Purchasing the Correct Supplies to Welcome Your New Puppy Home
Now that you have done your breed research, talked with reputable dog breeders, visited or volunteered at shelters, like we shared with you in our first article; Choosing The Right Puppy For You And Your Lifestyle, and you’ve decided on the breed for you, it’s time to purchase the correct supplies to welcome your new puppy home.
HERE ARE THE BASICS YOU WILL NEED:
Food and water bowl- Stainless Steel made in the USA and size appropriate OR Glass. https://a.co/d/9TjU23A https://a.co/d/cu6ptCI https://a.co/d/5WU7sRt
2. No-Pull Harness like the ‘Easy-Walk’ Harness by Pet Safe https://a.co/d/fRR8U2F
Open Range Harness by ‘Ruffwear’ https://a.co/d/ic0Uxqi
and/or 3. a ‘Quick release’ Collar like https://a.co/d/0yp8Eb4
3. 6 Foot web nylon or cotton Training Leash https://a.co/d/1TY74uK or https://a.co/d/20ddjW9 * do NOT get a Retractable or Leather leash for a puppy or untrained puppy/dog. The retractable leashes are very dangerous; especially in the hands of an inexperienced dog handler, and the leather leashes are wonderful; but not for puppies because typically, puppies like to chew. Alot. So save the leather leash for when they are a bit older and finished with teething. You’ll thank us then. * Also keep in mind that a 6 Foot leash or under is the ‘typical’ leash required by many city, county, and state parks and on many trails in National Parks.
4. Crate for Crate Training- Either a Plastic more ‘den-like’ crate like a PetMate Vari-Kennel https://a.co/d/9jQcLlH which we highly recommend, or a
Wire Crate with Removable Tray https://a.co/d/5ygzi7K .
Don’t try one of those Collapsible Travel crates https://a.co/d/fxzVuOi UNTIL your puppy is FULLY over teething and potty training. Trust us. Those are great for later on in life when your dog is less likely to destroy it. These types of crates are great for short travel, hotel stays, dog related events such as agility competitions where the dog must stay in a cool shaded space until it’s their turn to participate in the event. Things of this nature.
5. Grooming Supplies including a Brush https://a.co/d/gkwej7D https://a.co/d/iNM7ROf
Flea comb https://a.co/d/cMXx0z6 * This comb is the one we have for our little American Eskimo Dog.
Nail Clippers https://a.co/d/hJs4bwW https://a.co/d/e5rCJMq
and/or a
Dremmel Nail file https://a.co/d/hsbg5P7 and you may need or wish to use a
Muzzle for helping to destress the dog and you or your dog groomer- https://a.co/d/89CuD1y
6. Toothbrush like a Finger brush https://a.co/d/dihbMHo or you can use Gauze https://a.co/d/03C7PQ3 or pressed cotton pads with the Dental Rinse https://a.co/d/dBPAWwa on it. * Dentahex or Gel-Me are two dental rinses we would recommend.
7. Bath towel like the Soggy Doggy https://a.co/d/03C7PQ3 and Bath Brush- We recommend the “Soggy Doggy” Super absorbent Microfiber chenille bath towel and the ConairPRO dog & cat Shampoo Massage Brush https://a.co/d/8nXIDH2 to start off with. *These tools are all inexpensive and easy to use investments for your grooming supply arsenal.
8. Toys-* age and size appropriate. * Remember that puppies will be ‘teething’ for several months, and that just like their human baby/toddler counterparts, this is a very frustrating and painful time for them and therefore, they will need a variety of different textures and types of safe, non-ingestible toys for them to get thru this phase in the most comfortable ways as possible. Trust us, you will NOT want to skimp on this. https://a.co/d/7NkAZLs https://a.co/d/4uBAscl https://a.co/d/5H5ZLbw https://a.co/d/8nBF7Wa https://a.co/d/drvN2fn * this JW Pets Toy is great for stuffing with favorite Treats such as https://a.co/d/bNIXKNN we use these for our Miniature American Eskimo Doggie along with these etta says Yumm! our pup is hooked on these Chicken sticks https://a.co/d/8BGdH97 they are like Jerky for humans and are human-grade food as well. We LOVE them for easy to bring along on car travel or air travel trips. You can also cut them into smaller bites and stuff them into a toy for a challenging puzzle for your pup. Keeps them busy in mind and body for at least a few minutes til they retrieve the treats.
* Remember to read the labels and NEVER buy Toys made in China. Never. No matter how inexpensive the price is. It’s not worth it for your baby to accidentally ingest lead, or other types of toxic materials. Of course you will want to supervise your puppy family member just as you would a human baby/toddler to make sure they do not swallow and or ingest parts of a toy. You don’t want anything bad to happen to them or have any unnecessary visits to the veterinarian. Way too many stories of puppies/dogs and other pet animals eating inanimate objects; things like clothing, blankets, polyester fiberfill out of doggie beds, pieces of toys and having to have intestinal surgery, and so on.
