Get Well Gifts for Dog Lovers

For plenty of dog owners, the worst part of being out of action isn’t the boredom. It’s lying there knowing the dog needs a walk and not being able to take it — or leaning on a partner or a neighbor who is already stretched. Taking that off their plate is worth more than anything on this page, and it costs you time rather than money.

Offer something specific. “Let me know if you need anything” is kind, and almost never taken up, because it asks them to invent a job and then ask you to do it. “I can do the morning walk on Tuesdays and Thursdays for the next three weeks” gets a yes. Name the days, name the job, and name when it ends so it doesn’t feel like an open-ended debt.

Do it their way. Before you start, ask about the routine: the usual route, how much food and when, which treats are off-limits, what the dog does when it spots a squirrel, where the leash and bags live. Owners who can’t do the job themselves mostly worry about it being done differently, and asking these questions is half the reassurance.

Send a photo from every walk. This is the part people forget and the part they remember. A picture of the dog mid-sniff at the park, ten seconds of video of dinner being wolfed down — it costs nothing, and for someone stuck indoors it can be the best news of the day.

If you can’t do it yourself, cover someone who can. Offering to pay for a few visits from the walker or sitter they already trust is a generous, concrete gift, and it avoids handing their dog to a stranger. If a friend or neighbor ends up doing the walking, they deserve a thank-you too: our guides to gifts for dog walkers and thank-you gifts for dog sitters have practical picks for exactly that person.

Include the dog in the gift. A small present for the dog itself tells the owner that somebody is thinking about the dog too, which is often the message they most want to hear. The treat box above is the easy version — send it to the house, not the hospital, and check for treat allergies first — and our gifts for the dog itself guide has more presents the dog can simply enjoy without anyone having to set them up.

The same person needs different things depending on where they are, and it’s worth a quick text to a family member before you buy.

In the hospital. Space is tight, things get moved around, and every facility has its own rules. Before you send anything, check with the ward or read the facility’s visitor information — flowers, food, balloons and anything scented are the things to ask about specifically, because policies vary from place to place and even from ward to ward. Small and personal is the brief here: one of the books, a pair of socks, a card with a photo of the dog tucked inside. Whatever you send, they will have to carry it home again, so less is more.

About the dog visiting. If what they really want is to see their own dog, don’t promise it. Whether a pet can visit is entirely up to the facility, so ask the staff before anyone puts the dog in the car. In the meantime, a video call with the dog on the other end — whoever is looking after it holding the phone — is free and easy to arrange.

Recovering at home. This is often the longer stretch, and it’s where most of these picks earn their place. They’re on the couch or in bed for days or weeks, the dog is right there but they can’t take it out, and the novelty of daytime television wears off fast. The blanket and the pillow come into their own, the treat box goes straight to the dog, and an offer of walks goes from kind to essential. The pillow comes in several sizes and the bigger ones cost more; a smaller one is the easier size to tuck behind someone propped up in bed.

If you don’t know which stage they’re at, send the gift to their home address. It will be waiting when they get back, and nothing gets lost between wards.

Three of the seven picks are printed from a photo of their dog, and two things decide whether they land: when they arrive, and which picture you use.

Don’t make them wait for it. Hospital stays can be short and recoveries can be long, and the timing should follow that. The blanket is made to order, so order it ahead. For the pillow and the custom socks, check the listing’s production and delivery time before you order for a hospital stay.

Split it in two. If they’re only in for a few days, send something that doesn’t need to be made first — a card, the #WeRateDogs book, a pair of the funny socks — and have the personalized piece delivered to their home. A photo blanket turning up in the second week of a long recovery is arguably better timing than one that arrives on the day of the operation. If you’re truly short on time, our last-minute dog gifts guide sticks to picks with no personalization wait.

Get the photo without giving the game away. If you don’t have a good picture of their dog, ask their partner, a housemate or whoever is looking after the dog to text you one. For the custom socks you want a clear, head-on shot of the dog’s face; for the pillow and the blanket, choose a sharp, well-lit photo where the dog fills the frame.

