Personalized Items

As mentioned earlier, spoiling your dog need only take the form of sincere public displays of admiration (and some hugs and kisses too!). Short of walking around with a sandwich board strapped to your shoulders that proudly displays a picture of your pet, there are other ways you can show your appreciation for your dog that don’t involve two pieces of wood and a couple of straps!

T-shirts

Personalized t-shirts have been around for years. The majority you see will have some proclamation such as #1Dad or I Love My Grandkids accompanied by the t-shirt givers’ pictures. And because this type of personalization has become so popular, label companies have started making iron-on transfers that you can use at home! You can either buy a box or, better yet (and less expensive) you can go to a large-scale photocopy place and buy one off of them.

In fact, it is better to go to a professional as they will be practiced in the art of placing an image on the transfer sheet. Once you have taken your dog’s picture to the copy shop and had it printed on the transfer, bring the sheet home and using a hot iron, place the transfer on a cotton t-shirt and iron away. Remove the sheet and you will find your dog staring right back at you.

Mugs

Unfortunately this is not a project you can do at home. But, fortunately, this is something that can be done fast and cheap at your local mall. Many malls have kiosks where they will transfer an image onto a mug of your choosing. All you have to do is take them a photo, choose the mug color and wait for the final product. This mug can then be taken and placed with pride in the office kitchen where everyone will see it and admire your four-legged friend.

Birthday Pressies

While you may not know your dog’s actual birthday, you can always consider the day you brought her home as her birthday. And as long as she has a birthday, doesn’t she deserve a birthday celebration…with gifts? With dog birthday parties increasing in popularity, it goes to figure that dog birthday gifts would follow suit. As with the festive gifts, birthday presents can be as simple as a new chew toy to something more substantial such as a dog bed. Whatever you end up getting for your best four-legged friend, it will be much appreciated and the love behind the gift it will be reciprocated ten-fold.

To My One True Love

When you love someone, you want to tell them, right? Whether it is your best friend or your cousin, your Mom or your brother, there is a card out there that will express your feelings for the recipient. The gesture of love expressed by giving a card should not exclude your dog. It may feel odd to put affectionate thoughts onto paper for someone that can’t read but then again, when giving a card to your dog, you are not only the author but the orator as well. Write the card in the morning, leave it on the counter until you get home from work and then, with a surprised voice, announce to your dog that he has received a card. Sit on the ground with him, wrap an arm around his shoulders and read the card to him in an animated voice. Before the words “with love, your master” leave your mouth, your dog will be wagging his tail and giving you kisses from the sentiment (ok, and the excitement in your voice helps a lot).

From the Dog

On the flip side, maybe your dog would like to express her feelings with more than a tail wag. The greeting card industry has marketed this idea by creating many different occasion cards from the dog. You can always go out and get one of these or make your own by taking a piece of cardboard, folding it into a card, gluing a fabulous picture dog picture on the front and writing a special message from the pooch. I am partial to the latter idea as it is less expensive and more personal. And you can use these cards for all occasions. Make a batch and send them out during the festive season. Use a Valentine’s Day theme and hand them out to your dog’s pals at the dog park. The possibilities are endless and the recipients’ gratitude will make the gluey fingers worth it!