A complete listing of this year's holiday television programs

Let's call it the Christmas Canine Coincidence.

On Sunday night (Nov. 29), there are two — count 'em, two — TV movies about both the holiday and dogs.

"A Dog Named Christmas" and "The Dog That Saved Christmas" are both about yellow Labs adopted from the shelter at Christmastime. Both feature a father who has dog issues. In both cases, one of the parents isn't happy about the doggie adoption.

Weird, huh?

But the similarities stop there. Because "A Dog Named Christmas" (Sunday, 8 p.m., CBS/Ch. 2) is a high-quality, low-key Hallmark Hall of Fame production that will touch your heart.

And "The Dog That Saved Christmas" (Sunday, 9 p.m., ABC Family) is a loud, braying piece of doggie-doo that leans heavily on flatulence jokes.

Weird, huh?

Based on the book by Greg Kinkaid, "A Dog Named Christmas" is about a developmentally challenged young man, Todd (Noel Fisher), who lives with his parents on a Kansas farm. Todd, who has a way with animals, sets out to give a dog a home for Christmas.

Soon, he's trying to make sure all the dogs at the local shelter have homes for Christmas. In the meantime, his father, George (Bruce Greenwood), insists that Christmas the dog is going back to the shelter on Dec. 26.

Turns out George has some issues with dogs in general after losing a couple of canines that meant a lot to him.

"A Dog Named Christmas" is a beautifully made TV movie that's a treat for the entire family.

"The Dog Who Saved Christmas," on the other hand, is the perfect holiday TV movie if your holidays include a lot of stupidity. And flatulence.

Mario Lopez provides the voice of Zeus the dog — and Lopez sounds like he had waaaay too much caffeine before recording his lines.

The plot revolves around the Bannister family, who adopts Zeus. George (Gary Valentine) promises his wife, Belinda (Elisa Donovan), that Zeus will be a great guard dog — but Zeus won't bark.

And then there are the bumbling burglars (Dean Cain and Joey Diaz) who do battle with Zeus — scenes seemingly stolen right out of "Home Alone."

Did I mention the flatulence jokes?

In a way, the two Christmas canine movies sum up all of holiday TV programming. There's some great stuff and some awful stuff.

But, as always, there's lots and lots of choices from Thanksgiving through Christmas. Below are the listings:

Editor's note: As always, schedules are subject to change at the whim of network, cable and local programmers. The list includes holiday-related movies and specials on selected channels. It does not include holiday-themed episodes of regularly scheduled series. Depending on your cable or satellite provider, you may need to adjust times for show on some networks.

THURSDAY, NOV. 26

Thanksgiving Day Parade 7 a.m., Ch. 2 Live from NYC