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What is the one thing you couldn't have lived without?

4K views 26 replies 19 participants last post by  luvmyGR 
#1 · (Edited)
Hellooooo!

So, we are getting ready to bring home our puppy in a week and a half, and I find myself wondering if we have the right stuff/enough stuff for him when he comes home. I have read the surviving puppyhood sticky above and have searched the Internet for advice, buying many of the things on the google list "25 best things for puppy" or some such article. We have a couple of kongs, we bought a snuggle puppy that has the heartbeat and hand warming thing you put inside that we left at the breeder's so they could rub it on mom and the litter mates, we have a few other plush squeaky toys like the squirrels in a log toy and the kong Marvin the moose toy, we got a kong ball with rope toy, some peanut butter non toxic dog bubbles, an IQ treat ball so he has to work and play to get some of his meals, and a Nylabone which I'm not really sure whether or not we should give puppy due to bad reviews.

But I thought I'd ask, what was the one thing (or more!) that you or your dog couldn't have lived without during puppyhood? Or items you recommend to keep him happy/busy/etc.? (Toys OR otherwise!)

Oh! And any recommendations for chews for puppies? Which are the best? Rawhide, bullysticks, etc etc? Any particular brands?

Thanks :)
 
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#6 ·
To add one small thing to Megora's list regarding food storage...if you want to store it in a plastic bin please remember to keep the bag. In the event of a recall the information for the recall will be on the bag. If you don't save the bag you won't know if your food is included. Also I found a puppy pacifier to be wonderful for teething puppies. They are generally made of semi hard rubber and can be put in the freezer to get them cold enough to soothe the puppy's teeth. In a pinch a wet wash cloth put in the freezer will work as will carrots.
 
#7 ·
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#11 ·
Bully sticks saved me when I got my puppy a couple years ago. Bully sticks are more easily digestible than rawhides, which is why I chose them. When you are tired and just need a little break give the pup a bully stick and it will keep them occupied for a while. You do need to take the bully stick away when the piece gets small as they can become a choking hazard. I would buy them from amazon or chewy.com though as buying them at a pet store is way more expensive!

I'm getting another puppy in May and I'll definitely be stocking up again! I don't keep them around for my current girl as she can now chew through them in less than 20 mins! When she was a puppy it used to take her over a week haha.
 
#12 ·
I would have to say 16 ft. training leashes from the dollar store. We used them when Luna was younger as she was/is a chewer and we needed to contain her as we have an open concept home. She literally chewed through 4 of those leashes but it kept her safe.

Luna also loves ice cubes, if she hears someone getting ice for their drinks, it is an unwritten rule that she gets one too.
 
#17 ·
Patience and a realistic attitude.

I think people can be a bit idealistic about puppy ownership. It's not all rainbows and puppy breath. The thing is, you're getting a little tyrant who, for the first month of his life (at least), is going to pee and poo on your floors and rugs, bite your hands and draw blood, injure your small children, behave badly at every possible opportunity, keep you awake at night, annoy the neighbours with whining and barking, require large chunks of your free time, and cost you a fortune.

Some of this will go away with training and effort. After a month, your pup will understand about going outside, but won't have the muscle control to be consistently clean in the house (this will take at least another two months). If you've worked hard, he should no longer be drawing blood when he bites. You will have learned to supervise constantly when the pup is with your children. And you should be sleeping again.

On the other hand, you'll still be teaching him how to live in your house, and you'll still be paying large chunks of your salary to the vet for vaccines and other treatments.

By the time your pup is six months old, he will weigh somewhere between 40 lbs and 50 lbs, so with luck you will have taught him how to walk nicely on leash and how to behave in public: this is much easier to do with a 10 lb. puppy than with a 50 lb. adolescent dog. The vet's fees should have subsided, at least for a little while. He should be clean in the house by now, although it won't matter quite as much because your nice carpets will already have been ruined ...

Golden retrievers have the potential to be great family dogs, but it doesn't happen overnight, and it doesn't happen without considerable effort on your part. This truly is a case of getting back what you put in. The more time and effort you invest in your dog, the better he or she will be as a future companion.

Don't expect him to be house-trained after a week. Don't expect your children to come out of the experience unscathed. Don't expect the dog to learn things you're not willing to teach him. Don't think bad habits will go away if you ignore them.

And if it goes wrong, don't blame the dog. 95% of problems are due to human error or lack of human input.

Think carefully. It's not for the faint of heart.

If you think any of the above is an exaggeration - don't get a puppy.
 
#18 ·
For my puppy: 1. Large dog crate with adjustable divider 2. Lots and lots and lots of training treats 3. Easy Walk harness.

The crate was indispensable; she still uses it at almost age 6 when she wants to chill out. As a puppy it was a safe haven when I had to leave her alone for a bit and I didn't need to fear that I'd come back to destruction. And in the worst of her land shark period, I found that when I put her in the crate she would often settle right down and maybe nap. Even a short break in there made her emerge a calmer puppy. I still make the crate an inviting place by throwing the occasional treat in there when she's not looking.

If you have old towels sitting around, save them, they are helpful for multiple purposes. When I first got my pup and was taking her out in the middle of the night from the second floor, sometimes she'd start to go before I got her outside. So I kept some old towels by her crate and scooped her up in one of them and out the door we went. They are good as the pup gets older for cleaning muddy paws before they come back into your house, and also for cleaning up any kind of puppy messes and for after their baths.