Pick the everyday dog. The best photo is usually the one they’d recognize from across the room: the dog in its favorite spot on the couch, the ears-up face at the door. That is the dog they’re missing, and a recent picture of the dog as it is now tends to mean more than a staged portrait.

Check the name. The blanket carries the dog’s name as well as its portrait, so confirm the spelling with someone who knows. Printed, personalized items are usually non-returnable once they’re made. If the photo idea appeals but you want a different format, our custom dog photo gifts guide covers blankets, pillows, mugs, socks and canvas printed from the dog’s own picture.

Being laid up is boring in a particular way: there is plenty of time, but not always the focus for the things that would normally fill it. That is why the two books here are the least demanding kind of book there is — no plot to lose track of, nothing to remember between visits.

The Dogist Puppies is Elias Weiss Friedman’s 304-page hardcover of puppy photographs, following puppies from birth to their first birthday, grouped by theme and breed. It works for a reader and a non-reader alike, and it can be opened for two minutes between visitors. Two honest caveats: it’s a substantial hardcover, so it suits a lap or a tray table better than reading lying flat, and it’s puppies only — if their own dog is old or unwell, it can land wistful rather than cheerful. It was published in 2017, so a fan of The Dogist may already own it.

#WeRateDogs is the book of the @dog_rates account: dog photos with the account’s ratings and jokey captions, in a small, square 6×6-inch format you can open anywhere. It lands best with someone who already knows the account, and it’s a quick flip-through that will be finished in a sitting. That’s why it ranks as a companion rather than a main gift — tuck it in with a card or a pair of socks.

The socks are for the laugh. Custom socks printed all over with their own dog’s face are made to get a laugh and a photo, which is no small thing for someone having a dull week. The funny dog socks are the one-size, no-photo-needed version, and on their own they are a small gesture, so pair them with something. Don’t assume any novelty sock has grip soles: if they’ll be walking around on hard floors, check the listing.

If they’re a keen reader with the energy for something longer, our books for dog lovers guide matches ten books to different kinds of reader, and it says plainly which ones the dog dies in — worth checking before you pick a novel for someone who is already having a hard time.

For a get well gift, the card often does as much work as the present. A few lines that help, and a few that don’t.

Ask after the dog by name. “How is Biscuit coping without you?” is easier to answer than “How are you feeling?” and it lets them talk about something happy for a minute.

Pass on news from the dog. If you’re doing the walks, say so: “Took Biscuit out this morning. He inspected every lamppost on Elm Street and sends his regards.” It tells them the dog is fine, which is the thing they most want to hear. Signing it from the dog as well is allowed.

Leave out timelines and advice. Skip “you’ll be back on your feet in no time” — recoveries don’t always follow a schedule, and it can read as pressure. Skip treatment tips, diets and stories about someone else’s operation. “Thinking of you, and so is the dog” covers it.

Say no reply is needed. One line at the end — “no need to answer this” — takes the thank-you note off their list, which is a small gift in itself.

Flowers, food and candles, unless you’ve checked. In the hospital, the rules on these vary, so ask the ward first. At home, they may be on a restricted diet or simply not hungry, so ask before sending food, and a strong scent is a gamble on anyone’s taste at the best of times.

Anything that needs setting up. Gadgets, kits, thousand-piece puzzles. They make fine presents for later and a chore right now.

Dog gear that needs fitting or supervising. A new harness to adjust, a toy that can’t be left with the dog, a feeder that needs programming — each one hands a job to whoever is already covering the dog. A box of treats doesn’t.

Novels where the dog dies. Some of the best-loved dog books end badly for the dog. They can wait until they’re feeling better, if they want them at all.

Anything that tells them how to get better. Recovery books, supplements, fitness gadgets. They have a medical team for that, and a gift with an agenda reads as one. Stick to things that bring the dog closer or make the days pass more easily.