Shopping For Your New Puppy
Shopping for your new puppy is exciting and can be overwhelming! Here are some products that we use and recommend to help you organize your search!
NuVet vitamins: Highly recommended for immune system AT LEAST during the transition month home. Puppies will be on these vitamins prior to going home and we highly recommend these to fill in any nutritional gaps for your precious pup! This is what we give to all our dogs and puppies. It has antioxidants and fatty acids to help build and protect the immune system of puppies and dogs alike. Our dogs love them. It helps with any skin issues or allergies and a number of other ailments for dogs of all ages. The wafers are convenient but we do have to break them up for small puppies for awhile. You can go this route or purchase the powder.
To order NuVet by phone call 1-800-474-7044 order code : 17448
*I now get a small incentive when my puppy families buy while using my code.
I highly recommended these vitamins even before I received any incentive however.
We feed all our dogs, and start your puppy off on Life's Abundance: here is a link to purchase .
We have tried a few of the most top quality food over the years, and find our dogs not only love
this food, but it is a reasonably priced top-notch dog food made fresh and shipped right to you.
have used so many of their products throughout the years and have recently decided it would be
wise to be a field rep for the dog food that I use and so highly recommend to others. If you
order Life's Abundance through my link, I do receive a small compensation!
Highly recommended items and ones we use include : All Stages Dog Food (save money with
Autoship). We have not noticed much of a difference between the feeding the Small/Medium breed puppy food (slightly higher in protein and fat and smaller kibble), and the regular All-Stages. We feed the pups the All-Stages. You can't go wrong with either one. They are both excellent choices.
Treats: We have tried nearly all of these treats and they are very popular here! Below are a few of our top favorites! *They absolutely love the turkey and berry chews but they are a little harder to chew until about 12 weeks old. The Tasty Rewards are easier for the smaller puppies to chew.
Natural Freeze Dried Turkey Hearts, Turkey and Berries Chewies Tasty Rewards (can break these into small pieces, we love these for training!
TRAINING – We will work very hard to start your puppy off on the
right paw from implementing the Puppy Culture training activities to our
partnership with BAXTER & Bella’s Online Puppy School. We are very impressed
with their organization and at-home convenience and how it provides a
seamless transition from our home to yours! This is accomplished by educating
you how to train and interact with your puppy to get the best possible results. Not only will you (together WITH your family) learn the skills you need to be successful, but your puppy will learn incredible manners and behaviors as well! The program is set up for you to complete the first two units BEFORE your puppy comes home so we recommend signing up right away. I believe this will be a very valuable resource to all puppy owners. You will learn how to set up your home, get your family all on the same page and it teaches you exactly what to do the second your puppy arrives for optimal training success! Exciting right? Check it out at https://www.baxterandbella.com/learn-more (use Discount Code: SOUTHMITTEN for an instant 25% off – an incredible value on their lifetime membership). We recommend this on top of group classes. It's a phenomenal resource.
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Food and Water Bowls- love the stainless steel bowls for their ease of washing. We have many of these that we can throw in the dishwasher.
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Dog Food-We will start your pup on All-Stages Life's Abundance and will send a 3-day sample home with you. Please be sure to purchase before you bring your puppy home.
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Crates- The plastic sided crates (medium size) gives more of a den-like atmosphere. It is the type of crate designed for travel. Collapsible metal crates are more practical for crate training because they can be sectioned off into needed-sized spaces (using the included metal divider) while your puppy is potty training and as he grows, and are easier to store and clean since they also have the removable plastic tray in the bottom. 28"-30" is good for most of our adult dogs, and can be sectioned off while they are little, but gives them a little space for when they grow up. The wire crates we use for both puppies and adults around the house. We have had some puppies get their jaw stuck on the wire crates however and had to help them get loose. They tend not to do this as they get a little bigger. A lovely Diggs boutique crate of really good quality and easily collapsible is available HERE (either small or medium size will work. )
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Snuggle Puppy - these are GREAT for your puppy getting used to sleeping alone in his crate. There are little heat pads and a heartbeat.
