Dog Stocking Stuffers: Freeze-Dried Treats, Toys and Small Gifts

Update: the stocking itself is now ours too. Matching Dog and Person Christmas Stockings, custom printed with a name, sold by the piece; sold out today and back for the holidays.

Dog stocking stuffers come down to one rule: it has to fit in the sock. If you are wondering which treats to put in a pet stocking this year, here is what goes in Ella's: single-ingredient freeze-dried treats from our kitchen in Malvern, Pennsylvania, a holiday tug from American Dog, and a sticker for the person holding the leash. Freeze-dried treats are shelf-stable, they do not melt next to the fireplace, and a bag slides straight into the toe. Everything below lives in our Christmas dog treats collection, so you can shop the whole stocking in one pass.

For the countdown itself, the 12 Days of Sniffmas dog advent calendar holds twelve different freeze-dried treats, one door a day from December 13 to Christmas Eve. Pre-orders open October 1 and boxes ship December 1.

If you would rather hand over one box, the Build Your Own Dog Gift Box lets you pick three or five treats with gift wrap and a printed card, and the Filled Dog Christmas Stocking comes packed two ways. Everything for the season is on the Christmas page.

The Short Answer

Ella is our tester, and her stocking has looked the same for three Decembers. A bag of cheddar bites in the toe. A bag of beef liver above it, because liver is the reward she will do anything for. A crinkle toy folded at the top so something peeks out. And a Sniff and Shift sticker tucked in the side for Asher, because the dog cannot read.

That is the template. The rest of this guide is the parts list, with links to each product so you can check ingredients and sizes yourself.

Treats That Fit a Stocking

Every treat here is freeze-dried in small batches in our Chester County kitchen, and each bag lists one ingredient. Our freeze-dried dog treats collection has the single bags; the sets below come from our bundles collection and are the ones we reach for when there is more than one stocking to fill.

• Cheddar Bites 3-Pack. Three bags of freeze-dried cheddar cheese. Cheddar crumbles into pea-sized pieces, which makes it the easy reward for a dog that has to sit still through gift opening. Three bags, three stockings.
• Beef Liver 3-Pack. Three bags of freeze-dried beef liver, your choice of 3 ounce or 6 ounce bags. Liver is the jackpot treat in our house. The 3 ounce bag is the one that fits a stocking.
• Cheddar & Beef Liver Duo. One bag of cheddar and one bag of liver, in 3 ounce or 6 ounce sizes. The everyday reward and the jackpot in one box, for the one-dog household.
• Pup-Ornaut Trio. Freeze-dried dog ice cream in all three flavors: Banana & Peanut Butter, Pumpkin & Apple, and Blueberry. No freezer, no drip, and it does not melt in a warm living room.
• Exotic Collection Box. Frog legs, baby octopus, scallops and a bag of 18 whole quail eggs, each freeze-dried as a single ingredient. This is the stocking for the dog that has tried everything.
• Beef Trio. Beef liver, beef tripe and beef heart, three organs off the same animal with three different textures. Tripe has a barnyard smell that dogs love and people do not, so this is the one to leave sealed until it is opened outdoors.

The Gift That Keeps Coming

A stocking empties by New Year's Day. Modified Monthly does not. It is our custom treat subscription box: each month we hand-select an assortment of freeze-dried proteins and limited-run flavors, matched to the dog's preferences and diet. Print the confirmation, fold it, and drop it in the stocking. The first box shows up in January, right when the holiday treats run out.

Small Toys for the Top of the Sock

We carry American Dog's holiday line through Shopify Collective. Every toy below ships separately from American Dog, so plan on a second box arriving. These are the four that fold or flatten enough to sit at the top of a stocking with the head sticking out.

• Fire Hose Santa Tug Toy. A Santa built from fire hose with a tug loop on the back. He stands 12.5 inches tall, his head crinkles and his body holds a squeaker. American Dog lists him for medium to large dogs. He floats, which stretches the season well past the tree coming down. Ships separately from American Dog.
• Candy Cane Squeaker Dog Toy. An 11.5 inch candy cane with a Cordura face and a fleece back, so there is a tough side and a soft side. It squeaks, it floats, and the hook at the top gives a dog something to grab. Ships separately from American Dog.
• Gingy Gingerbread Crinkle Dog Toy. A flat gingerbread man, 11 inches by 9 inches, that crinkles instead of squeaking. American Dog builds it as a carry-around toy for gentle players rather than a chew toy. Ella parades it through the house. Ships separately from American Dog.
• Lucky Dog Holiday Stockings Dog Toy. A stocking-shaped fetch and tug toy in red or green, 10 inches by 5 inches, sewn from ballistic fabric. No squeaker, just crinkle. A stocking inside a stocking is the kind of joke that lands with dog people. Ships separately from American Dog.

For the Human End of the Stocking

Dog people are car people around here, and the small stuff below ships from our kitchen in the same box as the treats.

• Sniff and Shift Circle Sticker. Three inches of matte vinyl, die-cut to the logo. It goes on the toolbox lid first and the laptop second.
• Ella in the Camaro Die-Cut Sticker. Just Ella and the red car, contour cut with no text or border. Weatherproof vinyl, three inches on the long side. If you know, you know.
• Sniff and Shift Logo Magnet. A 4 inch circle for the roll-away cabinet or the fridge, with a UV-resistant print and a backing strong enough to stay put on a rolling toolbox.
• Tire Stack Poop Bag Holder. A stack of four race tires, 3D-printed one at a time in our shop. The top tire screws off, the bags feed out of the sidewall, and it clips to any leash. It comes pre-loaded with a roll of strawberry-scented bags. This is the stocking stuffer that gets used every single walk.

A Note for the Cat's Stocking

If there is a cat in the house watching all of this, our locally made cat treats come out of the same freeze-dryer and fit the same size sock. Keep the two stockings on different hooks. Ella has opinions about sharing.

Shipping, Plainly

Treats and merch from our kitchen ship within one business day. Shipping is free on orders over $50. Partner items such as the American Dog toys ship separately from the partner, so if a stocking has a treat and a tug in it, expect two boxes. We will post carrier holiday cutoff dates once they are published; until then, ordering early is the only advice we give.

More Gift Ideas

For the person who wants the whole spread instead of just the sock, start with the Christmas dog treats collection. If the recipient spends Saturdays at Cars & Coffee with a dog riding shotgun, our gift guide for dog lovers who love cars goes bigger than a stocking. And if you are reading this in October, our Halloween dog treats guide covers what to hand out and what to keep away from the dog before the stockings go up.