Dog's Life

Unwrapping the fun

By Caren Baginski

For Captain, a playful Papillion, the best part of the holidays is not the presents or the treats. Along with spending extra time with Angela Aikens, it’s what those goodies are wrapped in that’s so exciting.

“He’ll get the bow off and that’s the toy for a little bit. Then, as soon as he tires of that, he’s got to go back and get the wrapping paper—play with that for a second—and then he realizes ‘Oh, there’s something in it!’ ” says the Knoxville, Tennessee resident. Captain and best friend Aikens celebrated their first holiday together last year, complete with wrapping paper for Captain’s chew toys, a stocking with his name on it, and a camera to capture all the special moments.

Whether you leave a corner undone or stash your dog’s presents in an accessible gift bag, unwrapping presents with your pal is sure to be the highlight of the holidays. And being creative with your gift-giving can leave a smile on your face to last until the New Year.

Aikens loves watching Captain discover which presents are his: the best-smelling ones with the treats inside. After he sniffs them out, he eagerly sets to work pawing at the paper and ribbon. “Everything is a present to him,” Aikens laughs. “He likes the entire packaging of the present.” Captain stockpiles each of his goodies in a corner before returning to his friend for another wrapped treat.

Playing games with your best friend makes exchanging gifts twice the fun. Each year, Loveland, Ohio resident Ken Close buys Holly, his Golden Retriever, several identical stuffed ducks, because Holly will squeak them for days after she unwraps them. But the present doesn’t end there. While she’s waiting, he holds the duck, and will “squawk it, hide it, and let her find it.” To make the game extra challenging, Close usually goes into another room and hides the duck behind a chair or table, but Holly finds it every time. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving,” he jokes.

For friends who can’t wait to open their presents together, camouflaging adds to the anticipation. Connie Thomas of Youngsville, Louisiana, wraps her pal Maggie’s toys to match the rest of the presents and hides them “at the bottom of the pile so that she can’t sniff it out” before it’s time to exchange gifts. To reward Maggie’s patience, Thomas makes sure that her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel opens her soft, chewy toys first.

Looking for more ways to unwrap the holiday spirit? Remember, it’s better to give than to receive! As for Close and his Golden Retriever, they give presents to Close’s grandchildren, usually in the form of little stocking stuffers. “I put her name on it along with Rudolph, Santa and the elves,” he says. For Aikens and Captain, holiday cards signed by both are the gift of choice.

Or, start a tradition like Gina McNew did with her best friend Sydney, a Boxer. In their Kennesaw, Georgia, neighborhood, McNew and Sydney spread holiday cheer with a “Santa Paws” anonymous gift exchange for their friends. The duo dropped off treat baskets, chew toys, and balls to three doorsteps, along with a special holiday poem and instructions for neighbors to do the same to pets who hadn’t yet been “pawed.”

“No one knows it was us, and we look forward to doing it again this year,” McNew says. “It was truly the most wonderful thing that we have shared.”