9. Premium Quality Puppy Food https://a.co/d/6Z4W11v https://a.co/d/6XyMFsk https://a.co/d/aXwSXOq
and/or Homemade Food, if you are highly experienced with Canine Nutritional needs, or want to learn how- [CONTACT US FOR A CONSULTATION]
10. Premium ‘High Value’ Training Treats - Once you determine what their primary sources of protein will be, this will make it easier for you to choose a High Value treat. We recommend The ‘Real Meat’ brand Dog and Cat food in either Chicken or Turkey, https://a.co/d/cRBrTmA as they are high in all essential nutrients and easily digestible and ‘Charlee Bear’ Grain-Free chicken crunchy treats https://a.co/d/ezBy4lo or Bixby Pet ‘Pocket Trainers’ https://a.co/d/g9A5qaX for everyday walks and training. *All of these treats are sourced and made in the USA.
11. A reputable Veterinarian for Regular Visits and Exams and An Emergency Veterinarian; just in case your regular vet is not open ‘after hours’. * Also, we HIGHLY recommend that when traveling with your pet you either research in advance emergency veterinarians in the area you will be staying OR find out who and where they are located as soon as you arrive at your destination, ‘just in case’. * We are not veterinarians and are not affiliates with these two links listed below. The first link if for more allopathic veterinary care and the second one is for more Holistic care. You will need to Copy/Paste them into your browser.
https://www.avma.org/resources/pet-owners/yourvet/finding-veterinarian
https://ahvmf.org
Optional items to purchase may include:
A Travel Carrier/Crate for safe trips in the car, to the veterinarian’s office, airline travel , etc. * For small dogs under 20 pounds we recommend the “Sherpa” brand Airline Travel approved Carrier, https://a.co/d/2YpyUcN https://a.co/d/atlD7Yl https://a.co/d/fyLhBNO and for medium to larger dogs we recommend a PetMate Vari Kennel https://a.co/d/dbmXMlX in the appropriate size for your pup. *And No matter how many photos or videos of pets riding in the front seat you see online and in social media, don’t fall for this unsafe practice. * Think about it- if a front seat of a vehicle has an airbag that will deploy in event of an accident, and anyone under the weight of 150 pounds and under Five Feet tall cannot ‘safely’ sit in the front seat of a vehicle, do you believe that a tiny animal such as a dog or puppy will be safe and protected while riding there?…
a Baby/Puppy Gate https://a.co/d/6m8D3yA https://a.co/d/av2urOc to ‘Safely ‘Puppy-Proof’ Your Home’ and partition off sections of your home that you don’t want the puppy in initially. We would recommend a metal gate rather than one with wooden parts for obvious reasons like chewing/teething. * You can gradually introduce/allow your pup into rooms as they become potty trained and more trustworthy and are no longer teething.
We’ll have a separate article on “How to Safely Puppy-Proof your Home” coming soon.
A Potty pad tray and packages of appropriately sized Potty Pads https://a.co/d/2gsd5oP https://a.co/d/1xFH04j if you will be Potty Pad training your pup * for example if you live in an apartment or place you cannot always quickly take your pup out when the need arises, the weather is really bad outside, or if you travel frequently and want to ensure that your pup always knows where it’s ok to ‘go’ potty. * Dogs are creatures of habit & once they are trained on where to do their pottying business, they will always want to do it there and not disappoint you, so its always best to bring their ‘regular’ items such as the potty pad tray/pads, etc. along while travelling and save incurring unnecessary hotel/AirBnB charges for pet damages whenever possible and alleviate your pet’s anxiety. * We found that once our pup was house trained not to go potty in the house, and on ly on the potty pad/tray we ended up replacing the artificial grass with the potty pads. That way it was super easy clean up to fold up the used pad and put in the trash or diaper pail.
Identification Tags https://a.co/d/cYkYAaW
Air Tag https://a.co/d/d67it6K with Air Tag Holder for Dog Collar https://a.co/d/eJJu7SS https://a.co/d/6D4dffv
FiCollar: https://a.co/d/j0E9xjV
Microchip or Tattoo: You will want to consult your local veterinarian and or reputable pet supplies store for trustworthy references and contact information for these services.
Pet Insurance; Most Pet Insurance is for Accidents and Illness and we are working on partnerships with them as we speak, but there are some companies that do offer Preventative Health and Wellness packages as ‘add-ons’ and we will have another article on Choosing the Right Pet Insurance later on. * Usually, the Earlier you purchase Pet Insurance the better in terms of pricing, deductibles, and so on.
