# My Shopping List is almost complete for my 1st dog...



## geissap (Sep 7, 2010)

Well my first GSD puppy is here in 2 weeks...and I'm getting through my shopping list but I need some help with the last couple items. I'm using the shopping list found here for reference: Shopping List For a New Puppy | Dog Star Daily

5. Water Bowl - I don't have a water or food bowl for my dog yet. Anyone got a good recommended one that you can link me to?
7. Freeze Dried Liver - Do they sell this stuff at Petco or Petsmart?
8. Sterilized Long Bones - Where do you find these? I find lots of bones but I can never tell if there sterilized
11. Martingale collar, leash and gentle leader - I don't even know what any of this is except the leash. Do I want a retractable leash or just a simple leash with a puppy?

Everything else is bought! I just need help with those things...


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

You can get dehydrated liver and chicken at PetsMart and they also carry the bones. If they're very white and really hard, like stone, then they're sterilized. I prefer to give bones with meat on them but the sterilized ones are good for filling with peanut butter and keeping a pup busy.


----------



## Sigurd's Mom (May 12, 2009)

For the water/food bowls I'd just get a two good stainless steel ones. I bought mine from a small store in my town, but I'm sure Petco or Petsmart would have them.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I agree, stainless steel or glass, no plastic bowls.


----------



## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Exciting time for you!!
For the water bowl, I like the stainless pails. Tractor supply carries them cheaper than anywhere else.
I would not use the sterilized bones, they can splinter and are very hard...I'd rather go with fresh raw bones from the grocer/meat store ~soup bones or beef knucklebones. The cartiledge in them will help pups ears to stand too. Marrow bones can give pup runny poo as the marrow is rich.
My opinion on a collar would be an adjustable harness that pup can grow with. 
I'm not a fan of the retractable leashes.
I'd go with a cheap 6 ft to start(pup will probably chew on it) and then go to leather. I have several different leashes, lengths, cotton, leather, ASAT all come in handy for different things.
When I was training my pup, he never had a leash on, or collar unless we went off property. His recall is outstanding. I think sometimes when pups are always hooked up to you, once they get free they take off running. My dog never knew that feeling as he was always free and came to me because I had something good for him(tug, ball, or treats)


----------



## JazzNScout (Aug 2, 2008)

geissap said:


> Well my first GSD puppy is here in 2 weeks...and I'm getting through my shopping list but I need some help with the last couple items. I'm using the shopping list found here for reference: Shopping List For a New Puppy | Dog Star Daily
> 
> 5. Water Bowl - I don't have a water or food bowl for my dog yet. Anyone got a good recommended one that you can link me to?
> Get ready for the GSD digging-in-the-water-bowl fun!
> ...


12. Patience


----------



## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

I agree on stainless bowls. Marrow bones are ok if you remove most of the marrow and slowly introduce more marrow as the pup gets older.


----------



## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

I can only recommend stainless steel food dish(es) and water dish or bucket. No glass, plastic, ceramic, etc. If you like, the no-tip dishes with rubber on the bottom will not wind up getting scooted all over the place. I feed puppies in the crate a lot, anyway.

I agree with onyx'girl that raw bones are best.

A puppy doesn't need any collar except a small buckle collar. Nylon is OK. Don't spend much because he will outgrow it in a month. I prefer the metal buckles (I had a plastic buckle break many years ago).

I usually start puppies on a bit (5' to 10') of light cord with a small bolt snap because an adult leash is too heavy, and I am not interested in buying or making a real puppy leash. If you do this, make sure your knots can't come loose and the cord is way stronger than you need (mistakes can be fatal).

A 6 foot leash is OK for walks, although I prefer a bit shorter (4 or 5 foot). 3 foot (or 30) for obedience. The Flexi is OK for potty on the lawn, but it is useless for the sidewalk, any training, and most games.


----------



## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I'd save my money on the retractable leash, no real purpose for one.


----------



## Good_Karma (Jun 28, 2009)

Agree, those sterilized bones will shatter if dropped on a hard surface. Not good.

Make sure you have a good digital camera for posting pics of your puppy for us!


----------



## K9SHOUSE (Jun 8, 2003)

The Lupine brand for collars is great for puppies or dogs that chew if your local store carries them. Money back guarantee if chewed or destroyed. Just save the receipt or tags on the collar. Then bring the chewed collar in and exchange it for a new one (same size). Very cute designs and they hold up well otherwise.

I would also hold off on buying an expensive dog bed. For my pups and fosters I bought some cheap plain pillows with microfill, covered them with old pillowcases and then covered/tucked around with an old blanket for their crates. Very easy to clean in the washing machine verses a big dog bed pillow and no issues with bleaching. When they destroy the pillows I just pack the microfill in another pillowcase and reuse. When the pup stops chewing add cheap cedar shavings for freshness or new microfiber as needed.

Also great for for older dogs too with incontinence. Just stick the pillows in a twin size plastic matress cover/sleeve that zips (like for people with allergies) and then easy zip off/wash/hose down/hang dry.


----------



## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

avoid retractable leashes at all costs! this will be a big powerful dog and you dont want them to have the kind of freedom on the leash. Not to mention retractable leashes are dangerous for both pet and owner if they break. You want no more than a 6 foot leash. On walks they dont need all that freedom IMO. and if you're raising the dog to walk properly on the leash next to you (heel position) the retractable leash would be useless anyway. They dont make them strong enough to handle 60lbs of yanking and tugging muscle. 

