I Have a New Puppy. What Do I Need?
I have listed the specific products I feel new puppy owners should have. These are products we use in our home when we raise a puppy (which we are doing right now for our pup, Favor, who is 6 months old).
Learning Tools
I have produced a number of DVDs and an online course that every new puppy owner should get and study. These videos are available as DVDs or online streaming. I recommend the stream since you'll be able to view the video right away as well as save some money.
Living with Your Puppy - Establishing Pack Structure DVD
Every new puppy owner has the same image of what they want their new dog to be like as an adult. First and foremost, everyone wants a great relationship with their dog but beyond that, those who plan on keeping their dog in their home want a calm, well-mannered, obedient house dog that minds and respects their family and friends.
Housebreaking 101 with Mark Keating
Introducing a new dog into your home is an enormous responsibility. The amount of work it takes to raise an 8 week old puppy can be overwhelming especially if you do not have a game plan going into it. This course is going to help you develop that plan. While everyone's lifestyle is different and every dog is different this course is designed to fit all dogs and people, regardless of whether you are raising a working line dog for sport work or a family pet.
Management
We use the term "management" to explain how we control our puppy when it's in our home and while on walks. We recommend two methods of confinement for puppies in the home: dog crates and ex-pens. Training a puppy to get comfortable in them is explained in our videos.
Dog Crates
Puppies don't normally pee and poop where they sleep (assuming you take them outside enough). To control your pup overnight or when you're gone, use a small dog crate. You can pick one up at Walmart. Do not get a large adult crate.
Get a plastic crate, not a wire crate. The plastic crates keep hair, pee, and spilled water inside the crate. Wire crates let waste out on your floor.
If you get too large of a crate, the pup will poop in one end and sleep in the other end. If you did get a large crate, put boxes in it to take up space. This will prevent accidents from happening.
We prefer to get a smaller puppy crate because we can put it in our car when we want to take the dog someplace. Dogs should NEVER ride outside of a crate in a vehicle.
When the dog outgrows the crate, we will sell it and buy another bigger one.
Exercise Pens (Ex-Pens)
Exercise pens are great. They make crate training much easier. Puppies readily accept them. We can fill the ex-pen with toys that occupy the puppy for long periods of time. They are inexpensive and many people end up using them for years.
Choose the Ex-Pen that will fit the adult size of your dog. Generally, German shepherds need a larger Ex-Pen while toy poodles need a smaller one.
We recommend multiple Ex-Pens. We usually have 3 Ex-Pens: one for our living room, one that we put out inside our fenced yard (we do not allow our small puppies to have free access to our fenced yard - there are too many things they can get into in the yard), and a third Ex-Pen in our office (our puppies go to work with us and the Ex-Pen is the perfect way to manage them). This may vary depending on your living conditions and lifestyle.
Ex-Pen
This exercise pen is durable and affordable. Exercise Pens are good playing ground for your pets, whether indoors or outdoors. Each Ex-Pen is made of Acri-Lock™ Acrylic Coated Gold Zinc for long lasting protection. It has a secure double latch door access to make your pet secure. Also, it's easy to set up and you don't need tools to build this one. It's a versatile exercise pen; you can even have a variety of pets in it.
Orthopedic Pet Ped
These Pet Beds are made of imitation lambskin. The Faux Shearling Dog Beds are great. They are soft and practical, they have two sides and are easily machine washed. The Sherpa is hospital grade. Pet owners love this product because they do resist tearing and the ones we use with several of our house dogs are years old.
Once you see how much your new puppy loves them, you will want several of them. One for the crate, one for the ex-pen. When we reach the point where our puppy is ready to be out of the crate and tethered to us with a leash, we keep one of these pet beds next to our chair in our living room. The puppy already recognizes it as something to lay on and relax on. We teach the PLACE command in our home by using these beds.
Leashes
There are a million kinds of leashes on the market. You only need a couple to start with. Get our 6-foot Amish Puppy Leash. It is lightweight, 3/8 inch, with a smaller bronze or stainless steel snap. These are much easier to drag around for puppies. Full-size leather leashes can be too heavy for them. You may find this is the only leash you ever need. I also like these 3/8 inch leashes for our adult dogs. Right out of the box, our leashes are very soft and pliable so you won't have to try and 'break them in'.
The only time our puppies are off leash is if they are in a fenced yard. When we raise a puppy we will often keep it on a leash until it is 18 months old. Good management eliminates almost all behavioral problems. Your puppy cannot run off after a child if it's on leash. It can't chase a cat if it's on leash. It can't jump up on small children if it's on leash. It can't sneak around the corner of the room and poop if it's on a leash that is tethered to you. It can't chew up your favorite chair if it's on a leash and tethered to you.
If we have a rowdy puppy, we keep it on this leash when it is in the house. We don't allow it to run around the house and act crazy. This may be cute when the dog is 8 weeks old but it won't be when it's an adult. So allowing it to practice bad behavior as a puppy will only result in you having to use more FORCE to stop it when it's older.
3/8 inch Puppy Leash with Brass Snap and Handle
Our puppy leashes are lightweight and measure 4ft or 6 ft. long x 3/8 in. wide. They are handmade by the Amish from Latigo Leather and imported hardware. Because the leash is so thin, it is best not to rivet the leash as it will only weaken the leather. This is our only leash that is not riveted. Our Leerburg dog training leashes are the finest leather dog leashes that money can buy. You will never find a leash of this quality in any pet store or dog food warehouse.