For me: Kleenex for my tears of frustration when I wondered "What have I done in getting this crazy little land shark?" And the occasional glass of wine to go with the aforementioned Kleenex!
 
#21 · (Edited)
So many great tips and fantastic advice as always. Thanks to everyone! Although my husband and I have both had dogs all our lives and I've had 1 golden before, its really nice to be able to get advice and such from others familiar with the breed. It's been a long time since we had a puppy. I want to make sure we're as prepared as possible.


I'm reassured that we're as ready as we can be for this guy to finally come home on Saturday.
 

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#22 ·
Two items

Hellooooo!

So, we are getting ready to bring home our puppy in a week and a half, and I find myself wondering if we have the right stuff/enough stuff for him when he comes home. I have read the surviving puppyhood sticky above and have searched the Internet for advice, buying many of the things on the google list "25 best things for puppy" or some such article. We have a couple of kongs, we bought a snuggle puppy that has the heartbeat and hand warming thing you put inside that we left at the breeder's so they could rub it on mom and the litter mates, we have a few other plush squeaky toys like the squirrels in a log toy and the kong Marvin the moose toy, we got a kong ball with rope toy, some peanut butter non toxic dog bubbles, an IQ treat ball so he has to work and play to get some of his meals, and a Nylabone which I'm not really sure whether or not we should give puppy due to bad reviews.

But I thought I'd ask, what was the one thing (or more!) that you or your dog couldn't have lived without during puppyhood? Or items you recommend to keep him happy/busy/etc.? (Toys OR otherwise!)

Oh! And any recommendations for chews for puppies? Which are the best? Rawhide, bullysticks, etc etc? Any particular brands?

Thanks :)

I've got a 3 month pup and my top two could not survive without are:
1. Kong Wobbler - all meals are fed in this. I started with kibble in a puppy Kong, but it doesn't hold as much. Kong Wobbler is awesome. Gives the puppy 15 minutes to eat and you can have 15 minutes knowing puppy is busy!
2. Petstages Dogwood stick: My puppy is a chewer. Last one wasn't, so I was not prepared for this. After losing our minds trying to stop him from eating the corners of the kitchen cabinets and living with only one kitchen chair because that was three less that we had to protect, I found this Miracle Stick. Plastic, but supposedly has real wood. Puppy hasn't tried to eat my cabinets since the day he got this thing. He will chew other toys a little, but not much interest in those flexible bones/toys for puppies. This stick isn't super hard and is supposedly okay for puppies (says the company). He seems to "chew responsibly" and I've brought back rest of the kitchen chairs. I bought 4 back ups of this stick toy just in case the company stops making them before we need to replace!


Happy puppy shopping!
 
#24 ·
I've got a 3 month pup and my top two could not survive without are:
1. Kong Wobbler - all meals are fed in this. I started with kibble in a puppy Kong, but it doesn't hold as much. Kong Wobbler is awesome. Gives the puppy 15 minutes to eat and you can have 15 minutes knowing puppy is busy!
2. Petstages Dogwood stick: My puppy is a chewer. Last one wasn't, so I was not prepared for this. After losing our minds trying to stop him from eating the corners of the kitchen cabinets and living with only one kitchen chair because that was three less that we had to protect, I found this Miracle Stick. Plastic, but supposedly has real wood. Puppy hasn't tried to eat my cabinets since the day he got this thing. He will chew other toys a little, but not much interest in those flexible bones/toys for puppies. This stick isn't super hard and is supposedly okay for puppies (says the company). He seems to "chew responsibly" and I've brought back rest of the kitchen chairs. I bought 4 back ups of this stick toy just in case the company stops making them before we need to replace!


Happy puppy shopping!
I looked at that petstages stick, and I wasn't sure about it-we have lots of plush toys and a couple of balls and the like but nothing like that-I'm going to purchase one now. Thanks!
 
#25 ·
Ohh sooo cute!!!!

I second the x-pen and crate, and freezable chew toys for teething... and zip ties! Yes zip ties... we used them to connect the x-pen to the crate and then to fasten a baby gate over the top of the x-pen because Gunner ended up being an escape artist! We wanted him to have the bigger x-pen area to play in while we were taking a shower or something, but we'd find him clinging to the top or out lose so he got a "lid", and the clips that the x-pen came with to attach it to the crate, he could undo somehow. We called it the puppy containment unit.

Since we didn't have anything that smelled of his litter, we used something that smelled like us to comfort him and that worked well... I made a bolster out of my husbands old jeans leg. I look at this now and crack up that he ever fit into it - of course from the angle of the photo it looks much shorter than it is.

The other thing I can't live without when raising a puppy is plain white cheap paper plates. Most pups end up with Coccidia or Giardia or some other parasite and in order to keep contamination at a minimum in the yard, you slide a paper plate under the tail when it's poopy time and immediately bag it up! I still spray the area with bleach/water mixture - so a spray bottle filled with that is also important.

Take a plastic sandwich bag and keep a few small treats in it in your pocket so that you can reward good behavior without having to fumble for treats!

Good luck and enjoy - it's tough but it goes so fast!
 

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#26 ·
FANTASTIC, THANK YOU! I was wondering how to connect the crate to the x pen-zip ties! Yes! Also, baby gates on top to enclose the pen if necessary-perfect! Not to mention the paper plate thing is genius, especially since I'm a weeee bit of a germ-a-phobe and just a little tiny bit OCD, not to mention just plain old not wanting Bodhi to re-infect himself if he does have a case of the nasties coming home.

Such a helpful post! You guys are awesome :)
 
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