Calling all dog lovers! There’s never been a better time to put your paws up and celebrate man’s best friend. Welcome to our ultimate guide, where every day is a doggone good day!
For all you devoted dog enthusiasts, the fans of the playful pups, the ardent admirers of the loyal hounds, you have landed on the right page! We have sniffed out the best dog-related celebrations and compiled an ultimate list that tail-wags its way through the year, dedicated purely to our canine companions.
Our guide is packed full to the brim with a whopping 74 special dog days, 13 dog-themed weeks, and an impressive 24 dog-dedicated months. Now that’s something to bark about!
Whether you’re looking to pamper your pooch, raise awareness for a worthy canine cause, or simply revel in the sheer joy that dogs bring to our lives, we have got you covered. From the quirky and fun, to the serious and impactful, there’s a special occasion for every dog and every dog lover in our guide.
So leash up, fetch a comfy spot, and get ready to dive into our ultimate guide to dog-related holidays and special days throughout the year. You’re in for a treat!
Complete List of National Dog Days
January
- January 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day #NationalDressUpYourPetDay
- January 29: Seeing-Eye Guide Dog Anniversary #SeeingEyeGuideDogAnniversary
February
- February 2: National Brown Dog Day #NationalBrownDogDay
- February 2: Sled Dog Day #SledDogDay
- February 3: Doggy Date Night #DoggyDateNight
- February 3: National Golden Retriever Day #NationalGoldenRetrieverDay
- February 14: Pet Theft Awareness Day #PetTheftAwarenessDay
- February 20: National Love Your Pet Day
- February 22: National Walking the Dog Day #NationalWalkingTheDogDay
- February 23: National Dog Biscuit Day #NationalDogBiscuitDay
- February 25, 2025 (Last Tuesday in February): World Spay Day #WorldSpayDay
March
- March 3: What If Cats and Dogs Had Opposable Thumbs Day #WhatIfCatsAndDogsHadOpposableThumbsDay
- March 13: K-9 Veterans Day a.k.a. National K9 Veterans Day #NationalK9VeteransDay #K9VeteransDay
- March 14: National Dog Theft Awareness Day #NationalDogTheftAwarenessDay
- March 20: Dogs in Yellow Day #DogsInYellowDay
- March 23: National Puppy Day #NationalPuppyDay #NationalPuppyDay2025 #nationalpuppyday🐶 #nationalpuppyday❤️ #nationalpuppyday🐶🐾
April
- April 5 (1st Saturday in April): Every Day is Tag Day #EveryDayIsTagDay
- April 8: National Dog Fighting Awareness Day #NationalDogFightingAwarenessDay
- April 10: National Hug Your Dog Day #NationalHugYourDogDay
- April 11: Dog Therapy Appreciation Day #DogTherapyAppreciationDay
- April 11: National Pet Day #NationalPetDay #NationalPetDay2025
- April 19: National Dog Parent Appreciation Day #NationalDogParentAppreciationDay
- April 21: National Bulldogs Are Beautiful Day #NationalBulldogsAreBeautifulDay
- April 23: National Lost Dogs Awareness Day #NationalLostDogsAwarenessDay
- April 30, 2025 (Last Wednesday in April): International Guide Dog Day #InternationalGuideDogDay
- April 27: National Little Pampered Dog Day #NationalLittlePamperedDogDay
- April 27, 2025 (Last Sunday in April): National Pet Parents Day #NationalPetParentsDay
- April 30: National Adopt A Shelter Pet Day #NationalAdoptAShelterPetDay
- April 30: National Therapy Animal Day #NationalTherapyAnimalDay
May
- May 1: International Doodle Dog Day #InternationalDoodleDogDay
- May 1: National Purebred Dog Day #NationalPurebredDogDay
- May 4, 2025 (First Sunday in May): Mayday for Mutts #MaydayForMutts
- May 10, 2025 (Second Saturday in May): National Dog Mom’s Day #NationalDogMomsDay
- May 14: International Chihuahua Appreciation Day #InternationalChihuahuaAppreciationDay
- May 20: National Rescue Dog Day #NationalRescueDogDay
June
- June 4: International Corgi Day #InternationalCorgiDay
- June 14, 2025 (Day before Father’s Day): National Dog Dad Day #NationalDogDadDay
- June 20: Ugliest Dog Day #UgliestDogDay
- June 20, 2025 (Friday after Father’s Day): National Take Your Dog to Work Day #NationalTakeYourDogToWorkDay
- June 21: National Dog Party Day #NationalDogPartyDay
July
- July 21: No Pet Store Puppies Day #NoPetStorePuppiesDay
- July 26: National Dog Photography Day #NationalDogPhotographyDay
- July 31: National Mutt Day #NationalMuttDay #NationalMuttDay2024
August
- August 1: DOGust 1st a.k.a. Universal Birthday for Shelter Dogs #DOGust #DOGust2024
- August 4: Assistance Dog Day #AssistanceDogDay
- August 5: Work Like a Dog Day #WorkLikeADogDay
- August 10: National Spoil Your Dog Day #NationalSpoilYourDogDay
- August 15: Check the Chip Day #CheckTheChipDay
- August 16, 2025 (Third Saturday in August): International Homeless Animals Day #InternationalHomelessAnimalsDay
- August 22: Never Bean Better Day #NeverBeanBetterDay
- August 23: International Blind Dog Day #InternationalBlindDogDay
- August 26: National Dog Day #NationalDogDay #NationalDogDay2024 #nationaldogday🐶 #nationaldogday🐾 #nationaldogday🐶❤️ #nationaldogday🐶🐾
- August 28: Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day #RainbowBridgeRemembranceDay
