Decorated birthday cakes, frosted donuts, moist muffins—it sounds like the menu at your favorite local bakery. These special treats, however, are made not for you but for your hungry four-legged friends.  

Smilin’ Dog Bakery in Naples offers up a variety of goodies for your best buddy. “Our most popular treat is Chickin’ Pickins,” says owner Denise Pavlovich. These are made with USDA all-natural chicken breast meat and no additives. Smilin’ Dog makes all its treats, such as Coconut Curlies and Jammin’ Jerkies, in-house with no salt, sugar, chemicals, or preservatives. Plus, they are grain-free, so there’s less worry about giving your dog a snack.  

In addition to doggie donuts, muffins, and even ice cream, the bakery makes birthdays special. “We have four-inch cakes on hand and will make custom cakes,” says Pavlovich. The pre-ordered decorated custom cakes come in different shapes such as round or bone-shaped, and a variety of flavors such as peanut butter. Peanut butter cupcakes are in stock and ready to go. 

Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming Estero offers pet food—raw, canned, kibble, and dehydrated—with no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. It also has pet accessories and toys, as well as treats, chews, and yummy delights, along with grooming. Dogs jump for joy when they see frosted biscuits, cookies, and donuts made especially for them. 

"Our most popular products are our sweet potato chews, decorated treats, freeze-dried raw foods, No-Hide chews, and goat’s milk cheese,” says store owner Erica Welling. 

For those dogs who like to spruce up over the holidays, Woof Gang has planned a few festive grooming spa packages, such as the Chai Latte, using a chai-scented shampoo with hints of almond and brown sugar, a luxury remoisturizing conditioner, followed by a chai latte cologne; the Sugar Cookie, a shampoo, sugar belly scrub, and luxury re-moisturizing conditioner, followed by a sugar cookie cologne; or the Merry Cranberry, with crisp, comforting cranberry-scented shampoo, luxury re-moisturizing conditioner, and a spritz of warm cranberry. All holiday packages include teeth brushing and a festive holiday bandana. 

For dogs who don’t like baths, you might be able to tempt them with a tasty treat beforehand. 

Ann Marie O’Phelan is a Southwest Florida resident and a regular contributor to TOTI Media.