Last Updated on December 15, 2021
Stella the dog also contributed to this post.
EDITOR’S NOTE: In December of 2021, Aldi voluntarily recalled this dog calendar over concerns of a choking risk. You can learn more here.
Every year, Aldi seems to add more Advent calendars to mark the days between December 1st and Christmas Day. In recent years, this has included calendars that bring holiday cheer to our furry friends. Rachael previously reviewed the cat Advent calendar, and now I’m reviewing the version aimed at dogs, with assistance from my dog, Stella.
The Heart to Tail Pure Being Advent Calendar for Dogs is an Aldi Find, meaning it’s only in stores for a short time. (And Aldi won’t ship it to you after it sells out at your local store.) At the time of this post, the calendar costs $5.89.
The calendar advertises 25 days of all-natural salmon-and-sweet-potato-flavored daily treats that contain no grains, artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives. My dog enjoys the salmon-and-sweet-potato-flavored Pure Being dog food from Aldi, and she’s always happy to get a treat after her morning walk, so I was optimistic that she would like the treats in this Advent calendar.
The treats are all the same flavor but come in four shapes (stars, circles, rectangles, and one oversized bone for Christmas Day). Stella does not mind eating the same flavor every day and appears not to prefer one shape over another, although she does like the fact that the stars and circles come in a 2-pack.
The treats consist of 10% crude protein, 0.2% crude fat, 3% crude fiber, 18% moisture, and 5000mg/kg of Omega 3 and Omega 6 Fatty Acids. The ingredients list is very short and only includes salmon, sweet potato, potato starch, vegetable glycerin, and natural liquid smoke. The calories for the treats vary from 5.4 to 10 calories each for the stars, circles, and rectangles, but the single bone-shaped treat for Christmas Day weighs in at a much heftier 65 calories.
Nutrition and ingredients. (Click to enlarge.)
The treats’ texture is not crunchy like a dog biscuit but very chewy and surprisingly hard, like an extremely stale gummy bear. Stella is 8 and, like a lot of older dogs, has had a few teeth removed. Chewing the treats was difficult, but she liked the taste, so she accepted the challenge. Eating the first treat took so much effort that the cat decided to come over and see what on earth the dog was doing.
Like every dog I’ve ever known, Stella will eat her regular food from her bowl, but she always takes treats to my favorite rug, the perfect place for making crumbs. It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you give a dog a treat or a toy, they will naturally carry it to the most expensive rug or piece of furniture in the house and insist on enjoying it there.
Stella liked her first treat and now asks for them every day after her morning walk. She continues to eat them on the rug.
The Verdict:
Stella gives these treats 4 out of 5 stars. She loves the flavor, but the texture is a challenge for older dogs like her, and it would be difficult for very small dogs to eat, too. Perhaps Aldi could make a softer, more universally dog-friendly treat in the future.
I appreciated seeing this review, as I have a small older dog who’s also had some teeth removed, and who strongly prefers soft, chewy treats. (Canine Carryouts is a brand we can find at many stores (but not Aldi) which has treats in just the right texture for our little dog.)
I just gave the 1st treat to my 11 year old beagle corgi mix. She did love the flavor, but the treats are very hard to chew. I don’t think I’ll give her any more of these because I don’t want her to break any of her teeth. It’s too bad that these aren’t softer.
Calling these treats hard is an understatement. They’re like little cement blocks. I didn’t even let my dog finish the first one and she has all of her teeth. I’m afraid she might actually lose one if we make it through all 25 days.
0/5, plan on returning to store.
⭐️⭐️ Getting 2 starts because my dog loved the flavor. However, she became sick after giving her the first 12 days. It is the only new thing to my dogs diet, vet recommended I stopped. It’s been 2 days since I’ve stopped giving it to her and I’m starting to see improvements. Just be careful.and watch your dogs behavior.
My dogs behavior:
Stopped eating her food
Wouldn’t poop as much
Seemed sad/ depressed
Wouldn’t jump on bed
Wouldn’t play w/ my other dog
Wouldn’t bark when people walked past the house
Started hacking as if something was in her throat.
-nothing physically wrong with her , the vet checked every inch of her body.
Got blood work done and her blood levels are high
Vet said it could be the start of an infection, upper respiratory infection, she could be stressed, could be inflammation, or the start of something more.
Very interesting that you say this. I’m on this board after looking for reviews because my dog has been up sick all night. This was the only change to her diet and she had seemed to take to them fine until today. She has thrown up once and had soft stools for the last several hours. I’m going to assume it’s likely these causing her issues. 😔
In previous years, they were NOT like this! I have gotten these from aldi for many years. They are usually orange-ish in color and VERY soft and chewy. My dog LOVES them. I am sadly disappointed that this year they are more of a brownish color and are incredible hard. My dog loves the flavor so she still works on it, but they are definitely not the same!
I agree! My smallest dog almost choked…and my 13 year old took forever to break one of these tiny treats down. They are much harder than I expected. A soft treat would have been perfect. As a former vet tech I am dissatisfied and disappointed I bought a calendar for each dog because I’m uncomfortable giving them these treats. How do we let aldi know??
There’s info at this link on how to contact Aldi: https://www.aldireviewer.com/contact-aldi/
You can also return the calendars to Aldi for a refund: https://www.aldireviewer.com/returning-product-aldi/
I want to jump on this trend! I am so glad I opened this! My French bulldog was acting funny after a week of eating these treats. My daughter was so excited to start the Calendar for our dog. Anyway after a week my dog starting acting funny. He was slow moving and quiet and just acting weird. Shortly after he started having seizure like activities. Took him to the vet and got all blood work done and nothing was abnormal. So he diagnosed him with epilepsy. I am very curious now. My dog has always been healthy and happy. After reading everyone’s reviews we are calling the doctor back! If this caused my dog seizures from eating these treats and it’s not epilepsy this is a new ballpark!