Check out these holiday gift ideas for your pet

Americans spend an average of $5 billion each year on presents for our pets.

Surprised? This holiday alone, nearly 154 million pet parents are expected to spend a combined $2.6 billion on pet gifts, ranging from the miraculous to the mundane, according to the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

Thanks to pet-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton, whose pampering of her Chihuahua, Tinkerbell, seems to know no limits, and pet gift-giving guides in upscale magazines such as the December issue of Instyle, we’re delighted to whip out the plastic and indulge the fancy of pets or the people who love them.

Here are award-winning or in-the-trenches tested pet products that will make dogs’ tails wag, cats purr and people smile.

The practical

Pet dental care is easy with the Hartz Dental Electric Toothbrush.

Specially designed for ultraquiet operation, the brush is clinically proven to reduce tartar by 85 percent and plaque by 28 percent on pets’ teeth after three weeks of use. www.hartz.com.

No time to bath or brush a dirty pet?

Voted the best new pet product by the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association, Spotless Paw keeps your home and car clean. Slip the six-fingered glove on either hand, and the sophisticated microfiber fabric attracts dirt and lose hair like a magical magnet. It is machine washable. www.spotlesspaw.com.

Dogopolis has created the KongTime canine entertainment system for the home-alone hound. Like a doggie Las Vegas, Kongtime delights your dog by automatically, randomly dispensing food-filled, boredom-busting Kong toys while you’re away. www.kongtime.com

Toys that stimulate

Three toys in one, the Hartz AT PLAY Hide ‘N Play Cat Activity Center caters to a cat’s natural instincts. The “scrunchy” bag is designed to satisfy cats’ “hiding” patterns, and the carpeted base encourages scratching.

There are even two dangling toys for additional fun. www.hartz.com.

This holiday season, give your dog a toy that is out of this world! Aspen Pet Products Talk to Me Cosmic Treatball is light-years ahead, capable of recording your voice in a message to your furry friend, dispensing treats as your dog plays with it and displaying a vision-safe light show that is motion activated. www.talktometreatball.com.

Need to exhaust a retriever? A perfect gift is the Chuckit Ball Tosser.

Using this ladlelike device, you can toss a tennis ball like an NFL quarterback without straining your arm. Plus, its claw/cup lets you pick up slobber-slick tennis balls without bending over. www.caninehardware.com.

Humunga Tongue is the far-fetched dog toy for fetching-far fun! Made of solid red rubber, this clever new toy is a ball on one end and a giant cartoon tongue on the other.

Dogs naturally pick up the ball, which leaves the outrageously funny tongue sticking out. Cool Canines can catch it, fetch it, pose for a photo, or just crack up the neighborhood. (OK, I have to get one of these.) www.moodypet.com.

Feliz Navidad meets Fleas Navidad! Ethical Products Inc. has introduced a Hispanic-themed line of plush and fleece dog toys for the upcoming holiday season. Bring out the inner senor/senorita in your dog with a multicolored Spanish bull or a Santa with a sombrero. www.ethicalpetproducts.com.

Kitty Tease will keep your cat bouncing around and frolicking as you sit in your chair. This exercise and entertainment device features a little piece of cloth that mimics a real bird or mouse at the end of a rod and keeps felines engrossed and excited.

It was voted the top cat toy of their first 30 years by the editors of Cat Fancy magazine. A tried and true favorite! www.kittytease.com.

Pampered pets

For a little bling around the collar, how about a line of personalized pet tags in sterling silver or 14-karat gold with or without stones. Also offered are freshwater pearl necklaces with tags. www.silver-bones.com.

Imagine your pet shopping on Rodeo Drive, exploring the jungle or perhaps taking a plane ride to the Grand Canyon! My Personal Pet Book allows your pet to become the star of his/her own adventure story by choosing one of four story lines, taking 12 to 15 photos of your pet and sending them in. Three weeks later, you’ll have a fantastic hard-bound book of your pet’s adventure. You’ll be amazed! www.mypersonalpetbook.com.

Aspen Pet Products offers two amazing new musical CDs that are the answer to calming your pet’s spirit and a key to returning a sense of peace to your home while you’re away or during times of scary noises. “DogGone Songs – Music to Soothe the Animal Spirit” features 37 original tracks of soothing piano melodies, and “DogGone Songs – Traveling Tunes For You and Your Pet” offers the comfort and familiarities of home that your pet is accustomed to. www.aspenpet.com.

Tantalize the taste buds

Every dog loves a delicious holiday treat, especially a natural, low-fat peanut butter and molasses treat from Blue Dog Bakery. With so many overweight dogs out there, these treats help keep the weight down and the smiles up.

Made from the highest quality bakery ingredients and no animal byproducts, these will bring cheer to everyone. Now let’s go for a walk! www.bluedogbakery.com.

Halo, Purely For Pets offers Liv-a-Littles holiday gift packs of their whole meat, freeze-dried treats for dogs and cats. These special packs include a faux fur sack filled with organic cat nip or, for dogs, a pink tennis ball. www.halopets.com.

‘Ultimate’ pet gift

“Help, my dog is lost!” Those are five words every pet owner hopes they never have to say but probably will, as 1 out of 3 pets is lost during its lifetime. Each year more than 10 million pets will become lost, and only 1 in 10 lost pets is found.

What is a better gift for your pet this year than the security of knowing it will be returned to its loving owners should it become lost during the chaos of the holiday travel season or beyond.

Microchipping provides this security to our favorite four-legged friend. It is a safe, simple and permanent form of pet identification and a proven way to successfully recover your pet should it become lost.

A microchip, only the size of a grain of rice, has a unique identification code and can be easily injected by a veterinarian between the shoulder blades of the pet. Once microchipped, the pet is enrolled in a nationwide recovery database where the owner’s contact information is stored.

A pet recovery team maintains the scanners and the pet database 24 hours daily and notifies the owner as soon as the pet’s ID is called in on the hotline number.

Ask your veterinarian for a recommendation or go to www.homeagainid.com.

Remember also that holidays can be a stressful time for pets with a hectic activities and schedule changes. Be sure to pause from time to time and give your pet some loving attention.

You’ll both enjoy the holiday season better that way.