95 percent of pet owners will buy their fur-babies a present for the holidays, and many will spend more than $70. But is it worth it?
The Automatic Fetch Machine
Sonja Yoerg, an animal behaviorist, says that if your pet plays with their gift, they like it. For something like a ball-tossing machine, your dog won’t know what it is at first so they may seem uninterested. However, as soon as you show them how to drop the ball in and that it spits it back out, you’ll know pretty quickly if they’re excited. Don’t worry, your pet will never understand what a lazy owner you are.
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That Dog Sweater
“I doubt there’s a dog that loves to be dressed,” says Yoerg. At best, your dog or cat may tolerate a hat, sweater or those silly antlers in the same way they grow used to a collar, but they don’t like them. This goes double for cats, who probably won’t even tolerate them.
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The Classic Hamster Ball
Maybe your rodent likes his hamster ball, or maybe it’s a claustrophobic plastic prison where he must dodge the feet of his owner until getting lost under the couch. To be sure of his fondness for it, Yoerg says to place it near your hamster and see if he puts himself inside. If he does, he loves it–if he runs away, well you should have bought him a gift card.
Photo by Ricky Kharawala on Unsplash
A Dog Selfie Stick
While you may think a selfie stick with a tennis ball attached is a great pet gift, Yoerg says, “It’s only about getting the dog to look toward the lens, so it’s purely something for the human. It’s not a gift for the dog at all.”
Photo by Jay Wennington on Unsplash
At the end of the day, if your pet is interacting with the present then it’s pretty safe to say that they like their gift.
