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| Me with my new godsister Aberdeen! We both have freckled paws! |
Recently, my godmama (my girl's roommate when I was adopted) brought home her own furbaby (a border collie/heeler mix from For the Dog's Sake just like me!) and asked beforehand what she should have at home when she brought her new pup home. My girl and I were happy to help, and I thought it would be a good idea to share here! Before adopting me, my girl did a lot of research on what to get for me, and even now, she continually updates her "must have" list for dog supplies.
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| This photo (while admittedly blurry) is from my ride home after meeting my girl for the first time! |
While it can be exciting to bring home your new pup, it can also be nerve-wracking and stressful! Especially if this is your first furbaby, how do you know what to have on hand? There are so many stores, resources, and products that it can be hard to narrow down exactly what to get. Hopefully, I can provide a broad overview here:*
Food
·
Step
One: decide how you’re going to feed your new furbaby.
Dry, wet, raw, or a mix of the above?
o
Dry:
§
Pro –
it’s cheap, there’s a wide selection, convenient for traveling (just stick X
number of cups in a plastic baggie and you’re good to go), can be used as
training rewards
§
Con –
it’s kind of boring (imagine eating the same thing day in day out),
moisture content is low
o
Wet
§
Pro –
moisture content is good, you can actually see the ingredients in good-quality
brands (carrot chunks, peas, etc.) so you know you’re not feeding your new furbaby junkfood
§
Con –
it’s pretty expensive to only feed wet food, especially if your pup is larger
and needs multiple cans per day
o
Raw
§
Pro –
cheapest option, super healthy (if you know how to balance the nutrients),
offers fun variety, you actually know what you’re giving your dog instead of
trusting the packaging by some company
§
Con –
it’s a little difficult to find tracheas/hearts/chicken feet/organ meat/rabbit
in your average supermarket, you’d need to do some research to make sure you’re
feeding your pup enough and giving them the right balance of nutrients
o
What
do I eat? Kind of a mix of all of the
above. I get ~1 ½ cups of dry food
(Orijen while away at college), ¼ - 1/3 can of wet
food (mix of brands and flavors), and a sprinkling of bonito (kind of fish) flakes on top,
often with a drizzle of olive oil and a scoop of cottage cheese
§
Oftentimes my girl throws in fun extras: eggs (shells included, usually in small pieces), raw meat
(salmon, beef, etc), steamed veggies (broccoli, zucchini, sweet potato,
carrots), cheese (I especially love Parmesan!), parsley (for fresh breath), plain yoghurt,
bread soaked in egg or olive oil (in the wintertime for extra calories), and the cheese sauce from Annie's Mac and Cheese (as a fun occasional surprise), among other things
·
Step
Two: what brand should you feed your new dog? Click this link.
o
These
are the best dog foods in the country, and my girl and I highly recommend going along with
this list (the mix of canned food I eat usually comes from brands on this
list). This is my girl's Dog Food Bible.
o
But regardless of that list, you should look for the following on any dog food label:
§
The
first ingredient is meat
§
The
first 5 ingredients are something recognizable (not some chemical) and not a
filler (like corn)
§
At
least a few fruits/veggies
§
Avoid
sweeteners, non-natural preservatives, food coloring/food dyes
§
I
highly recommend grain-free food, but if you do feed a food with grain, then
rice (esp. brown rice) and barley are better than corn and wheat
§
My
general rule of thumb is that if it looks good enough for a human to eat (as
far as ingredients go), then it’s good enough for your pup
·
Step
Three: how often to feed you new canine family member?
o
It
actually depends on the dog! I would
start out with 1-2 scheduled meals, and then go from there. If your dog is a fast eater, do 2 or even 3
smaller meals. If you have a grazer who
doesn’t run the risk of overeating (like me), feel free to free-feed. Also, if your pup is a quick eater, consider
kongs, where your dog will work for its food and draw out the eating process,
or putting a ball in the kibble, where the dog has to move the ball around in
order to get to the food, or something along those lines. Rapid eating (especially in deep-chested
breeds) can lead to bloat, which can be fatal!
·
Measuring
cups are helpful to have on hand! (my girl has a human set for her baking/cooking and a canine set for my dog food)
· You'll definitely want bowls, one for food and one for water. I prefer elevated bowls—it feels more natural to me so I don't have to bend over so far to eat and drink, plus it’s an extra
preventative against bloat.
·
Training
·
Small
training treats—aim for 2-4 calories per treat.
As far as ingredients go, use approximately the same guidelines as food.
o
You
can also use kibble, pieces of string cheese, etc.
·
Clicker—my girl used to be anti-clicker until she adopted me and discovered how magical they actually are. Get one, use one, love one. Here’s a great intro by another SD team.
· As
far as commands go, I’d say the top 2 to learn are the pup’s name, followed by
Leave It (since that can be lifesaving). For more specific instructions on how to train certain commands, check out my Training Tips page!
Equipment
·
Collar
o
Flat
collar/buckle collar: the typical thing you picture when someone says the word
“collar.” You’ll find a super wide
variety: there’s a flat collar for everyone as far as design and colour goes. My girl's general rule of thumb for training is that all dogs should be able to walk on a flat collar.
o
Martingale:
possibly the safest collar out there.