- August 30: National Holistic Pet Day #NationalHolisticPetDay
September
- September 7: Hulk the Dog’s Birthday #HulkTheDogsBirthday
- September 8: National Dog Walker Appreciation Day #NationalDogWalkerAppreciationDay
- September 14, 2025 (Second Sunday in September): Hug Your Hound Day #HugYourHoundDay
- September 14, 2025 (Second Sunday in September): National Pet Memorial Day #NationalPetMemorialDay
- September 20, 2025 (Third Saturday in September): National AKC Responsible Dog Ownership Day #NationalAKCResponsibleDogOwnershipDay
- September 20, 2025 (Third Saturday in September): Responsible Dog Ownership Day #ResponsibleDogOwnershipDay
- September 20, 2025 (Third Saturday in September): Puppy Mill Awareness Day #PuppyMillAwarenessDay
- September 23: National Checkers and Dogs in Politics Day
- September 25, 2025 (Fourth Thursday in September): Remember Me Thursday #SeeTheLight #RememberMeThursday
October
- October 1: National Black Dog Day #NationalBlackDogDay
- October 1: National Fire Pup Day #NationalFirePupDay
- October 18 (Third Saturday of October): National Fetch Day #NationalFetchDay
- October 22: National Make a Dog’s Day #NationalMakeADogsDay
- October 25, 2025 (Last Saturday of October): Muddy Dog Day #MuddyDogDay
- October 25, 2025 (Fourth Saturday of October): National Pit Bull Awareness Day #NationalPitBullAwarenessDay
- October 30: National Treat Your Pet Day #NationalTreatYourPetDay
November
- November 1: National Cook for Your Pets Day #NationalCookforYourPetsDay #CookforYourPetsDay
- November 23: Thankful For My Dog Day #ThankfulForMyDogDay
- November 27, 2025 (Fourth Thursday in November): National Dog Show Broadcast #NationalDogShowBroadcast
December
- December 1: Operation Santa Paws #OperationSantaPaws
- December 2: National Mutt Day #NationalMuttDay
National Weeks Dedicated to Dogs
- February 7-14, 2025: Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week #HaveAHeartForChainedDogsWeek
- April 1-7, 2025: International Pooper Scooper Week #InternationalPooperScooperWeek
- April 13–19, 2025: National Dog Bite Prevention Week #PreventDogBites #NationalDogBitePreventionWeek
- April 23-29, 2025: National Scoop the Poop Week #NationalScoopThePoopWeek
- May 4-10, 2025: Be Kind to Animals Week® by American Humane #BeKindtoAnimalsWeek
- May 4-10, 2025: Puppy Mill Action Week #PuppyMillActionWeek
- May 4-10, 2025: National Pet Week #NationalPetWeek
- May 5-11, 2025: Dog Anxiety Awareness Week #DogAnxietyAwarenessWeek
- August 3-9, 2025: Give a Dog a Bone Week #GiveADogABoneWeek
- August 3-9, 2025: International Assistance Dog Week #InternationalAssistanceDogWeek
- September 15-21, 2025: Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Week #AdoptALessAdoptablePetWeek
- September 21-27, 2025: Deaf Dog Awareness Week #DeafDogAwarenessWeek
- October 1-7, 2025: National Walk Your Dog Week #NationalWalkYourDogWeek
National Months Dedicated to Dogs
- January: National Train Your Dog Month #NationalTrainYourDogMonth
- January: Unchain a Dog Month #UnchainADogMonth
- January: Walk Your Dog Month #WalkYourDogMonth
- February: Dog Training Education Month #DogTrainingEducationMonth
- February: Black Dog And Cat Syndrome Awareness Month #BlackDogAndCatSyndromeAwarenessMonth #BlackDogSyndrome #BlackDogSyndromeAwareness
- February: Pet Dental Health Month #PetDentalHealthMonth
- February: Responsible Pet Owners Month #ResponsiblePetOwnersMonth
- April: Canine Fitness Month #CanineFitnessMonth
- April: Dog Appreciation Month #DogAppreciationMonth
- April: National Adopt a Greyhound Month #NationalAdoptAGreyhoundMonth
- April: Prevent Lyme Disease in Dogs Month #PreventLymeDiseaseInDogsMonth
- May: National Pet Month #NationalPetMonth #NationalPetMonth2025
- May: National Service Dog Eye Examination Month #NationalServiceDogEyeExaminationMonth
- June: Social Petworking Month #SocialPetworkingMonth
- July: National Lost Pet Prevention Month #NationalLostPetPreventionMonth
- July: Dog House Repair Month #DogHouseRepairMonth
- August: Itchy Pet Awareness Month #ItchyPetAwarenessMonth
- September: National Guide Dog Month #NationalGuideDogMonth
- September: Responsible Dog Ownership Month #ResponsibleDogOwnershipMonth
- September: Therapy Dog Awareness Month #TherapyDogAwarenessMonth
- October: Adopt-A-Dog Month® by American Humane #AdoptADogMonth
- October: Adopt a Shelter Dog Month #AdoptAShelterDogMonth
- October: National Pitbull Awareness Month #NationalPitbullAwarenessMonth
- November: National Pet Cancer Awareness Month #NationalPetCancerAwarenessMonth
We appreciate you joining us on this tail-wagging journey through our guide on special days dedicated to dogs. We hope you found it both delightful and informative!
Before you scamper off, don’t forget we have a pack of other special guides ready to lead you on more exciting adventures. So, make sure to sniff them out:
This article was originally published July 6th, 2023. It has been thoroughly updated, so the publication date has been changed accordingly.
