Fido’s Favorite Christmas Treats

Fa La La La Food for Fido

Posted by Jessica Roberts

Santa Paws is coming to town, so it’s time to make room for some festive Christmas delicacies. Nothing brings the family together like a delicious holiday treat, and your pup can join in the tradition with these dog-friendly Christmas foods that are all nice and never naughty.

A Holiday Feast

Photo by BringFido

While you’re enjoying a hearty home-cooked holiday feast Fido can satisfy his savory cravings with one of his own. Yummy seasonal Holiday Feast treats by Bocce's Bakery are soft, "B"-shaped chewy cookies made with premium, nitrate-free turkey along with pumpkin and cranberry. Some of the bakery's other holiday flavors include Reindeer Fuel, Nutcracker Crunch and Lumps of Coal (because even naughty pups still deserve treats.)

Puppermint

"We're working on 'bowl full of jelly' bellies." Photo by @thedapple_

Santa isn’t the only one who should receive cookies at Christmas. Your holiday-loving hound will be thrilled to receive Three Dog Bakery’s Puppermint Lick’n Crunch under the tree. These delicious cookies with carob and peppermint cream filling are sure to get his tail wagging. Although dogs can’t enjoy peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint extract is actually a safe ingredient in dog treats. These Good 'n' Fun Holiday Mint & Chicken Mini Bones taste delicious (we'll take Fido's word for it) and help freshen dog breath. If your pooch prefers the idea of peppermint more than the taste try More and Merrier Mini Peanut Butter Candy Canes instead.

Christmas Cookies for Fido

Photo by Erin Ballinger

Deck the paws and whip up a batch, or 10, of these healthy and homemade Christmas dog cookies. These BringFido original recipes make great stocking stuffers, gifts for friends at the dog park, or additions to your pup’s “pawliday” feast. Best of all, they’re healthy and fun to make (with canine supervision, of course). Will you and your furry helper be making Gingerbread Mailmen, “Howliday” Sugar Cookies, Blue(berry) Christmas Pup Pies, or all three?

Deck the Dogs with Boughs of Cranberries

Must boop the snoot. Photo by @4capedogs

From Thanksgiving to Christmas, cranberry is a staple item for decorating and baking. The bright red berries ripen in the fall and are not only beautiful adorning a Douglas Fir and delicious in jelly form, but healthy too. Fresh, cooked and dried cranberries are all safe for Fido to consume in small quantities, but the fruit's tartness might be tough for Fido to enjoy on its own. Try Grandma Lucy's Organic Cranberry Oven Baked Dog Treats instead. These festive canine cookies are loaded with organic, human-grade ingredients and are packed full of flavor.

Carrots Aren't Just for Reindeer

"You get the milk and cookies, I get the carrots." Photo by iStock/Sonja Rachbauer

Don't tell Santa’s reindeer, but they’re going to have to share some of their favorite snacks with Fido this year. Raw and cooked carrots are healthy options for dogs and make a nutritious add-in to meals. Have some Lord Jameson Carrot Pops Vegan Dog Treats ready for all the four-legged pets, whether they're pulling a sleigh or snuggling on the couch this Christmas.

Holiday Leftovers

Photo by Facebook.com/lazydogcookies

After all the family gatherings and cookie exchanges, you’ll have plenty of human leftovers to enjoy in the coming days, and Fido shouldn’t have to return to his usual kibble either. Let him savor the holiday flavors a bit longer with The Lazy Dog Cookie Co.’s Leftover Turkey Sandwich treats, made with wholesome ingredients like rolled oats, honey and sweet potato. Or, snack all winter long on seasonal treats like Barkworthies Snowy Sleigh Snacks, Exclusively Dog Vanilla Snowballs, or Old Mother Hubbard Winter Fun P-Nuttier Biscuits.

Gingerbread Doghouses

"But I don't fit in there." Photo by @apollotheauss

If the smell of warm gingerbread baking in your home makes Fido drool, he's in luck! Ginger, cinnamon and molasses, the ingredients that give gingerbread its classic flavor, are perfectly dog friendly in moderate portions. But if you’re making your own treats be sure your recipe omits nutmeg, which is toxic for pups. Grab a bag of Blue Dog Bakery Doggie Paws Gingerbread Treats, or spice up your pooch’s dental regimen with gingerbread-flavored Greenies.

Want to try your paw at this Christmas treat craft?

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups oat flour
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 3/4 cup applesauce
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350º F and line a cookie sheet with nonstick parchment paper.
  2. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients and stir well.
  3. In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients.
  4. Slowly fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
  5. The dough will be quite sticky. Roll dough out to a quarter-inch thickness on a well-floured work surface.
  6. Use a sharp knife to cut into desired dog house pieces and lay pieces an inch apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
  7. Bake 20-25 minutes. Then turn off the oven and allow the cookies to come to room temperature in the oven.

Once cookies are dry, use a frosting made of 6 oz cream cheese and 1 tbsp tapioca flour whisked together to "glue" the doghouse pieces. Decorate the house with Fido's favorite holiday treats, like Zuke's Mini Naturals Holiday Trees or Blue Buffalo Holiday Santa Snacks.

What will your dog nosh on this Christmas? Leave a comment or tweet us @BringFido!

Banner photo by @norman_basset.