It’s like a flat collar and a slip lead/choke chain had a baby. It functions exactly like a flat collar
except for when your dog pulls: it has the ability to tighten to the circumference
of the dog’s neck so that the dog won’t slip out of its collar, but it won’t
tighten past that point so that the dog won’t injure its trachea/accidentally
hang itself/all sorts of bad things. These collars were created for sighthound breeds like salukis that have a thinner skull circumference than neck circumference, making it easy for collars to slip off. However, these collars can be used for any breed and are especially useful for more skittish furbabies. It can be helpful to have one as your first collar as you get to know your furbaby so that he or she doesn't try to slip out when you first meet or when you encounter something "scary" that you didn't realize would scare your pup.
o
Prong: My girl doesn't like them, and I don' t like them either (she slipped one on my neck once to see how I'd react, and I'd rather not repeat the experience). There’s a reason they’re banned in certain
countries. My girl is a big fan of force-free training methods, so she is quite against the use of prong collars. With proper placement and
proper usage, they can be an okay tool on certain dogs in certain situations,
though.
(I just found this cool and humane alternative to a prong on Etsy by SnowflakeCraft!)
(I just found this cool and humane alternative to a prong on Etsy by SnowflakeCraft!)
o
Choke
chain/slip lead: no. Tightens
indefinitely = not a solid plan and can lead to tracheal damage. If you have to choose between a choke chain or a prong, a prong is safer, but my girl highly advises against using either of these tools, especially if you have never used them before (and be wary of any trainer who insists upon them, uses them incorrectly, and/or uses them on dogs that are too young to wear them).**
·
Leash
o
6 ft.
leash for walking is generally recommended and is the typical leash you'll see around, particularly on pet dogs.
o
While people tend to like retractable leashes, they snap easily. You also don't have much control over your pup.
o
There
are also shorter leashes, traffic leads, and hands-free leashes that you can
look into. Hands-free leashes can be really useful not only for service dog teams, but also for runners/joggers so you don't have to hold onto a leash while running with your pup.
·
Head
Collar
o
It’s
like a halter on a horse, except that it’s on a dog. Instead of yanking a dog around by its neck,
you lead it by its head. This can be
good for a dog that wants to pull, but it’s also just a really good option for
more subtle communication.
o
The
two most popular brands tend to be Gentle Leader and Halti, and you can find at least one or the other in any pet store.
o
Some
dogs aren’t fans of head collars, and that’s okay. I find them more humane in general, but there is no "universal" training tool that magically works on all dogs and for all teams. I wasn't a huge fan of my head collar, so once my girl got the desired heel positioning she was looking for, she let me work without it since I work fine in a martingale. You're pup's comfort is a priority!
·
Seatbelt
o
Clickit
Sport by Sleepypod: an energy absorbing padded vest. No need for additional hardware/attachment
straps. I don’t have it, but my girl is planning
on ordering it for because right now it's the only actively crash-tested dog seatbelt on the market.
o
I currently wear an AKC seatbelt harness from Amazon.
When I was nearly in a car accident with my girl and her mom, the harness held me secure and didn’t break, so it gets a good review from me!
Care
·
Shampoo—non-scented
is generally better since we dogs have such powerful noses
o
During
the summer/Lyme season, I highly recommend a shampoo that deters fleas and
ticks! I've been virtually tick-free this summer thanks to a tick-deterring shampoo that my girl uses on me.
·
Nail
clippers
o
Styptic Powder is useful to stop any bleeding. Vets often use it, and it should be perfectly safe on your pup.
o
Vets
often offer nail clipping as a service, so if you don’t know how to clip
nails/are uncomfortable with it/your furbaby is really not good about holding still,
then I definitely recommend that option rather than risking any damage to you or your pup in the process.
·
Brush
(I would just google what kind of brush would be best for a dog with X-type of
coat)
·
Booties
(for the snow) and booties (for the heat)
o
I
have Pawz booties for the snow and UltraPaws and Ruffwear for the heat.
·
Poop
bags! Get them in solid, non-see-through
black (my girl says you'll thank her for this suggestion!).
o
There
are also these cute little holders for them, and they can attach to your leash. Most pet stores carry them now, but you can
also find them on Amazon. You can
actually find a heck of a lot of stuff on Amazon.
·
Heartworm
preventative and flea/tick preventative, which your vet should carry.
·
Crate/bed/pad—whatever
your pup feels most comfortable with and works best for your living arrangement (I've currently discovered my dog bed, which my girl has had since she got me, and I really love it!).
Other
·
Doggie
wipes: great for wiping muddy paws and reducing general dander
·
Collapsible
bowls: great for traveling since they squish up into a flat disc or square (you
can find them on Amazon or pretty much any pet store)
·
Life
vest: dogs can swim but not for long if they’re not used to it, so if you plan
on swimming/canoeing/etc. with your new canine family member, you should definitely get one.
·
Cooling
vest/cooling bandana: for those hot days
·
Winter/weather
coat: for those cold days
· Chews
o
Of
the dental variety: theoretically cleans teeth, although I don’t know how much
I buy into that. If it has parsley or
something like that in it, it’s probably okay.
I get these things called Simply Nourish bones that are pretty good, and
Kelsie seems to enjoy them.
o
Of
the au naturel variety: pigs ears, bully sticks, bones with fillers, etc. They’re
pretty good because they can last a long time.
Hopefully this helps kickstart your collection of dog accoutrement or inspires you to add to your current collection! If you're getting a Service Dog or Service Dog prospect, you may want to check out my checklist for Service Dog gear, as well as my more detailed post on the gear I use on a daily basis.
Until next time,
Kelsie Iris
SD team etiquette
Don't distract SDs
Spoon Theory
Confused? See my terms and abbreviations
* This is an overview for what to have when bringing home an adult dog, since my girl adopted me when I was an adult. A puppy as a new furbaby would require a slightly altered list.
** I won't judge others for the training methods that work best for them. What is reflected in this post, however, is my opinion based on my girl's research and her experience with dog training and behaviour.
*
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