A Few Beginner Questions

[Laurie S.]

I'd like to start shopping for the stuff I'll need once I can bring a dog home. I know I'll need a crate, collar, leash, and, of course, toys. Where is the best place to shop for stuff like that, would PetSmart be okay?

 

What is the best type of crate for a bc? I know to wait until I know the size of the dog, but I'd like to start looking. What about a dog bed? Should I have one in addition to the crate?

 

Are there any toys, treats, etc., that I should avoid? I'm guessing I should stock up on tennis balls, some pull toys, and some rawhide chews just to start.

 

And then there is the food issue. I've been reading the posts about the various types, but I'm not sure how much to feed a dog. I'm used to picky cats. I don't want to overfeed or, even worse, provide poor quality food. Besides chocolate, is there any other human food that I would need to keep away from a dog?

[Murphys mom]

Hi Laurie S. here is a site with a list of foods to avoid http://www.happyk-9.com/foods-dogs-should-avoid.html , also go easy on the raw hide, it can be hard for some dogs to pass. I prefer bully sticks when I can afford them, or raw bones, hooves or pig ears.

 

I recommend getting the biggest crate you have room for, especially if you plan to crate train. Alot of them come with dividers to make it smaller if needed for potty training. If it's too big they may use a corner for their potty area. Personally I would wait on getting a dog bed. Murphy is 14 months old and would still chew anything cloth left in his crate.

It would be o.k. for outside the crate, although mine ate those also!

 

For food you may get a huge range of preferences. Search the board as there have been lots of discussion about food.

 

I would for definitely get a couple of kongs, you can do all kinds of great treats with those.

[Ms.DaisyDuke]

I'll ditto on the raw hide. Some dogs do fine, some don't. Probably not the best thing for a puppy. I know Daisy would eat them so fast that she'd just chuck em up 30 minutes later when she couldn't digest them.

Puzzle toys are great mental stimulation for dogs of any age. I'd get some of those. (Most of them are toys that you can put their food or some treats in) For a teething puppy, my life saver was a frozen wash cloth. I'd soak a couple of them in water and freeze. When Daisy was getting particularly ornary, i'd give her one to chew on. Supervised of course. I remembered my mom saying she used to give them to us when we were babies and teething, I figured why wouldn't it have the same effect for a dog? It worked well.

[Laurie S.]

Thanks, I didn't realize that about rawhide. I do remember reading about pigs ears, so I'll make sure to get some of those. I like the idea of puzzle treats. Oh, also didn't know that onions and garlic were bad for dogs. So much to learn!

[JaderBug]

Whatever you do, DON'T SPOIL YOUR NEW PUPPY!!

 

 

lol j/k!!

 

I have a crate from the Midwest company- it came with a divider that helps crate-train your puppy (makes a big crate smaller). I found the information on their website to be incredibly helpful as well.

 

I started Jade on Iams Puppy, it was good, but I wish I would have used ProPlan (what i'm using now) from the start. She randomly started getting sick from Iams around 9 or 10 months, idk if they changed the formula or what. I know food is a widely debated topic on here, but that's what I did.

[Laurie S.]

I think spoiling is a requirement.

[sweet_ceana]

If you are ever up in the Phoenix area Ryan's Pet supply has killer deals on crates and toys. We try and go there every few months to stock up.

[hsnrs]

Ryan's is great. You can go to their website and get a free catalog. My neighbor with Corgis usually gets things for us when she goes to Phx. N

[PSmitty]

Someone already posted a good list of human foods that dogs should never have (like chocolate, grapes, raisins, onions). For info on a dog food to feed, I like this website, www.dogfoodproject.com. You can learn a ton about what to look for in a quality food and ingredients to avoid.

 

As for where to shop, I prefer to give my business to small, locally owned shops before I shop at Petsmart, but nothing wrong with shopping there if it's what you've got. I've found better prices on most things, like crates, online, though. It's entirely up to you, but yes, I have dog beds in addition to crates, and we use wire crates.

 

I'm not a rawhide fan. I prefer to give my dogs either raw bones or bully sticks to chew.

[Jumpin Boots]

I would definately second the finding a smaller family owned pet or feed store if you can in your area. While the can be a little more spendy, think about the fact that you are helping to feed a neighbor. Plus, many of the people are a wealth of knowledge. And both of our local pet stores allow a full return on any opened dog food if you pet didn't like it, or you didn't like the effect it had on you pet, then they are always great about helping you find a replacement food.

[Maralynn]

I would skip tennis balls in favor of Chuckit ultra balls Tennis balls collect dirt which can act like sandpaper to your dogs teeth. The Chuckit balls are more expensive but are very heavy duty and should last for yers (if you don't loose them!)