Toys
Hol-ee Roller
These tough rubber toys were developed for and by pet owners in order to provide a superior outlet for interactive fun between dog and owner, as well as for the play and exercise of the dog by itself. Pliable, resilient natural rubber has proven itself to be the best material to satisfy the dog's normal craving to chew.
Feeding
One of the most important decisions you will make in the life of your dog is what to feed them. We only feed all-natural products. That means raw all-natural dog food and/or very specific all natural commercial dog food. We are very serious about the food we feed and sell. Cindy has written an extensive FAQ on feeding a raw diet. I recommend every new puppy customer read it.
If you choose to feed a raw diet, it is recommended that you also teach your dog that there will be times (when you travel or are on vacation) where it has to eat a commercial dog food. We recommend Honest Kitchen dehydrated dog food. We will mix some of this with our normal raw food that we feed so our puppies are used to it.
Bowl Games DVD
Sit down with "Katie K9" and Dr. Jessica for a "straight from the guy" talk to dispel myths and learn about nutrition for pets, pros and cons of feeding options, and how to choose the best food and supplements for your cat or dog.
Non-Slip Stainless Steel Bowl
The Non-Slip Stainless Steel Bowl is heavy gauge and rust-resistant. They’re thick so it’s perfect for dogs who love thwacking their bowls around. With a removable silicone base, you’ll be able to thoroughly sanitize both the bowl and base. No more grimy or moldy content hiding at the base of your dog’s bowl.
Stainless Steel Flat Pails
The pails are made from high quality stainless steel with a thickness of 0.40mm. THis is great for keeping water in and hooking up to an ex-pen or wire crate.
Treats
Dog treats are a very important part of our training with our dogs. This begins at 8 weeks of age and really never stops. When we start our training we initially focus on ENGAGEMENT exercises with our puppies. Engagement simply means our dogs are focused on us, they want to be with us and they want what we have, and what we have are high-value treats.
Every dog is different. Some dogs like one brand of treat 10 times more than another. No one can tell you what your dog will like. Only you can experiment with different treats until you find the ones your dog would die for. How you do this is explained in the DVDs I recommended at the beginning of this article. With that said, your goal should be to stick with all-natural treats. Do not feed those biscuits that Walmart or Kmart sells in a bag. The ingredients are terrible. Most are made in China and many have been linked to sick dogs. It's just not worth the gamble.
You are going to need what we call a BAIT POUCH to hold your dog treats in when you go out and work engagement exercise with your dog. The one we like and use the most are the Snap Open Bait Bag. The opening is spring-loaded so you can keep it securely closed when you're not actually training your dog. Youc an also snap these open and it will stay open, very useful when you start training with your puppy or dog. You will use the bait bag for the life of your dog if you choose to train like we do. Our leash and bait pouch hang on a hook in the closet by the door to our house. When we go out, it automatically goes on. When we come in, we hang it there so we always know where it's at.
Snap Open Bait Bags
The Snap Open Bait Bag is great for training sessions with your dog. With a French hinge sewn into the opening of the bag, a trainer can easily pop the bag open or snap it close with one free hand.
Grooming Tools
White Undercoat Rake
The beauty of this tool is that the tines go directly to the skin and stimulate the natural oils in our dogs skin. Once you have used one of these rakes, nothing else can compare.
Millers Forge Nail Clipper
Millers Forge created this pet nail clipper with safety bar over 40 years ago. The safety lock protects the cutting edges when not in use and flips open easily when ready for use.
Older Than 6 Months - After Teething
Basic Dog Obedience Online Course with Ed Frawley
This course is designed for people who are new dog owners and have never trained a dog before, as well as for those who have owned a dog for years but now find it's time to learn how to do a better job training their dog.
Teaching Engagement Skills with Forrest Micke
When a dog is engaged with its handler it desires to be with the handler, and understands and looks forward to who the handler is and what he or she has to offer. The dog is an eager student who pushes the educational process and feels empowered to make things happen within the training. The picture of an engaged dog is a happy dog that is willing to do what the handler asks because it's learned to trust and crave interaction with the him or her through the use of various high value rewards, interactive play, proper management, and clear communication and expectations.
Other Products
Relationship Games For You & Your Dog DVD
Whether you own a dog as a house pet or you are training in high level competition, establishing a working relationship with your dog is one of the most important prerequisites for any training regimen. Regardless of how you apply your training or the methods you plan to use, building a relationship with your dog must come first. This DVD will help you build that relationship through 8 different games, with training being the main idea behind each game while also making it fun for you and your dog at the same time.
Puppy Tug Set
We recommend this tug set to people who want to raise a working puppy are going to want to use tug toys in their training. As a general rule, puppies have a stronger food drive between 8 weeks and teething. Then after they lose their baby teeth their tug drive becomes stronger (if it is developed and encouraged).
GoughNuts Original
The Goughnuts Original is 5" in diameter with a 1.75" cross section. GoughNuts pet toys are designed to address the simple but serious issue of SAFETY. The GoughNuts chew toys are designed knowing that safety and fun go hand in hand. Each GoughNuts pet toy has included in it's design the GoughNuts patent pending visual safety indicator where Green means "Go" and Red means "Stop."
Articles (for Further Reading)
- The Power of Training Dogs with Markers
- How to Socialize Your Puppy
- Introducing a New Dog Into a Home with Other Dogs
For those dog owners who wish to get involved in various dog sports, we encourage you to take a look at our series of DVDs that we have done with Michael Ellis. You can find all of Michael's DVDs HERE.
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