Suggested Shopping List for Puppy
- Dog Crate: Any wire kennel will work great and you can buy a separator for when the puppy is young, to avoid having to buy a small and large crate. A 37"L x 25"W x 27"H is a good size for a full grown dog.
- X-Pen: You can use this as an alternative to crate time during the day, especially if you work full-time. This will keep them in a safe area that will prevent them from run of the house, but give them plenty of room to play and exercise. A 36"H one will work well.
- Dog Bed: Any dog bed will due for these doodles, but a waterproof one will be nicer for your to clean.
- Dog Food: TLC has a great program where they deliver to your door as often as your choose with free shipping. We will start your puppy on their puppy food. You can only get this online at this time and you will want to purchase a bag online before puppy arrives. You want to avoid changing their diet too quickly as this can cause some change in bowel and make potty training a little more difficult. Click here or the picture to receive a $5 discount off your puppy food order!
- Dog Dish: We like the non-skid/spill bowls for the doodles.
- Kong: This is a wonderful treat toy for any dog. We fill ours with dry dog food and close the ends with peanut butter for an evening treat and it keeps them happy and busy for a while!
- Dog Brush: We recommend regular grooming as a part of all labradoodle coat care, but we do recommend some regular brushing to help avoid matting. We recommend the Les Pooch Pro Brush F/F, as recommended to us by Prairie Doodles or the FURminator.
- Dog Shampoo: With regular grooming, you shouldn't have to bathe your dog often or at all, but if you plan to shampoo yourself, a great quality shampoo is the Les Poochs puppy shampoo.
Click on picture's to follow their links of where you can purchase them online, if you'd like to do your shopping at home.
- Dog Leash and Collar: We like the rope link leash or just a simple leash that won't allow the puppy to lead and tug. One that will keep them close to you in the beginning. We will send a collar home with them initially and then when they are older you can take them shopping to the pet store to find one that fits well. DO NOT LET PUPPY WEAR COLLARS IN CRATES.
- Before and After Getting Your Puppy by Ian Dunbar: This was recommended to us by Prairie Doodles and we just love this book. It fully prepares you to bring home a puppy and helps you know what to expect. Go get it right away!
- Training Tools: Poochie Bells, Whistles for Whistle Recall, and Puppy Love Training Treats
THINGS TO DO BEFORE YOU BRING YOUR PUPPY HOME
- Find a vet, if you don't already have one. Find one that you trust, or one that has been recommended to you by a friend or relative. It is very important that you trust your vet to make accurate, truthful diagnosis and to feel confident that they will not do unnecessary testing of your dog or puppy. Please don't just pick any vet out of the blue and be sure to get recommendations. We use Elizabeth St. Pet Hospital in Okotoks and they are very good. We recommend the following vets which we either know well or other clients have recommended: Bridlewood Vet (our old vet works out of this clinic, her name is Maya), Elizabeth St. Pet Hospital (where we take our puppies for their first visit) or SAVE in Okotoks, and Highview Animal Clinic in High River . We have had lots of families use and be very happy with Tuscany Vet Clinic.
- Pet Insurance, we recommend that all our families get pet insurance for peace of mind in the event of an accident or illness. So many things can happen on holidays or evenings and weekends when you will likely have to go to an emergency clinic. Puppies eat stuff that they shouldn’t, so it’s best to be ready just in case. When you pick up your puppy, we will provide you with a certificate from Trupanion for 30 days of free pet insurance. This give you time to research other options and decide what you want to do.
- Check into puppy socialization and obedience classes for your new puppy. We strongly recommend this! We recommend starting with puppy classes and then moving on to basic obedience classes and beyond. The puppies love going and are the star in most classes. For those of you in the Calgary area we recommend Kirsten Rose of Canine Mind and Manners, Diamonds in the Ruff, and Dogma. For one-on-one classes, we like Larry of Konfident Kanines. We have personally used Larry and he is firm but good.
We have taken most of these recommendations from Gail at Prairie Doodles, as she has mentored us and given us some great recommendations until we begin building more personal recommendations of our own.