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Grooming Tools - You should plan on brushing your dog at least once per week to avoid mats, especially if you like to leave their hair long and fluffy. You a great long slicker brush for getting down deep into the fur to avoid mats(this one is expensive but a great one), a simple metal comb , a simple brush and a de-matting comb is a great idea as well! A natural and gentle puppy shampoo and conditioner is what we like to use. We like Burt's Bees Puppy Shampoo and Scout's Honor Natural Shampoo .
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Potty Bells - These are great for teaching your dog to let you know when it is time to go outside. We have used these on all our dogs and it is so easy to train them to use the bells.
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Puppy Toys & Balls - Puppies will look for anything to chew and play with. Make sure you have a safe basket of toys available and put those shoes in a safe place that your puppy can't get to! Balls, Bones, Toys, Teething Chews, braided bully sticks, natural elk sheds (when older) are all great to have in plentiful supply!
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Dental Care Products and Greenies- all our dogs LOVE Greenies! They are for dogs over 6 months. These help keep your dogs teeth clean and fresh. Hint- I have also found big bags at Costco from time to time and they always have the best price for a large bag.
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Dog Beds - I would recommend waiting to get a fancy or expensive dog bed until after the puppy stage! Simple and washable is your best bet for a bed.
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Wash'N Zip Pet Bed- (size medium is our recommended size). This bed here is genius and easily washable though. It has a puppy proofer cover! I would have to say it's our dogs' favorite bed and ours too for washability! *Use code SOUTHMITTEN for a 15% discount! This small family company is so great to work with.
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Baby Gates, Crate or X-Pen Setup- Something like this North Stars gate can block off a carpeted or other room, or another gate such as this .For a small area for your puppy to keep him/her safe and out of trouble, we recommend a crate, gated area, or small pen such as this!
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Vitamin Supplements- NuVet vitamins are highly recommended to fill in any nutritional gaps for the healthiest dogs around! We feed our dogs and puppies these. You can do the wafers or powder. The wafers will likely need to be broken up for smaller pups the first few weeks.
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Harness for training and not pulling on those precious little necks. There are lots of great options. Here's one we like. Your pup would be an X-tra small coming home. You want these to fit snug so your puppy does not slip out of it. Another neck balance harness choice here (extra small when puppy comes home)
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Training Treats & Tools- Little simple treats are great. We only use natural treats without fillers or artificial colors. Our favorite natural treats are any of these from Life's Abundance We almost always have these and these on hand, but any tiny natural treat will be great! This in not the exact clicker we have, but something similar is just fine.
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Training Classes- Start looking into positive behavior reinforcement dog training classes in your area to continue the wonderful start of your sweet, smart puppy. There's lots of great classes and some you may start after your puppy's second set of vaccines. Check your area for puppy star or beginning puppy classes. This is great socialization for your puppy and you both will learn so much. (Also really great for kids to learn proper handling techniques ).
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ID and information Your puppy will be microchipped and an ID number will be on that. However, you will still want an ID tags or collar with things like your pup's name and phone number. You don't have to have this right when they come home, but you will want this soon after.
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Cleaning Supplies - Biodeodorizer: Eco Friendly Cleaner and this odor and stain eliminator (also great but a little more expensive)
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Bernie's Perfect Poop- Pre & Probiotic- HERE use code SOUTHMITTEN for 20% discount!
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Flea & Tick- We DO NOT recommend oral flea and tick medications. We have read far too many horror stories of seizures and even death. Please do your research and do not follow your vet's recommendation blindly. We have had good success with Frontline purchased directly from our vet. There are also natural preventative methods including natural flea collars, and even adding Braggs Apple Cider Vinegar to drinking water. There are lots of viewpoints on flea and tick prevention. Everyone can agree that is is necessary, but there are arguments over the safety of certain products. Again, we do not recommend the oral flea and tick medications.
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Heart Guard Plus We buy this through the vet. This is given monthly. When puppy first comes home, set up a vet visit asap and get her a prescription started for this.
