Transitioning is stressful for new puppies and owners. The puppy is missing his litter mates, mom, and the rest of his pack. Thankfully dogs live in the moment, and your interaction will create a bond with him. New owners have to deal with a new schedule to include feeding, crate, training, sleeping, and potty times. Setting up your area and preparing yourself before hand can mean having a potty trained pup in a week, or continual messes to clean up and little sleep. Here are some supplies we recommend for new puppies.
Recommended Puppy Supplies:
1. Dog Crate
Either Vari Kennels )hard sided crate) or Wire Kennels with the divider. I’ve used both and they both work well, but the best bang for the buck was definitely the wire crate. Buying one that will fit your adult dog size then using the divider (make sure that it comes with one, some do not!) saves a ton of money. Also they are easier for me to keep clean.
2. Baby Gate or exercise pen
Attach this to the kennel, so the pup has a sleeping place (crate), and a play place (exercise pen).
3. Chew toys
Have at least 5, 3 of them being Kong type toys. Kongs, Biscuit Balls, and Squirrel Dudes are my favorites. I’ve seen IQ toys on the market and they look interesting, but I’ve never tried any. Mainly you are looking for hollow toys to stuff with treats.
Stuffing Kong toys:
Take a small piece of high value food (I've used peanut butter, a bit of ground beef, I bet moistened kibble or canned dog food would work). Now stuff that in the tiny opening of the Kong toy. The idea is that they can't get it, but they can smell it, and taste it a bit, so will work at it a long time to get it. Sometimes I smear peanut butter inside the very top of the toy.
Now fill the toy up with the treat. You can use kibble and top it off with peanut butter or yogurt to keep it in place (it doesn't take long for pups to empty this style out). I have also plugged the small hole with tape or cheese, filled the toy up with broth and froze it. (this style lasts quite a long time until they are older and figure out they can bite it to crush the ice into smaller pieces). I've also done this with yogurt and peanut butter. Sometimes I fill it with some green beans or smash a piece of cheese up at the top.
For the first few weeks, they get fed out of these toys. I measure out their daily food amount and stuff the Kongs with it then freeze it. When they are raw fed this is great with ground meat. The extra is fed by hand by the family during training exercises.
Notes:
Some pups will give up on their treat if they can't get it after a while. Feel free to leave it for a bit, but make sure it gets picked up and ran through the dishwasher. Rot and mold are not puppy friends.
I go sparingly with the peanut butter allergies are known to develop due to it. Check the ingredients and make sure both your yogurt and peanut butter do not contain xylitol. It's a sweetener that is toxic to dogs.
Water Bowls
Tip: Place a clean rock in the bowl to keep pup from tipping it over all the time.
Only get food bowls when pup is socialized and well trained – Our goal is to feed puppy through the day in the kong toys. Any kibble/food left over should be used by family members to train. Making them work for their food has many advantages.
Dog food
Victor Brand Dog food
I normally try to feed raw. It is more time consuming and takes a bit of math. We recently had to do some traveling. If I'm to be gone, I transition the dogs to kibble. It's easier on the farm sitter, me, and the dogs.
We recommended this brand. We love it due to the high protein content and the minimal ingredients. This brand can be found in various locations. Here’s a map to help find a local dealer near you.
Treats for training
For the first few weeks, usually kibble, or their normal food, works well. When teaching new tricks we like freeze dried liver
A Training Lead
I use this hands free leash for tether training all my dogs. It is my all time favorite!
A word about potty areas.
Some people set up a potty area for the new puppy in their play room. I don’t use them. I don’t like them. After 7 weeks there should be no pup messing in the house. I work a schedule to make sure pups get outside to eliminate. If I’m at home, the pup is tethered to me anyway. This keeps the pup occupied, learning the routine, allowed to bond, and I know exactly what the pup is up to all the time.
For those that have to work and leave the pup for hours at a time, get someone to take care of your dog in the middle of the day. Leaving a pup alone for 8 hours a day and only having interactions, or let out only a couple hours after your work will make any dog necrotic, noisy, destructive and unhappy. Dogs are not fish. English Shepherds have to have something to occupy their mind.
When I am not home, the puppy is crated. If I’m gone for more than a few hours, the puppy is with a family member or in our kennel set up.
I'm not paid in any way by any of these companies. I'm just telling you what we use and what works.
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