Around the holidays, parents are scrambling to find the best gifts for their children. And for kids (and adults) who have been begging family members to let them have a dog, Christmas couldn’t be a better time. While there are pros and cons of adopting a dog during the other three seasons, that four-legged hug near the Christmas tree makes for the best holiday pics.

Hopefully, by the time the dog has arrived, those dog room ideas to spoil your four-legged best friend are in place. If not, here are eight dog room ideas that are both practical and fun.

Knowing Your Dog’s Love Language

Give or take a few dog breeds who tend to be loners and aren’t known to be affectionate, hanging out with a dog and petting her will be way more fun than anything in this dog room. If a dog had a Love Language, pretty much all of these pack animals would have a Quality Time evaluation. Your presence will always be the MVP. If you adopt a new dog, try to do so during a time when you’re not working overtime or away from home a lot. While your new dog needs to know you’re not at home 24/7 even if you have a work-from-home job, you’re an investor with a flexible schedule or you work a four-day work week, abandonment soon after the dog arrives may lead to her instantly misbehaving out of loneliness and frustration.

Dog Couch

If you’ve already established that you don’t want a dog on your furniture, buying a dog couch will make this much easier to put into action. Approximately 6.3 million companion animals enter U.S. animal shelters nationwide every year, according to the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). Of those, approximately 3.1 million are dogs of varying ages. They may have come from households that allowed pets on the furniture, so reprimanding a dog from doing this can be confusing. However, by allowing a dog to have her own couch and dog bed to sleep, relax and spy on you will make this transition much easier than confining her to a crate or the floor. A dog couch can come in various sizes, and some are even human-sized so you can hang out with your dog on her couch. For dogs who are used to sleeping with their owners, this is a happy medium to keep leaping dogs from trying to get into your bed. While you clearly don’t have to sleep with them every night, you may find yourself missing that warm blanket with a heart beat.

Dog Turf Grass

Turf grass can be a hard sell for an adopted dog who is already crate trained and often unfamiliar to dogs who have been paper trained. However, puppies are also sent to pet adoption shelters if their dog moms or dog dads weren’t spayed or neutered, making it easier to start from scratch. After finding out which type of dog you’re getting and what level of training will be needed, turf grass takes on the “look” of real grass and potentially can be a place for your dog to release herself if you’re running late or the dog walker (whether that’s Wag!, Rover or a family member) can’t make it in time. It also beats leaving a dog in a crate to be forced to walk in her own poop and urine until you arrive at home. When adopting a dog during a cold-weather season, unless it’s an Alaskan Husky or another cold-weather dog, turf grass also helps avoid accidents from a dog who is too uncomfortable to stay outside for long.

Dog Furniture Crate

A dog crate does not have to be a hard plastic rectangle that looks like a pet jail. The pet industry has gotten really creative with crate upgrades. Buy one that looks like a doll house, a coffee table, an entertainment center or even a nightstand. Make sure there are two exit doors so the dog has options of stepping out through the center or the side. Of course, there should also be soft cushioning so the dog can rest if she wants to. If you have the kind of dog who loves to destroy a dog bed, that may not be the way to go. Try carpet instead for the hard chewers and mischievous pups. If it’s in a comfortable space where the dog already wants to hang out, you’ll find your dog going in and out of it like a dog house. Be careful about placement though. That puppy who loves the option to rest in front of floor heaters may not find a crate inviting if the crate bars or their collar get too hot from blowing heat.

Dog Steps to the Window

Dogs are unapologetically nosey. They’re like miniature versions of Pearl from the TV show 227, sitting in the window and judging everyone who walks by. All the toys in the world won’t be nearly as entertaining as people watching. If there’s a low window, there’s a 100% chance they’ll sit nearby. If the windows are too high for them to climb or the no-furniture rule is in place, have a set of dog steps nearby that are OK to climb. You’ll usually find them on the top step with their nose on the glass.

Dog Chewable Toys

If you’re buying plush toys and cute dog toys with hopes of the dog keeping them for years to come, you’re probably wasting your time. Although every dog breed (or individual dog) isn’t the type to gnaw on your cell phone charger, your computer cords or your shoes, you should probably keep all of the above out of their reach until you find out it’s safe for them to be around. Even if the dog has no interest in your Manolo Blahniks, it’s a tripping hazard. Keep plenty of chew toys around to keep them busy. For puppies, chewing is a way to relieve pain while teething. For adult dogs, it’s their ancestors’ (wolves) and nature’s way of keeping jaws strong and teeth clean. Additionally, chew toys help to eliminate boredom, anxiety and frustration.

Dog Obstacle Course

While some pet owners humor the idea of a dog treadmill, that’s an option best left for pet owners who can monitor their dogs the whole time to avoid potential injury (ex. dog hair or paws getting caught in the belt). An obstacle course, on the other hand, can sit in the middle of the room and allow the dog to have hours of entertainment while army crawling from one end to the other. If you want to get creative, you can even hide treats or toys on one end or toss them in the middle. Often flexible for outdoor and indoor play, you can choose where you want the adjustable circle jump, the high jump, the pause box or the resistance tunnels to go. This obstacle course as a dog room idea may also come in handy during the cooler days in the winter and fall seasons when your short-haired pup or hairless dog can’t play outside for too long.

Dog Treats (and Food)

Everything that says it’s for dogs isn’t necessarily healthy, so be careful with buying the first thing with a dog’s face on it. Dog-loving entrepreneurs have learned this first hand and are making their own healthy dog foods. Pay attention to the ideal weight that your veterinarian says your dog should be, and proceed from there. That 40-pound bag of dry kibble may last a few months (or weeks), but it may also pack on the pounds for your dog (and invite ants, if not sealed correctly). Always pay attention to how your dog digests food. Even simple foods like tuna and baby carrots could be like a winning lottery ticket for a dog, as opposed to an overpriced dental bone. For picky-eating dogs, avoid buying dog food in bulk and blaming the dog later for not wanting to eat it.

Dog Feeder

This can get a little tricky for dogs who are not paper-trained.  If your dog is, and you have a habit of working overtime and without the funds (or access) for a dog walker, having a dog feeder that can be set to release food at a certain time significantly helps. For dogs who actually like the food in the dog feeder, it’ll be rare for the food to go stale or overflow. Dog feeders can release a specific amount of food into the bowl area at scheduled times. Some even have night lights and water bowl fresheners. Just make sure to clean the bowl area regularly. If your dog tends to eat wet food with dry food, a dog feeder is not recommended for both. Wet food should be served fresh and from the refrigerator (or from a sealed can), so make your “wet food” times ones in which you’ll be home.

Got All 8 Dog Room Ideas? Don’t Forget To Play

If your dog’s room is prepared and ready for play time, let her enjoy it. Again though, keep in mind that the majority of dogs are pack animals. They would just as soon ignore every rule about personal space and sit next to you while you watch TV as they would want to play outdoors or in their own dog room. Know what kind of dog breed you have and what their behavior is like. While dog breeds such as Bloodhounds, Chow Chows and Afghan Hounds are stereotypically antisocial, a Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd or a Shih Tzu is going to be a leg and hand magnet. Even that Greyhound that you think wants to run outside all day is much more likely to be a couch potato. By understanding what would make your dog enjoy a dog room and what dog room ideas suit them best, it’ll be that much easier to get through the initial dog socialization years, people-dog bonding and making sure your adopted dog has a permanent home.