Christmas is a time for excitement, and with that comes chaos from our four legged friends – from breaking the baubles to stealing stockings and everything in between. That said, our mischievous mutts still deserve a treat throughout the festive season, and what better way to celebrate the Christmas countdown than with their very own advent calendar.
Advent calendars for dogs are becoming more and more popular with each year, and with so many to choose from, how are you supposed to know which one is the best for your pack of pooches?
Well, Phoebe and Frank have been sniffing out some of the best advent calendars available on the market in 2022, from budget buys to more luxurious canine calendars, ranging from £5-15. Some of the calendars are offering 24 days of delicious surprises, with others providing doors to open right the way up to Christmas Day, too.
Here are our top five advent calendars for dogs to fill your December mornings with festive fun. From meaty treats to biscuit bites, there’s something for every four-legged family member to enjoy this Christmas.
Pooch and Mutt
Price: £7.99
Doors: 24
Type of treat: Meaty
The Pooch and Mutt advent calendar has a festive blue design this year, with a sleigh full of goodies and canine characters with their names neatly written on gift tags. The design was created by little Eliza, inspired by her Schnauzer, Peggy, and selected by the Pooch and Mutt Instagram followers.
There are 24 doors on the calendar, taking your dog all the way up to the morning on Christmas eve. Each window contains, not one, but two tasty Turkey and Cranberry meaty treats, which are suitably seasonal in a limited edition star shape. This is a real bonus when you’ve got two dogs, but if you’re a solo dog home, they could have one in the morning, and one before bed!
The treats are packed with added goodness like collagen for healthy skin and coat, and probiotics for healthy digestion, as well as a sprinkling of seasonal cinnamon – a natural anti-inflammatory – for added festive cheer.
Made with no artificial flavours, colours or preservatives, these grain free treats are puppy friendly, and are also helping to raise money for charity. This year, Pooch and Mutt are working with Woodgreen Pets Charity, so for every advent calendar sold, Pooch and Mutt will donate a special Christmas dinner to the dogs in their care this festive season.
Buy the Pooch and Mutt advent calendar here.
Lily’s Kitchen
Price: £12
Doors: 24
Type of treat: biscuits
The Lily’s Kitchen Advent Calendar for dogs features a cute hand drawn illustration of a drummer boy pooch surrounded by yuletide treats like candy canes and festive rocking horses. I’m especially fond of the little drummer dog because we always ask Frank if he’s ‘drumming’ when his waggy tail bangs on the floor.
Behind each window, there’s a surprise of either a Lily’s Kitchen Rise and Shine biscuit, a Cheese and Apple Training Treat or the famous Bedtime Biscuits. The doors usually have more than one treat behind them, which is great when you have two dogs, and I really like the variety as each morning it’s a surprise what you’ll be opening. Lily’s Kitchen is particularly generous with the Cheese and Apple Training Treats, but it would be great to see them add the Breaktime Biscuits to the line up, too.
We always look forward to seeing the Lily’s Kitchen festive designs, so we were a little gutted to see that this year’s design is the same as their 2021 design – not to mention £2 more expensive – however we do appreciate that this is a more sustainable option, instead of throwing out unsold versions from last year.
For every advent calendar ordered from the Lily’s Kitchen website, the brand will donate 60p to Dogs Trust up to the sum of £25,400 in order to help dogs in need this Christmas.
You can shop the Lily’s Kitchen advent calendar here.
JR Pet Products
Price: £14.99
Doors: 25
Type of treats: Meaty
You can treat your dog to a delicious Christmas countdown with the JR Pet Products very festive Venison and Turkey advent calendar, featuring 100 per cent responsibly sourced pure meat. The calendar has a whopping 25 doors, taking you right up to Christmas day, with a big surprise behind the final window, to be opened on Christmas morning.
This calendar is hypoallergenic, and is said to contain more than 200 meaty treats, including JR’s Pure Venison and Turkey Meat Training Treats alternated for days 1 to 24. Then, on December 25, there’s a whole pack of Turkey sticks for the perfect Christmas Day gift, all beautifully wrapped up in a 100 per cent recyclable Christmas calendar outer.
All of the treats are made from prime cuts of meat, with no additives or preservatives. Grain and gluten free, they’re suitable for all dogs, no matter their breed or size, from as little as four weeks old.
Highly palatable and easily digestible, these treats are high in protein which aids muscle and tissue repair, and can be used for reward, training treats or for use with enrichment toys.
And speaking of enrichment, why not recycle the box into a fun snuffle game after Christmas is finished?
You can shop the £14.99 JR Advent Calendar here.
Scrumbles
Price – £5.50
How many doors? 24
Type of treats – Meaty and biscuits
The Scrumbles Dog Advent Calendar really gives your pet the best of both worlds, full of delicious natural dog treats that will get them excited during the Christmas countdown.
Each of the 24 doors holds a surprise treat that has functional benefits, including dental dog treats, calming treats and 100 per cent chicken meaty bites that taste great, are kind to tummies and the planet.
Using natural, grain free ingredients the 100 per cent meaty bites are made with air-dried British chicken, whilst the festive Turkey nibbles contain calming ingredients like lemon balm and chamomile. Meanwhile, Scrumbles have reinvented their Gnashers to help tackle your dogs dental care so that their pearly whites will be sparkly for the festive family photos.
We really like the packaging this year, where the design sees a canine Christmas party in full swing. It’s all eco friendly and fully recyclable, and I love that Scrumbles have thought about the benefits of each treat for your dog, too.
This is another really affordable option, with a mix of meat treats and biscuits – the only one in this list to offer both – for less than £6. And it’s suitable for dogs and puppies from three months old.
Shop the Scrumbles calendar online here.
Pets at Home
Price: £6.50
Doors: 25
Type of treats: Meaty
Another calendar featuring the full 25 days is this Christmas Meaty Advent Dog Calendar from Pets at Home, containing meaty chicken treats for every day of the month until December 25.
The advent calendar comes in a deep blue box featuring a wintery scene, with a dog in a festive scarf dashing through the snow towards a gingerbread style cabin.
Suitable for puppies over four months old, this calendar contains no added artificial flavours or colours, so you know exactly what your dog is chewing on over the whole festive season.
There are circular, square and star shaped treats behind each window, which is big enough to break in half for the Scamps to share, with a large chicken meaty bone treat to enjoy on Christmas day.
The calendar costs £6.50, but is also part of the retailer’s popular three for two festive offer, meaning you can pick up some extra festive goodies and save some cash, too. As well as the meaty calendar, Pets at Home also have a chocolate-style calendar, and one specifically for puppies. Alternatively, you could splurge £25 on the treats and toys advent calendar, which is a fun way to celebrate the season without a tonne of additional treats.
You can shop all of the Pets at Home advent calendars here.
