What to Get For Your New Puppy

So, you’re planning to get a dog, eh? Congratulations! You’re on your way to having one of the most satisfying, enjoyable moments of your life with your loyal friend and companion. But before you start picking out which cute pooch you’ll be taking home to meet your family, you have to keep in mind a few important things first. Buying a new dog is more than simply finding the cutest puppy in the store and buying a bag of dog food. Acquiring a new canine is nearly as important as adopting a child. They need constant attention and love, especially when they’re young. You will need more than dog food if you want to keep your pooch happy and healthy.

Walking into a pet store without any prior information as to what you really need will just confuse you more and waste your money. The salesmen are rarely any help; they’re just there to sell you everything in the store if possible, whether you need it or not. There are only a few essential things you should get for your new pet. First and foremost, buy a book about your breed. All breeds are very different and have different needs and personality quirks. But don’t think of the book as the ultimate authority on your dog. Treat it as more of a guide.

After this, get a good collar, and make sure you can stick at least two fingers between the dog’s skin and the collar. Also make sure you get a collar that allows plenty of room for growth. Some breeds grow very fast, so you want to make sure that you won’t be replacing the collar every 2nd week or so.

Also, get a good training collar, the most popular of which are the choke chain and the German pinch collar. Nevermind the scary names; these two training collars are the best for teaching your dog to heel and to walk on the end of a leash without jerking your arm out of the socket. But never use these collars as your dog’s everyday collar. It’s not uncommon for an owner to forget to check the collar after training their dogs and end up having to cut the collar off because the dog grew so big the collar would no longer fit over its head.

After getting the collars, buy a weighted water bowl and a food bowl. Puppies love to play with and in their food, so it helps to have weighted bowls to avoid having them tipped over. A dog crate or dog house is next, depending on whether your dog will sleep outside or inside. You will also need three leashes of different lengths, to be used for walking and training the dog. The book you get will explain how the different sized leashes are used in training.

Chew toys, chew toys, and more chew toys. Dogs, especially puppies, need to exercise their gums regularly, so get a variety of chew toys for your pet, unless you plan on replacing your furniture and your slippers on a regular basis.

Of course, we can’t forget the dog food! If you don’t know it yet, dogs are carnivores, despite what animal rights activists might say. They eat meat. So check the ingredients first. Corn and other vegetables should not be the first ingredients you see, or else, your dog won’t be eating what he really needs. Look for chicken or beef to be listed as the first ingredient.

Chiun Masters is a researcher and writer for www.capitaldogsupply.com, where you can get high-quality dog supplies at great prices. Visit us when you need dog supplies.

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