Christmas Dog Treats: Freeze-Dried Gift Packs and Seasonal Pieces

Christmas dog treats from our kitchen are the same single ingredient freeze-dried treats we make all year, packed as 3-packs, a duo and a trio for gifting. Two seasonal pieces, a tree-shaped yogurt ice cream and a cocoa mix, are the exceptions, and both contain dairy.

This page covers what is in each pack, which dog it suits and how the pieces break. It also covers how to introduce something new, and what to keep off the dog's plate on the day itself. We are car people who ended up making dog treats in Malvern, Pennsylvania, so the descriptions are plain.

What counts as Christmas dog treats

Nothing in the gift packs is holiday flavored. The gift is the grouping: three bags of one treat, or two treats side by side, or three organs from the same animal. Each bag is the single ingredient treat we sell the rest of the year, freeze-dried raw in small batches in Pennsylvania, with nothing sprayed on and nothing added.

The two seasonal pieces are different. They are made from yogurt, so they are not single ingredient, and we say so here. The packs are listed together in our Christmas collection, and the rest of the season sits on our Christmas page.

The gift packs

All four are freeze-dried, and every bag holds one ingredient. Prices are as listed on each page.

• Cheddar Bites 3-Pack: three bags of freeze-dried cheddar cheese, $40.50. Cheddar crumbles into pea-sized rewards. It contains dairy.
• Beef Liver 3-Pack: three bags of freeze-dried beef liver, all the same size, 3 ounces ($54) or 6 ounces ($67.50).
• Cheddar & Beef Liver Duo: one bag of each, with the liver in 3 ounces ($31.50) or 6 ounces ($36). It contains dairy.
• Beef Trio: Liver, Tripe & Heart: liver 3 ounces, tripe 2 ounces and heart 3 ounces, $54.

Which pack for which dog

For a house that trains, the cheddar 3-pack is the workhorse. A session can run sixty repetitions, and a pea-sized crumble keeps the bag going. It suits multi-dog homes and anyone running several sessions a day.

The duo splits the job in two. Cheddar pays for the routine repetitions and liver is the jackpot, the one reward that has to land. A session that pays the same thing every time stops teaching after a while, so a second tier keeps the top one meaningful.

For a big dog or several dogs, the liver 3-pack is the one that disappears fastest. Liver is dense and crumbly, and it is the strongest smelling of the three in the trio. It breaks into small pieces cleanly, so one bag stretches further than its weight suggests. A large dog can have bigger pieces, and for a small dog you break each one down further.

The trio is for the dog that shrugs. Liver, tripe and heart come off the same animal and are completely different in texture and smell. Green tripe carries a barnyard funk that most people dislike and most dogs do not. Heart is lean muscle meat, chewier and the mildest of the three. If your dog has never had an organ treat, heart is the easy place to start, and it is also sold as a single bag in freeze-dried beef heart. It comes in 1.5, 3 and 6 ounces, snaps into small pieces and has a firm texture.

The two seasonal pieces

The Christmas Tree Pup-Ornaut ice cream is plain Greek yogurt tinted green with a pinch of spirulina powder, freeze-dried into small tree shapes in a 1 ounce bag. That is the full ingredient list. The trees are light and crunchy, and brittle by nature, so a chipped tip here and there in the bag is expected. It is the holiday edition of the Pup-Ornaut we make all year.

Pup Cocoa, our cocoa mix for dogs, is goat milk powder, carob powder and freeze-dried Greek yogurt bits, in a pack of 4 sachets. There is no chocolate in it. Carob is the stand-in. To make a cup, stir one sachet into half a cup of warm water, not hot, and let it cool to room temperature before serving. It is an occasional treat, not a daily one.

Both of these are described as they are made, with no promise about stock. Check the product page for whether a bag is available.

Chocolate and the holiday table

Chocolate stays on the people side of the table. Skip it, in any form, including the cookies and the candy dish that sit low on the coffee table. The same goes for anything off the dessert tray. A plain piece from your own plate is a different matter, and a treat made for dogs is the easier answer when people keep asking what the dog can have.

If you are putting together a stocking, our dog stocking stuffers guide goes through what fits. For the person who is shopping for a dog owner rather than a dog, there is a separate piece on Christmas gifts for dog owners.

Introducing a new treat

Give one piece, plain, on a day when nothing else new is going on. Then wait a day. If everything looks normal, go up a little the next time. A holiday week has enough going on already, with visitors and a changed routine, so do not make the first taste of cheddar or tripe the same day as the roast.

A common rule is to keep all treats together near 10 percent of what a dog eats in a day. The dairy pieces deserve extra care. Dairy sits differently with every dog, so start small. If your dog is on a special diet, ask your veterinarian before adding anything new.

Storage

Reseal the bag after opening and store it cool and dry. Freeze-dried treats are shelf stable, so there is no need for the refrigerator or a cooler. Keep a bag away from the sink and away from steam, since moisture is what turns a crisp piece soft. The yogurt trees are the most brittle, so handle them gently.

Questions

What are the best treats to put in a dog's stocking?

Small bags and small pieces fit. The tree-shaped yogurt ice cream is listed as fitting a dog Christmas stocking, and a single bag of liver, cheddar or heart works as well. Our stocking guide has the longer list.

Are all of your Christmas treats single ingredient?

The gift packs are. Each bag holds one ingredient: cheddar cheese, beef liver, beef tripe or beef heart. The tree-shaped ice cream and the cocoa mix are made from yogurt and goat milk powder, so they are not.

Which of the packs contain dairy?

The Cheddar Bites 3-Pack and the Cheddar & Beef Liver Duo contain dairy and are not for dogs with a known dairy sensitivity. The seasonal ice cream and the cocoa mix contain dairy too. The liver 3-pack and the beef trio are beef only.

Can dogs have chocolate at Christmas?

Skip it. Our cocoa mix for dogs uses carob and has no chocolate in it, and a bag of plain freeze-dried treats is the easier answer.

How many treats can a dog have in a day?

Keep all treats together near 10 percent of the day's food. Break the pieces small, especially for a small dog, and a bag goes a long way.

Where are these made?

In small batches in Pennsylvania by Sniff & Shift LLC. The seasonal pieces and the beef heart are made in Malvern.