Puppy Supplies

[LaRositaMonita]

Once our pup is born I know we'll be eager to start SHOPPING! Can anyone give good product recommendations? I had a lab growing up, which is much bigger than a Corgi, and she had fairly limited taste in toys (any kind of BALL was great, and sometimes she had an interest in Nylabones - especially her Nyalbone frisbee - but she hated basically everything else). Things have changed, too! So...

-What size/brand of crate is best?
-How about an ex-pen?
-What type/size of bowl?
-What style/size of collar and leash? (As an aside, I was actually in Petco the other day. Our lab used to have a choke-style collar, but made of soft nylon...it was great for training and very comfortable on her because it wasn't bulky - she was fidgety as a puppy if we put a collar with a buckle on her, but never with this style of collar. Petco didn't have ANY of these! Are they a rarity now? Is there something bigger and better out there?)
-Does your dog have a separate pet bed?
-A good brush?
-Most importantly, TOYS!! So far on our list is the quintessential Hedgie, a Kong, one of those variety packs of Nylabone, and in the infamous PetSmart "BoBo" because our doggie's cousin has one and loves it. My parents already have on hand an ample supply of tennis balls, and a breeder told us about teething keys that her dogs adore. Other suggestions?
-What have we missed?

[milosmom]

Maybe you'll get lucky like I did and your co-workers will throw you a puppy shower! Milo got everything!
The crate they purchased for him was the size a full grown Corgi would use.

Make sure you get a BIG bottle of Natures Miracle or some other enzymatic cleanser for those puppy accidents!

Definitely get chewy type toys, kongs, etc. Puppies need to chew! A soft squeaky toy is great too...they play with them and cuddle with them too.
I always monitor squeak toys, you will learn if your dog has to "kill" the toy and works relentlessly to get at the squeaker (choke hazzard) or is more gentle. Even so, don't want them injesting stuffing if they tear it apart.

Huggy baby wipes for those messy bottoms. (better to get sticky poos while it is still on the dog so you don't have to wipe carpet and furniture).

Get a gentle leader or halti when your pup is a bit older (Milo was 5 mo when I introduced the gentle leader, that is when we started a puppy class). It will save your arm being pulled out its socket when walking. Milo has a regular collar and I also got him used to wearing a harness, (it doubles as part of the seat belt restraint system when in the car).

You'll probably end up with multiple beds. Milo has 3. One is in his crate, the other is for bedtime (by my bed) and the other is in the living room and is his "sofa."

I like Outward Hound products (treat pouches, water bottle holders w/a foldable nylon water bowl, etc). They are great for walks!!

Line up a great kennel so if you have to go away you know you have a place to take your pup. (friends and relatives are okay in a pinch, but I hate to impose on them).

As you get to know your pup and his personality, you will quickly learn likes and dislikes, so that will be the best guide as to what to get.

Most of all: LOVE, lots of love, cuddles, your time and patience. Doesn't cost a dime and is the best thing to give your puppy!!
Oh..excuse me, Milo has just informed me that is dead wrong: love is fine but he says TREATS! Treats are best of all!

[Mvons]

We have the medium vari-kennel which is ideal for travel, grandma's, hotels and my nightstand! But for our new puppy (not born yet) we got a travel harness for the car, check my thread on travel in a truck.

I am so shocked about the nylon chokers. I'll have to check a feed store as they don't have as high a turn over on those products.

We didn't start out with multiple beds as we lived in a 525sf house! Now in a 1700sf two story, one bed in the TV room, one on the first floor and the crate in the bedroom. Actually we also have a crate on the first floor that is our travel crate and will be the training crate in the beginning.

X-pen - buy the tallest you can afford. Ours scaled over the 3 foot so we also own a 4 foot. Very handy to use outside too. Inside I liked using it for the kitchen where she was during the day when I worked.

Tool for nails - dremmel type tool or clippers. Check the threads on this subject.

Merrie

[Jane Austen]

We had a mixed breed poodle/lab that was just about corgi height. He loved to push a large ball around with his nose. It was very good exercise for him and I wanted to have Duchess do the same but she was not interested. If I had a puppy that is what I would like to train her to do.
Duchess dug a hole yesterday going after a chipmunk. No cost for supplies except I have to get a wheelbarrow full of dirt to fill it up again.

