Dog Stocking Stuffers From a Freeze-Dried Kitchen
The stocking on our mantel gets heavier every December, mostly because Ella's half fills up before mine gets a single card in it. Dog stocking stuffers are easiest when they come from the same kitchen that makes our freeze-dried everyday treats, sized small enough to tuck into a toe and simple enough that we know exactly what is in the bag.
Filling the stocking
Our stocking routine is not complicated. A few single-ingredient bags go in first, then whatever toy she has been eyeing on the counter, then the stocking itself gets hung wherever there is room among the ones with our names on them.
We keep it to things she would eat or chew anyway. A stocking stuffer that sits in a drawer until March is not much of a gift, so we lean on treats she finishes the same week and toys that get used in the car on the way to a show.
Some years the stocking is the whole gift. Other years it is the small thing next to something bigger, the bag she gets into before anyone else is even awake. Either way, the stocking is the part of the morning that is just hers, and it goes fast.
What to bring
If you are filling a stocking for the first time, start with our own kitchen and build out from there. The full lineup lives in the Christmas treat collection, but three items cover most of what a stocking needs.
- Freeze-Dried Cheddar Cheese Dog Treats, single ingredient and freeze-dried in small batches, good for a stocking that needs to fit in one hand.
- Beef Liver 3-Pack, the same single-ingredient treat we hand Ella between stops at a car show.
- Filled Dog Christmas Stocking, already packed if you would rather skip the assembly this year.
None of these need refrigeration or extra steps once they arrive. Open the bag, drop a few in the stocking, and the rest goes in the same cabinet as the everyday treats, right where the rest of the kitchen keeps its own bags.
Bundles for the whole crew
When we are stuffing more than one stocking, a bundle saves us from buying five small bags separately. It is the same treats, just grouped for a household with more than one dog waiting by the mantel.
We started doing this after realizing that two dogs means two stockings, and two stockings means twice the shopping if you are not paying attention. A bundle takes that decision off the table.
For everything else under one page, from stockings to toys to the advent calendar, the holiday shop is where we point people who want to browse instead of scroll.
From the shop
Here is what we would actually put in a stocking this year, in the order we would buy it.
- Filled Dog Christmas Stocking, packed and ready to hang.
- Cheddar Bites 3-Pack, for the dog who finishes a bag in a weekend.
- Beef Liver 3-Pack, the plain option that works for picky eaters.
- 12 Days of Sniffmas Dog Treat Advent Calendar, if the stocking is not enough countdown on its own.
Where to go
Jingle Bell Run - Philadelphia, December 12, 2026, Philadelphia, PA, is a walk and run with room for dogs on leash if you want a reason to get the car out that weekend.
Jingle Bell Run - Pittsburgh, December 5, 2026, Pittsburgh, PA, is the same idea on the other side of the state, earlier in the month.
Neither one is far from a drive we would already be making, and Ella rides along for both kinds of trips, the ones with a finish line and the ones without.
For more dates near you, the dog friendly car events board stays updated through the season.
See also: Dog stocking stuffers: the full list.
Questions
How many treats fit in one stocking?
It depends on the stocking and the bag size, which is why we sell the stocking already filled if you would rather not measure it out yourself. A single bag of cheddar bites or beef liver usually leaves room for a small toy alongside it.
Can I mix treats and toys in the same stocking?
We do it every year. A bag of cheddar bites next to a chew toy is a normal Sniff and Shift stocking, no rule against it. The treats tend to disappear first, and the toy sticks around for the drive home from whatever we do that weekend.
Do the bundles work for more than one dog?
Yes, that is the point of them. A bundle is just our regular treats grouped together so a two or three dog household is not buying one bag at a time. It also makes wrapping simpler, since everything ships together.
However you fill the stocking this year, we would rather see the photo than take credit for the idea, so drop by /pages/explore and share how yours turned out.
