), Cinnamon* (0.1%), Thyme*. Additives: Technological Additives: Antioxidants (Tocopherol extracts from vegetable oils);<br>Chicken with beef bites: Chicken* (76%), Beef* (12%), Vegetable Glycerine (derived from Rapeseed Oil), Butternut Squash* (1%), Turmeric* (0.1%). Additives: Technological Additives: Antioxidants (Tocopherol extracts from vegetable oils).<br>*Natural Ingredient |
TESTED
Best cheese fondue dog Advent calendar
Arabella Horspool/Yours.co.ukwww.poochandmutt.co.uk
Suitable for dogs 12-weeks and over, this Pooch & Mutt Cheese Fondue Dog Advent Calendar contains little triangular morsels of grain-free melt-in-the-mouth cheesy treats. They are small and easy for your pet to nibble through, no matter their age, plus they also contain turkey, collagen and probiotics.
Although the description states, "1 cheese wedge treat behind every door", a lot of the doors had two wedges in them, which was a nice surprise for my pups. The treats do have a strong cheesy smell, but that goes to prove that there's real cheese in them!
Reviewed by Arabella Horspool, our Commercial Content Writer and her dogs.
Pros
- Suitable for puppies and all stages of life due to soft texture
- Contains calcium, protein, collagen and probiotics for bones, skin, joints
Cons
- Wedges are quite small
| Suitable for: | All breeds of dog and puppies 12 weeks and older |
| Number of treats: | 24 |
| Ingredients: | Turkey protein (26%), pea flour (22%), glycerol of vegetable origin (18%), hydrolyzed chicken protein (10%), collagen (5%), red lentils (5%), pumpkin (5%), cheddar cheese (4%), hydrolyzed yeasts (4%), fulvic acid (0.5%), cantaloupe melon extract (0.01%), Lactobacillus acidophilus HA – 122 inactivated (15x109 cells/kg).<br>Nutritional additives per kg: Vitamin C (3a312) 35mg. Contains EU approved preservatives: citric acid (E330), DL-malic acid (E296). Analytical constituents: Crude protein 28%, crude fat 5%, moisture 17%, ash 5.5%, crude fibre 2%, calcium 0.6%, phosphorus 0.7%, sodium 0.5%, omega 3 0.1%, omega 6 0.6%. Kcal/kg 3,145 |
TESTED
Best dog Advent calendar for big dogs
Arabella Horspool/Yours.co.ukThe Pointer Pet Products - Christmas Advent Calendar is packed with crunchy, oven-baked, bone-shaped dog biscuits containing carob and cheese to tempt your pooches.
The treats are much larger than I expected them to be (especially as the doors are quite small), so it can be hard to pull them out of the calendar. My three dogs are small, so I was able to break the treats up and share them between the three of them, which was nice, but I would say that the calendar is more suited to bigger dogs.
Our Commercial Content Writer, Arabella Horspool, wrote this review after her dogs tested the Advent Calendar.
Pros
- Biscuits can be broken up to share between dogs or enjoy throughout the day
- Contains added magnesium
Cons
- Treats are quite large, which may not be suitable for small dogs
| Suitable for: | Adult dogs |
| Number of treats: | 24 |
| Ingredients: | Cereals, Oils and Fats, Minerals, Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Meat and Animal Derivatives, Various Sugars, Vegetables (1.5% Carob Powder), Milk and Milk Derivatives (0.2% Cheese Powder). Sensory Additives: Colourants. Nutritional Additives (/kg): Vitamin A 2500IU, Vitamin D3 250IU, Vitamin E 15mg, Zinc (Zinc Sulphate Monohydrate) 10mg, Iron (Iron (II) Sulphate Monohydrate) 10mg, Copper (Copper (II) Sulphate Pentahydrate) 2.5mg, Manganese (Manganese (II) Oxide) 1.5mg, Iodine (Calcium Iodate Anhydrous) 0.25mg, Selenium (Sodium Selenite) 0.025mg. |
Best natural treat dog Advent calendar
Scrumbles/Amazonwww.petsathome.com
We love this Scrumbles Dog Advent Calendar, which includes a selection of their popular treats, including dental and calming bites suitable for delicate stomachs. Inside are tasty Chicken and Duck Softies, Calming Turkey Nibbles and the new Meaty 80% Chicken Bites.
