Pet ownership in the United States is on the rise. A recent survey by the American Veterinary Medical Association indicates that four in ten (43 million) U.S. households own at least one dog, and three in ten (37.5 million) households own at least one cat. This increase in pet ownership reflects more people realize pets can truly enrich their lives. Pets not only provide companionship, unconditional love and affection, research now shows they also provide significant health benefits. Pets can help to reduce stress, relieve loneliness and depression. Moreover, pets can provide opportunities for exercise, outdoor activities, and socializaton. Published scientific studies show that pets can decrease their owner's blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and feelings of loneliness. Older people who have pets tend to have better physical and mental health than those who don't.



In parallel to the increase in pet ownership, gift-giving to pets continues to rise. A recent survey shows eight out of ten dog owners buy dog gifts and 63 percent of cat owners purchase gifts for the family feline. Moreover, the gifts are not just purchased at Christmas, but also for birthdays, Easter, Halloween, Valentine's Day, or for no special occasion. This article reviews some popular dog gifts and cat gifts available online.

Popular dog gifts include natural dog treats, dog gift basket, gift tower, and care package. The natural dog treats are bone-shaped biscuits that come in one pound gift bag and in three different flavors: peanut, carob chip and oatmeal cinnamon. These crunchy delicious treats will be received by your pet dog with excessive tail wagging and plenty of kisses. These inexpensive dog treats are ideal gifts for dog lovers.

Another popular gift, the dog gift basket, consists of a chrome bone shaped wire basket filled with a chew toy, a package of chewy treats and special dog biscuit mix that the dog owner will bake. Dog biscuit mix comes with simple instructions and a bone shaped cookie cutter to cut out and bake the biscuits. Anyone feeding these treats to the dog can look forward to plenty of wet kisses from that pampered pet.

The dog gift tower consists of a set of adorable boxes stacked on top of one another and make great storage for doggie's toys later. Every box is filled with pleasant surprises, including doggie shampoo, plaster dog print kit, doggie chew ball, 2 doggie chew toy, washing mitt or brush, a paw print box filled with beef flavored dog bones, and an 8" playful puppy toy. This gift will delight your favorite pooch or pooch lover.

Another fantastic gift to spoil the dog in your life or its owner is a pet care package designed specifically for the dog lover. This adorable dog paw print gift box comes filled with doggie ball, doggie chew toy, doggie shampoo, plaster dog print kit, doggie washing mitt or brush, and a paw print box filled with beef flavored dog bones treats.

Popular cat gifts include cat gift box and cat gift basket. The house shaped cat gift box is full of treats for a good kitty. It includes over a cup of tuna flavored snacks and a mouse play toy. These cat snacks are low fat and low calorie, so you don't have to worry about the cat's weight. It is a perfect gift for any friend or family member who has a cat.

The cat gift basket consists of a chrome cat-shaped wire container as a keepsake. It is filled with a seed mixture of herbs and cat grasses to grow in any sunny place, a cat toy, and a bag of kitty treats mix that the cat owner will bake after cutting out with a metal fish-shaped cookie cutter. All the cat owner needs is a bowl, water and an oven to make these treats. This gift basket is sure to pamper any feline.

In conclsuion, gift-giving to pet dogs and cats is on the rise, probably as a result of increasing pet ownership, and scientific confirmation on the benefits of pet ownership. Great selections of dog gifts and cat gifts are available. These gifts are not only ideal for showing your affection to your pets, but also make great dog lover gifts or cat lover gifts.