[glencorgi]

Already a ton of great suggestions, a few I can add to:

-What size/brand of crate is best?

Personal preference really. I have wire crates, plastic vari kennels (ones I use most often and with the majority of the dogs - medium size) and some soft sided ones I use for hotel rooms - depending on the dog.

-How about an ex-pen?

covered

-What type/size of bowl?

Stainless or ceramic; pint size. Plastic - they can chew up and will sometimes cause contact allergies.

-What style/size of collar and leash? (As an aside, I was actually in Petco the other day. Our lab used to have a choke-style collar, but made of soft nylon...it was great for training and very comfortable on her because it wasn't bulky - she was fidgety as a puppy if we put a collar with a buckle on her, but never with this style of collar. Petco didn't have ANY of these! Are they a rarity now? Is there something bigger and better out there?)
-Does your dog have a separate pet bed?

Collars, try starting with the flat buckle. The soft nylon choke-styles are still around, either vendors at dog shows or catalogs will be your best source for those. There are also the martingale style collars which slip over the head, have adjustability like the flat buckles, but also correction ability like the choke-styles. (I LOVE them.) Sight hound people use them A LOT and sometimes they are known as Greyhound collars. PetsMart carries these. Vet's offices that carry the Lupine brand will have them. Another line for them is Premier. The Halti, IF leash training goes well in the beginning, you probably won't need one of those. Just depends on the puppy/dog a lot. Some are worse about pulling than others, and a Halti is a good training tool to help break them of that.

Debbie

[Fluffypants]

YAY PUPPY SHOPPING!!!!!

All of the above ideas are great. Start with those basics because I guarantee you will buy LOTS more once your bundle of joy arrives!

[milles2]

I love Lupine brand collars: they will replace them for free if the puppy chews it!!!! So as you can guess, Lulu has had a number of new Lupine collars!!!! She even chewed thru her harness as a baby.

I really like the Martingdale collars. Choke collars seem a bit harsh to me but the Martingdale collars to give a correction when they pull.

I wouldn't be without an X pen, they have so many great uses.

I bought a crate the size too large for Tucker before I brought him home. I never took it back. And I am very glad because I put it in the back end of the station wagon for long road trips and put both dogs in it together. It has also had many uses for me.

[LaRositaMonita]

You guys are GREAT! The martingale collar is probably what I was thinking of... it definitely sounds like the "bigger and better" version of what our lab used to wear. I've seen online vendors of those Lupine collars, too...the value of FREE REPLACEMENT sounds pretty good to me!

[disraeli]

Originally Posted by LaRositaMonita

-Most importantly, TOYS!! So far on our list is the quintessential Hedgie, a Kong, one of those variety packs of Nylabone, and in the infamous PetSmart "BoBo" because our doggie's cousin has one and loves it. My parents already have on hand an ample supply of tennis balls.

Just FYI - the Bobo's are easy to rip into...my two have destroyed FOUR of them so far (even one with a canvas body)! No more Bobo's for them!

[milles2]

Ok.... The most "rediculous" purchase I made for Tucker was a Snuggle Puppy. It's a stuffed dog that has a velcro pouch in the center with a plastic heart inside (runs on battery) and makes a heartbeat sound.

I didn't want baby Tucker to miss his Mom and sibs when I brought him home. A neat idea but a bit frivilous!

[MrsGrace]

Originally Posted by milles2@rpi.edu

Ok.... The most "rediculous" purchase I made for Tucker was a Snuggle Puppy. It's a stuffed dog that has a velcro pouch in the center with a plastic heart inside (runs on battery) and makes a heartbeat sound.

I didn't want baby Tucker to miss his Mom and sibs when I brought him home. A neat idea but a bit frivilous!

Did Tucker like it?

I'm thinking our puppy will be in the crate for the most part, but maybe a bit on the bed too. . .

So, what crates do you guys think is better? Wire crates or the kind that have the plastic shell and can go in the car/airplane? I always thought that the crate was a dogs "cave", so even if you had wire you had to cover a few sides w/ a towel or something?

[Jeni D]

BoBo didn't last very long here either. Dudley loved Bo Bo and would carry him around for a while, but then, BoBo started turning up with no ears and his limbs were amputated. We went through four of these, each getting destroyed in less time, before I decided BoBo just couldn't be Dudley's pal any longer