The best dog advent calendars for 2024, tested by GHI pets

Such is their popularity, it’s not easy to get your paws on one of Lily's advent calendars, so we recommend getting your order in early. Pups can enjoy a selection of treats made with delicious, natural ingredients, including turkey bites with cranberries, chicken bites with quinoa and ginger and chicken and beef bites with butternut squash and turmeric.

Monty the cocker spaniel, who loves his food and is a big fan of the brand's Bedtime Biscuits, gets a Lily's Kitchen calendar every year and he's never disappointed. In fact, he queues up for his snack every morning. We would have liked a bigger treat on 24 December, but that's the only quibble.

Six-month-old puppy, Bear, tested this one, which includes a cut-out cardboard ice rink and the ”rather loose” game of having your pup ”dip” for one of the 24 daily treat bags (instead of doors you open each day).

Bear’s owner liked that the cardboard is easy to recycle and the treat bags are biodegradable, while Bear enjoyed the dipping game and was a big fan of the all-natural, bite-sized snacks inside, which include Christmas Lunch Bites. Bear’s favourites? The Salmon & Banana bites went down a storm.

This large calendar mixes up the edible treats with cuddly toys, money-off vouchers and even a jaunty festive neckerchief. We liked that it keeps things interesting and isn’t all about the food, although the edible gifts come individually wrapped in cellophane, which doesn’t feel that planet-friendly.

Monty tried this one and was a fan of the plush coffee cup – he took it straight to his toy box (yes, he has a toy box). He also loved the pigs in blankets included – so much so, he was later spotted trying to pull the calendar off the table.

Note that the phone and gameboy are rawhide chews. We chose not to give them to Monty as he's an enthusiastic chewer.

If your pup is a cheddar lover, then treat them to this cheese fondue inspired calendar from Pooch & Mutt. Behind each door, you'll find a wedge-shaped, grain-free, soft treat flavoured with cheddar and other good stuff including turkey protein, lentils, pumpkin and probiotics for healthy digestion.

The treats are a little small but some windows have two in them as a nice festive surprise. One for the cheese fans.

This one does what it says on the box and comes filled with bite-sized meaty treats. We asked Marlowe, the five-year-old cockapoo, to try it out. Given that he has an advent calendar every year, he had high expectations and it’s fair to say this was a hit; he was found scraping at the calendar to try and get the treats out.

You get two tasty, meaty snacks in each window. Again, each is wrapped in a plastic bag, which didn’t feel the most eco-friendly, but Pets at Home says it uses 55% less packaging than the 2023 calendar.

There's something very fish about this advent calendar – in a good way. It's packed full of premium, 100% fishy treats containing all the good omega-3 nutrients and protein. Skipper's bestsellers are all there including fish skin cubes and salmon supremes.

The only drawback is the flaky fish treats can be hard to get out of the small windows, but we imagine your dog won't struggle to get every list bit if you let them!

If you want something you can bring out year after year that you can fill with treats you know they’ll love (particularly useful for pets with special dietary requirements), we suggest a DIY option, such as this quality felt calendar, which can be personalised with your furry friend’s name.

We liked the design of this one, which comes ready to be filled and hung around your home. It is long, so may be tricky to keep out of reach of hungry pups (we had to hide ours away!) and the pockets are quite tight, so you can't get a lot in them, but that's fine if you just want to pop one of their favourite baked biscuits in.

At the other end of the spectrum when it comes to DIY options is this traditional Fortnum's design. Made from wood, it features illustrations of lots of different dog breeds and touches of the famous Fortnum's blue dotted throughout.

It's obviously a pricey option and it comes unfilled, but if you've got the funds and you like the traditional design, it's one you can use and restock every Christmas.

This calendar comes filled with 24 carob and cheese-flavoured biscuits in the shape of bones. They're oven-baked and free from artificial flavours.

Note, the bones are quite large so they're good for bigger dogs or you can break them up for smaller dogs. They're not suitable for pups under 12 weeks though.

Our second option from Pooch & Mutt – this one delivers a dental stick a day (for 24 days), with four different flavours, including Cheese Fondue, Peanut Butter, Turkey & Hemp and Spirulina & Mint.

They come individually wrapped and are designed to keep their teeth and gums healthy, with ingredients to boost fibre and prevent plaque build-up. If only our own dental hygiene were this easy.

This wreath made up of 24 generously-sized bones (or dental sticks, if you prefer, for an extra £4) is an indulgent take on the standard advent calendar. You can also add a personalised message for your pup.

This is a great option for those who always feel a little disappointed by the small treats inside standard calendars; however, you'll need to hang it up high or, ideally, out of sight and mind for your dog, as we can imagine greedy pups will pester you endlessly to get their treat early!

All Scrumbles' food is made with 100% natural ingredients and are free from common allergens. They also use lots of veggies and fruits that are rich in nutrients.

You'll find two or three gluten-free treats behind each of the 24 windows in this calendar, minus any sugar or salt, but with added gut-friendly ingredients. For those who know and love the Scrumbles range, you'll be happy to know it contains the brand's popular Calming Turkey Nibbles, meaty Chicken Bites and Chicken & Duck Softies. A real crowd-pleaser at a good price.