Stainless steel bowls definitely. We're transitioning to stainless steel as one of our dogs has whats called "snow nose" from the plastic. Steel is easier to clean and doesnt hold onto nasty bacteria either like plastic does.

good luck!!


----------



## vat (Jul 23, 2010)

Oh I almost forgot, chilly bones for those teething times were a god send!


----------



## TiffanyK (Apr 23, 2010)

We use a 6 ft leash in the yard for pottying so I can stand on the stepping stones and she can go into the yard to do her business. LOL. Our backyard is mostly dirt though and I just hate getting out there in flip flops after it rains (and here is rains every afternoon lol)

We use a 4 ft leash for everything else. Walks, games, trips to the store/vet, parks, etc..

We use stainless steel bowls - but we use a shallow one that is wider. 

We get freeze dried liver at Petsmart. It's our puppy's favorite treat by far.

We use Nylabones instead of any sort of real bone. Mainly because we have small children and the mess of a slobbery real bone just makes me cringe. lol. Nylabones are easy to wash. lol. 

We use a nylon collar that clips on at home since it's easier to take off and on when puppy really NEEDS to get out to potty after being crated (we take collars off in the crate) We use a nylon buckle style collar for off in public (stores and walks and stuff) so I don't worry about the buckle breaking. We will eventually use a Martingale collar for walks as she gets bigger and if she pulls we will use an EasyWalk harness (I think that's the name of it) We used it with our other GSD and it worked well.


----------



## geissap (Sep 7, 2010)

My wife said the TSC stainless steel buckets are ugly so that's out haha...

What size bowls are you all using? Wal-Mart actually had a nice stainless steel bowl with a rubber bottom they had two sizes one in 4.5 qt and 2 qt. Is 4.5 qt to big though?


----------



## geissap (Sep 7, 2010)

K9SHOUSE said:


> The Lupine brand for collars is great for puppies or dogs that chew if your local store carries them. Money back guarantee if chewed or destroyed. Just save the receipt or tags on the collar. Then bring the chewed collar in and exchange it for a new one (same size). Very cute designs and they hold up well otherwise.
> 
> I would also hold off on buying an expensive dog bed. For my pups and fosters I bought some cheap plain pillows with microfill, covered them with old pillowcases and then covered/tucked around with an old blanket for their crates. Very easy to clean in the washing machine verses a big dog bed pillow and no issues with bleaching. When they destroy the pillows I just pack the microfill in another pillowcase and reuse. When the pup stops chewing add cheap cedar shavings for freshness or new microfiber as needed.
> 
> Also great for for older dogs too with incontinence. Just stick the pillows in a twin size plastic matress cover/sleeve that zips (like for people with allergies) and then easy zip off/wash/hose down/hang dry.


Totally gonna just take your recommendation but I have no idea what size to get? I have no clue what size my dogs neck will be at 7 weeks?


----------



## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

Your puppy may come with a collar from the breeder. If not, have the breeder measure your puppy's neck for you. I'd start with a cheap adjustable nylon collar because s/he's going to grow out of it pretty quickly. Dena & Keefer were larger puppies, 18/19 pounds at 9 weeks old, and they wore their puppy collars until they were 6 months old, when they got their adult collars. Halo was smaller, so her first collar was a smaller size and she needed an interim one before her adult collar.


----------



## geissap (Sep 7, 2010)

Geez I've been through two books and I'm currently reading through Dog Star Daily and this is the first day I've heard of clicker training! UGL:IUDL:FISUDF I don't think I'll ever learn. I feel like I know nothing and in two weeks he's coming! Not sure I understand the purpose of clicker training all that much but now that I've searched it seems like alot of people are using it...


----------



## Uniballer (Mar 12, 2002)

geissap said:


> What size bowls are you all using? Wal-Mart actually had a nice stainless steel bowl with a rubber bottom they had two sizes one in 4.5 qt and 2 qt. Is 4.5 qt to big though?


I use 2 quart bowls with my adult dogs. These might also work for a puppy, but a small puppy might feel it has to step into a 2 quart bowl to reach all the food. Then he'll be tracking food mess wherever he goes next. Try it and see. I have a couple smaller stainless bowls that I like to use for puppies.


FYI - I never give puppies bedding. In my world, puppies sleep in a crate. Bored puppies will shred the bedding, eat it, and maybe make themselves very sick.


----------



## TiffanyK (Apr 23, 2010)

My only fear with a rubber bottom on a bowl is for a puppy who really likes to chew - the rubber may end up as a fun thing to chew. lol. A friend of mine, her dog ate the rubber off of the bottom of her bowl - and I'm gonna guess that it could have caused some tummy issues - no clue what came of it but just something to think about.

We use some old receiving blankets in the crate. When she stops chewing, we will put the crate pad in. LOL. But until then, the crate pad is too expensive to be torn to pieces. lol. And receiving blankets are so much easier to throw in the wash if she has an accident. The first 2 nights she did and I was so thankful it was just the receiving blankets and not a big old foam pad with an awkward cover to wash. lol


----------