Pros
- A variety of treats that are catered towards sensitive stomachs
- Features a new treat which contains 80% chicken
Cons
- Not all of the packaging is recyclable
| Suitable for: | All-life stages, dogs with a sensitive stomach |
| Number of treats: | 24 (some slots have extra) |
| Ingredients: | Chicken Bites: 80% Chicken, Potato, 5% Pumpkin, Chicken Protein, Cellulose. Nibbles Calming Treats: 40% Sweet Potato, 30% Dried Turkey, 20% Chickpea, 8% Rapeseed Oil, 0.5% Chamomile, 0.5% Lemon Balm, 0.1% Slippery Elm Bark, 0.1% Glucosamine. Softies Training Treats: 26% Chicken, 26% Oats, 15% Glycerine, 10% Chickpea, 6% Sweet Potato, 5% Poultry Fat, 4% Dried Duck, 4% Pumpkin, 1% Linseed, 0.5% Chia Seeds, 0.1% Slippery Elm |
TESTED
Best dog Advent calendar for variety
Arabella Horspool/Yours.co.ukwww.denzels.co.uk
Tickle their taste buds with this delicious Denzel's Christmas Advent Calendar. Packed full of 24 treat bags, there are so many flavours to get their tails wagging, including 4 x Duck and Orange, Christmas Lunch, Pigs in Blanket, Salmon & Banana, Turkey & Nut Butter and Chicken & Spinach Bites.
My four-legged friends absolutely adore Denzel's bites, particularly the two senior dogs, as they are small and have a soft texture and as an owner, I love that they are the perfect size for training. There are multiple threats in the packets, which are all plastic-free. Result!
Reviewed by Yours Commercial Content writer Arabella Horspool, and her three dogs.
Pros
- Plastic-free packaging - including the treat bags
- Six different festive flavours, which are all bite-sized
Cons
- A lot of extra packaging, but does maintain freshness
| Suitable for: | Dogs |
| Number of treats: | 24 treat bags (with multiple treats inside) |
| Ingredients: | 4 x Duck and Orange bites (8g)<br>4 x Christmas Lunch Bites (8g)<br>4 x Pigs in Blanket Bites (8g)<br>4 x Salmon & Banana Bites (8g)<br>4 x Turkey & Nut Butter Bites (8g)<br>4 x Chicken & Spinach Bites (8g) |
Best affordable dog Advent calendar
Pets at Homewww.petsathome.com
Your four-legged friend can count down to Christmas with this budget-friendly chocolate dog Advent calendar from Pets at Home. Behind each door is a "chocolate treat" and we love how they contain 30% less sugar and 15% less packaging than ever before.
Pros
- Soya free and low in lactose and sugar
- Packaging has been reduced by 15%
Cons
- No variety of treats
| Suitable for: | Puppies and adult dogs |
| Number of treats: | 24 |
| Ingredients: | Oils and Fats, Milk and Milk Derivatives, Various Sugars (27.2%), Derivatives of Vegetable Origin (Carob 5%) |
Best chocolate dog Advent calendar
Webbox/AmazonFor a cocoa-free alternative "chocolate" Advent calendar for dogs, check out this Webbox offering. It contains 24 carob treats that are grain-free and wheat-free, and they can be broken down into small pieces for smaller dogs.
However, it does contain sugar, which is not suitable for dogs, especially if given in high quantities.
Pros
- Free from cocoa (contains carob instead)
- Does not contain wheat or grains
Cons
- Contains some sugar
| Suitable for: | All life stages (3 months +) |
| Number of treats: | 24 |
| Ingredients: | Sugar, Non-Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Carob Powder (5%), <strong>Soya</strong>, <strong>Milk </strong>and Whey Solids (Contains <strong>Milk</strong>). |
Things to consider when buying a dog Advent calendar
An Advent calendar for dogs makes a wonderful Christmas gift for your pet, however, there are a few things you should bear in mind before making a decision:
Preferences - Just like humans, dogs have certain flavours, smells, toys etc. that they prefer, so look out for some of your pet's favourite brands when choosing an Advent calendar.
Allergies and sensitivities - Is your dog allergic to anything or do they have a bad stomach or perhaps a skin condition? If so, always check the labels to ensure your'e not giving you pup anything that could aggravate their body.
Number of treats - A calendar that has multiple Christmas dog treats behind one window can be beneficial for owners that have multiple dogs or one big dog, and you can spread them out throughout the day or use the treats for training.
Arabella Horspool is a Commercial Content Writer for Yours at Bauer Media. She's a bookworm who is passionate about TV, film and theatre. She enjoys cooking, scrapbooking, playing board games and spending time with her pet dogs, tortoise and chickens.