Quick and Easy Pet Gift Basket

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You guys! I’ve got the cutest idea for you today! If you follow me on Instagram, then you probably know that we recently adopted our second dog. Adopting a new dog is both a super fun and exciting time. It got me thinking that it isn’t often something that we celebrate with each other, so whether you know someone who has adopted a dog or you just want a great gift for your own pet this holiday season, I’ve got a cute pet gift basket idea for you today.

My 2 daughters and I volunteered at a local no-kill shelter this summer. One day when we showed up for our shift to walk dogs, we came around the corner of one of the kennels and I saw her. A miniature dachshund. My 10-year-old has always wanted a dachshund. I knew I was in trouble. I didn’t really want a second dog. We had a bit of an advantage since we volunteered at the shelter. We were able to take her for a walk and then go back and spend some additional time with her. It was love at first sight for all 4 of us, myself, my daughters and Tootsie(as she was called at the shelter).

We went to add our name to the wait list as she wasn’t up for adoption yet. We were told that someone else was ahead of us in line. Devastated we left the shelter and waited. Almost a week later we got a call that the person in line in front of us had decided not to adopt her. Oh my goodness! We were so excited!

The whole family went to meet Tootsie. Again it was a great fit. Everyone liked her, even our Beagle who is pretty shy around other dogs. She liked everyone in our family. We learned that she wouldn’t even come out of the crate for the other person who was considering adopting her. It is interesting now that we have her home with us, she is a sweet dog but doesn’t seem to love that many other people. She loves everyone in our family. It is as though she was meant to find us and we were meant to find her. It kind of amazes me…even though that may sound dorky.

So, Tootsie came home. We have since named her Daisy. I’ve learned from my experience adopting dogs over the years, that dogs who come from a shelter often need help being potty trained. Our Beagle took FOREVER to potty train. Daisy has done fairly well but has had some big issues with her digestive system, so that has made for some lovely messes.

One of the first things that went into the cart when we went to the store to get all the supplies we needed for a second dog was STAINMASTER® Carpet Pet Stain Remover. I knew we would need it and we sure have. It is one of the first things I thought to add to the gift basket as well. Having the stain remover on hand means that I stress less when Daisy has accidents. I know it might sound dumb, but having things on hand helps me feel less stress and allows me to enjoy the fun of having a new pet along with my girls instead of just feeling stressed that she is ruining the house or the carpet or whatever.

To that end, I thought of some of those things when I put this pet gift basket together.

First up, I found a cute basket, and all the supplies for my gift basket, at Target. I thought this basket would be a perfect place to store all of the pets toys. When you are looking for something in which to put your pet gift basket, think in terms of a basket that can have a double use.

Make sure you use Cartwheel when you are shopping for your pet gifts. I found the STAINMASTER Carpet Pet Stain Remover on sale. You can snag your Cartwheel offer here. You can also click here to find Stainmaster Carpet Pet Stain Remover. It isn’t available at all stores but it is available on Target online or you can have it shipped for free to your local Target store.

Most dogs like to chew and often being in a new place and environment can add stress to them. Chewing can help them release that stress.

To make the rawhide chews just a touch more cute in the basket, I put mine in a simple treat bag(from the party section at the store) and tied a cute ribbon on them.

Cuteness!

See that cute notebook and pen? They may look like they totally don’t belong in a pet gift basket, but they totally do! We learned this time around that it is super helpful to keep a journal of when the pet you are potty training goes potty.

We were having issues with taking Daisy out and then she would come in and immediately go poop in the house. Uuggh! Thank goodness for the Stainmaster Carpet Pet Stain Remover! It has odor remove technology that not only eliminates the stain but the odor as well and leaves behind an invisible shield to repel dirt and protect against future re-soiling.

We found that by keeping a journal in a little notebook, we could learn when she usually went potty. It allowed us to keep her out longer at those times or make sure she went to the bathroom before she came back in the house.

To me, anyone with a new puppy or adopting a new pet that needs to be potty trained needs a little potty notebook and pen. 🙂

Of course, no pet gift basket would be complete without a couple of chew toys. I also added a cute fleece pet blanket to the gift basket.

Both of our dogs love chew toys and blankets. I think they are fairly safe bets for most dogs, but you can always include a gift receipt so that if your recipient doesn’t like those things they can find something their fur baby loves.

Daisy was ready to see what this gift basket was all about. We have been going to a basic dog manners class with her. I couldn’t believe how well she sat for me! Awww!

But of course, she was interested to see what was in the basket. I’m pretty sure she would prefer you to believe that we need the STAINMASTER Pet Carpet Cleaner for Ginger (our Beagle), not her.

She was super happy to eat her new frog toy.

For anyone who has heard of the philosophy of eating that frog….Daisy is doing great! 😉 Lol!

Ginger was happy to get in on the toy action. She usually de-fluffifies her toy within about 2 minutes. 🙂

Another tip for your pet gift basket, if the people you are giving the basket to have more than one pet, add a little something for each pet.

We couldn’t be happier to have added another dog to our house….even me, who never really wanted a second dog. She seems to have picked me as “her person.” I love it! I never knew a little fur baby could steal my heart so quickly and I never knew having a lap dog was so fun!

Creating my own pet gift basket just added to the fun of adding a new pet and in the future, I want to remember to do something like this for friends when they add a new fur baby to their family. It just adds to the fun.

Now I just need to figure out how to add a third pet food bin to my laundry room since Daisy is on special hypo-allergenic food for her digestive issues. I think I need to order another of the shoe bins I used and figure out how to fit it into the space.

What other items do you think need to be included in a pet gift basket? Leave me a comment below. I am sure there are tons of other great ideas! Can’t wait to hear them.

Don’t forget to snag your STAINMASTER Carpet Pet Stain Remover while the great Cartwheel deal is going on. It helps remove stubborn pet stains, too. Yay! I have a few of those that I need to work on.

Follow me on Instagram for me fun pics of our fur babies and family.