In a country house the dog is rarely an afterthought at Christmas. He has his own place by the fire, his own stocking if the children have anything to do with it, and usually a better bed than the guests. If you are buying for someone whose life revolves around a dog, the kindest present is often one for the dog itself, chosen so that it suits the house as well as the animal.
This guide covers both: things for the dog, and things for the person who walks it twice a day in all weathers. Everything below is in stock at the time of writing, and you will find the full range in our dog collection.
A matching set
The most satisfying dog present we know is a set that matches: a collar, a lead and a bed in the same cloth, so that the dog looks as though he belongs to the room. We keep two.
The Lincoln set is in tweed. It includes the Lincoln tweed and leather collar, the matching lead, and three beds: the bolster bed for dogs who like to lean against something, the pillow bed for dogs who sprawl, and the donut bed for dogs who curl up tight. Tweed is a sensible cloth for a dog bed. It is hard-wearing, it does not show every muddy paw, and it looks at home in a boot room or a sitting room. We wrote about where the cloth comes from in our piece on tweed.
The Balmoral set is in herringbone, a quieter pattern that suits a plainer room. It includes the Balmoral herringbone collar, the matching lead, the flat pillow bed and the reversible dog blanket.
You do not have to buy the whole set at once. A collar and lead make a good first present, and the bed can follow on a birthday. If you are unsure which shape of bed to choose, our guide to choosing a dog bed explains how to measure the dog and which shapes suit which sleepers.
Collars and leads on their own
If you would rather keep it simple, a good collar is a present a dog will wear every day. The Foxbury plaid tweed collar, at £12.99, is the easiest way in. For an owner who prefers to avoid leather, the vegan leads come in brown and oxblood.
Getting the fit right matters more than the look. You should be able to slide two fingers under a collar comfortably, and a lead should be long enough to give the dog some freedom on a footpath without letting him reach the road. Our guide to choosing a dog lead and collar covers sizing in more detail. If you are buying for someone else's dog, ask the owner for the neck measurement on some pretext, or borrow the old collar and measure it.
For warmth
Not every dog needs a coat. Thick-coated breeds generally manage perfectly well, though older dogs, thin-coated breeds and very small dogs often feel the cold on a long winter walk. Our piece asking does my dog need a coat goes through the signs to look for.
If the answer is yes, the quilted dog coat in khaki tweed is a good-looking choice that will not look out of place next to a waxed jacket. For indoors, a blanket is the most useful present of all. The sherpa fleece dog blanket is soft and warm, and can go on the sofa, in the car or in the bottom of a crate. Many owners keep one in each place.
For pampering
Some dogs are spoiled and some owners like it that way. The handmade dog pampering gift set, at £25, is the present for them. It arrives ready to give, which saves you wrapping something awkward on Christmas Eve.
The springer spaniel bowl is a lovely thing for an owner of that breed, and a good reminder that a dog's everyday things can be as well chosen as the rest of the kitchen. Do check the product page for dispatch times before ordering close to Christmas.
For the person on the other end of the lead
Dog owners spend more time outdoors in winter than almost anyone else. They are out at seven in the morning and again after dark, in rain that would keep anyone else indoors. Presents that make those walks more pleasant are always welcome.
The sage green dog walking bag holds treats, bags and keys in one place, so pockets stop filling up with crumbs. The insulated flask and mug, at £34.99 in black or green, means a hot drink at the halfway stile. And a pair of racing green bamboo boot socks, at £17.95, makes a good stocking filler for anyone who lives in wellingtons from October to April.
For more ideas, the gifts for the country walker collection gathers everything for the walk itself.
A dog-friendly Christmas
A few practical thoughts for the day itself. Christmas food is full of things dogs should not eat, and visitors who do not own dogs may not know that. It is worth telling guests plainly which scraps are off limits before lunch rather than after. Wrapping paper, ribbon and tree decorations are also worth keeping out of reach of a curious puppy.
Give the dog somewhere quiet to retreat to. A full house is tiring for an animal used to a calm routine, and a bed in a corner away from the noise, ideally one he already knows, will make the day easier for everyone. This is another argument for a good bed: it becomes the dog's place, and he will take himself off to it when he has had enough.
Keep the Boxing Day walk. Even on the busiest week of the year, a dog needs his exercise, and a long walk on Boxing Day is one of the better traditions of the season for people as well. If you will be walking somewhere new over the holidays, our guide to the countryside code with dogs is a useful refresher on livestock, leads and gates. And if you are planning a weekend away in the new year, our piece on six Cotswold villages is a good starting point.
A note on ordering
Many of our pieces are sent straight from the maker, so an order with several items may arrive in more than one parcel. Each product page gives a dispatch time where the maker states one. If a present needs to arrive by a particular date, order early. If anything is wrong when it arrives, our refund policy explains how we put it right.
For the rest of the family, our guides to Christmas gifts for him and Christmas gifts for her follow the same approach.