A gift with your own pet on it can become a favourite, or something that gets politely put on a shelf. Often that is decided not during printing but beforehand, with a question that is easy to skip: does this photo suit this product?
A picture that looks great on a canvas can look lost on a tree ornament, because there is only room for the head. And a photo in which the pet sits far away loses exactly the details that make it who it is. The good news: choosing well follows a few simple rules, and they apply to every personalised pet gift.
The basic rule: face first, everything else second
For most personalised gifts, the pet's head is the focus, not the whole body. The best starting photo is therefore one where the head fills a large part of the picture: eyes sharp, both ears visible, light from the front or the side. A whole dog on a wide meadow is a lovely photo. Cut the head out of it, though, and often exactly the details that make the pet are missing: the eye colour, the markings in the coat, the shape of the ears. What cannot be seen in the photo cannot appear in the portrait either.
An ordinary phone photo is enough for this, even one from a chat. With the styles the motif is rebuilt, so it is not your photo itself that gets printed. Only if you choose “Original without style” does your photo go straight onto the product. In that case it is worth asking for the original file, ideally sent as a file by email or in a messenger. More important than the camera is, in any case, daylight and a bit of patience.
Which photo suits which gift
| Gift | Suitable photo | Good for | from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portrait as poster or canvas | Head and chest, eyes clearly visible; portrait format for eyes and ears, landscape format for a picture above the sofa | everyone with a free wall | €23.99 |
| Mug with photo | Head, front-on or slightly from the side | everyone with a coffee or tea ritual | €19.99 |
| Pack mug | a separate photo for each pet, taken as similarly as possible | households with two or three pets | €22.99 |
| Wooden tree ornament | Head very close, because the motif fills the whole shape | everyone who celebrates Christmas the same way every year | €30.99 |
| Wall calendar 2027 | Landscape format, because the picture area is wide | kitchens, offices, grandparents | €49.99 |
| Christmas cards | Head or half body, ideally looking into the camera | everyone who still writes cards | €19.99 for 10 |
| Cushion and cuddly blanket | a photo in which eyes and coat markings are clearly visible, because the area is large | sofa people | €47.99 and €55.99 |
| Slogan mug | no photo, a slogan and, depending on the slogan, the name | everyone who has no good picture of their pet | €17.99 |
| Dog journal “Our First Year” | no photo, only the name on the cover | everyone who has just welcomed a dog | €24.90 |
What you should know about the individual gifts
Portraits for the wall
With the portrait, the format matters more than with any other product. A portrait format puts eyes and ears in the middle, a landscape format suits a spot above a sofa or sideboard. If you change the format afterwards, upload the photo again so that the crop is set anew. You do not have to retouch away a busy background: on request it is removed, and the pet sits in front of one of eight colours. You can change the style freely after uploading, and the photo is kept.
Mugs
On the photo mugs the motif sits on one side, positioned so that you see it when you pick up the mug in your right hand. A name and a second line are added, and you can move the name. A detail that is easy to overlook when giving a gift: the magic mug, whose motif only becomes visible with a hot drink, does not belong in the dishwasher. For people who put everything in the machine, the normal ceramic mug is the better choice.
Tree ornaments
The pendant made of solid wood is small, and the motif fills the whole shape, whether bell, heart, oval, star, fir tree or stocking. That is why it needs a photo with the head up close. The third photo mistake further down counts double here.
Cushions and blankets
On a large area you see every detail, including what is missing. It is therefore important that the photo shows what makes your pet who it is: the eye colour, the markings in the coat, the one ear that always stands a little crooked. A simple test: zoom in until the head fills the screen. If eyes and coat are then clear, the photo is fine. The live preview gives you final certainty.
More than one pet on one gift
For two or three pets there is the pack mug. You upload a separate photo for each pet, dog and cat may be mixed, and all appear in the same style. The result looks calmer when the photos were taken in a similar way: all from the front, all in daylight. One pet in sunlight next to one in half-darkness stands out immediately on the finished mug.
When there is no good photo
Then a gift without a photo is more honest than one with a bad photo. The slogan mug carries a sentence and, where provided, the pet's name. The dog journal “Our First Year” gets only the name on the cover and is a lovely gift for anyone who has just welcomed a puppy. For the first weeks with a young dog, our free Puppy Starter Pack is a good match. And anyone who does not know the pet at all gives a gift voucher, so the recipient chooses their favourite photo themselves.
Three photo mistakes that spoil a portrait
Backlight. The pet stands in front of the bright window, the face lies in shadow. On the phone that looks atmospheric, but in the portrait eyes and fur texture are missing, because they were already missing in the photo. Position yourself so that the light falls on the pet and does not come from behind.
Motion blur. A dog that is just turning its head still looks sharp on the small display. Enlarged, you see that eyes and muzzle are blurred. Better to take ten photos in a quiet minute than one during play. Burst mode helps; afterwards you pick out the sharpest.
Too small in the frame. The pet is only a small part of the photo. Get closer or use the telephoto setting of your camera. Smooth zooming in beyond that costs detail.
If you are unsure whether a photo is enough, just upload it. The live preview shows you the result before you order anything.
When a pet has passed away
Some personalised gifts are not cheerful ones. If someone around you has lost a pet, a picture that lasts can help. The memorial picture on wood shows the pet in the style of your choice, on request with name and years of life, and the wood grain shimmers through. It is available in portrait format from 20 x 30 to 60 x 80 cm, from €66.99.
Often there is then only an older photo, sometimes only a paper print. You can photograph it: lay it flat on the table, in daylight, without flash and so that no lamp is reflected in it. You will find all our ideas for remembering under Remembering a pet who has passed away.
How long it takes
All printed products here are made only after the order and, within Germany, usually take 5 to 9 working days, longer around Christmas. For the wall calendar, preview and approval are added, so allow two to three weeks there. The digital portrait needs no shipping at all, as it comes as a file: the preview arrives by email, usually within 24 hours on working days, the finished file after your approval. It can be printed yourself or given as an image.
You can recognise a good personalised gift by a small thing: whoever unwraps it does not see the product first, but their pet. Everything we have put together for the festive season can be found under Christmas gifts for animal lovers.
Read more
- Taking dog photos yourself: ten tips for the photo that becomes a portrait
- Giving a dog portrait as a gift: why a phone photo is enough
- Saying goodbye to a dog: grief and how memories comfort
Prices: as of 28.09.2026.
