So as we told you a number of months back we have new puppies… well now they are over a year old, there are two of them and though they are quite different in breed and behaviour they require quite a lot of ‘Stuff’ to exist. We thought we would share with you what we have had to buy for the new editions for everyday living…
So, you have found your new bestie and paid the deposit and are saving the rest of the money because puppies can cost anything from £500 to £6000. There is no rhyme or reason for this just some breeders are ridiculous with their pricing.
But then you are waiting for them to come home with you, but before you can collect them from the breeder you need the basics indoors ready for their arrival. Not including making sure that your whole home is Puppy proofed – if you think it is – double check.
Food
We covered this in the previous post but trust me its a lot of of trial and error! So go check the link for a full run down of what we tried.
Microchip
Usually the breeder will have given the puppies microchips but don’t forget to change the details and update your information and your dogs to make sure if anything does happen to your best friend. Someone will always be able to reunite you.
Vets
Well obviously one of the first things you do as a dog or animal owner of any kind is to find and register at a vet. Preferably local in case of emergencies and hopefully one that doesn’t break the bank. Well one that isn’t expensive AF! This is getting progressively harder and harder to do.
Vets (Since Covid) have seemingly been charging through the roof and its only getting worse. At least now they have a legal obligation to be more transparent with the costs of treatments. However we went with a local vet – unfortunately one under the Medivet umbrella (Which are known to be very expensive and are taking over most local vets leaving you with no choice). Now I’m not to keen on some of the main vets in the branch but what can you do?
We bought a health subscription which covers both of their boosters, injections, worming and flea for the whole year including 2 vet visits (I believe). Although the first year it was £209 for Loki and £242 for Cappy and the second we have been told will increase – it has ended up saving us money as the injections themselves are £79 and the medications are £45 each month.
Both dogs had all of their puppy injections before they were introduced to other dogs and allowed to explore the great wide world.
Now we just live in hope that we will never need to go to the vets for anything other than the annual checkup and booster.
Obviously if your not financially able to do this there are some Charity vets – Blue Cross, PDSA and Celia Hammond, etc who offer treatments at a lower cost. Although the prices keep hiking up and up and they don’t offer X-rays, CT, MRI or any surgeries apart from spaying. This means you are alone in paying for treatment and seeking a private vet that can help when something does go wrong.
I am not a big fan of Blue cross I find the vets there are very hit or miss – some will look at a dog and say put it down and buy a cat its much better (actual quote), but some will actually treat your dog like a brand new friend. But you never really know who you will get.
Insurance
Pet Insurance is a scam! They will give you good cover for the first year, then the price will sky rocket and often Insurers will only cover one occurrence of any injury or illness. For instance, if you puppy gets and ear infection and needs treatment and antibiotics, they will cover it with a limit and an excess, but if they dog gets another ear infection then they won’t cover the treatment and medication, because you’ve had that already. It’s like car insurance only covering one flat tyre of the life of the car, if you get a second flat you would have to pay out on your own. If that were the case you wouldn’t go with that insurer, yet Pet insurance is all like that. When they get older the Insurance Companies outrightly refuse to insure older dogs because they are more prone to illness – what is the point of the insurance if not to cover the vet bills for when the dog is sick?
After hunting for ages for Cappy I went with Admiral for £49pm, but will be looking again this year as I am told to expect a 50% increase on the second year so I am back on the hunt.
Loki (My Parent’s Dog) however, is on Petplan which is astronomically expensive – sure they are good – they covered the bills for everything to do with our first dog – Muffin – and more recently they covered all of the treatments of Bracken. So you know that they will help when called upon but at 400+ a month you would expect that!
Again if insurance is not something you can do/afford or your animal is older or a rescue know that there are charities that are mentioned above.
Water Bowl and Food Bowls*
Water bowls are obviously a necessity and need to be cleaned and refilled daily—after all, bacteria throw wild parties overnight! We’ve chosen China, Steel, or Ceramic for our bowls.
As for food bowls, it’s been quite hit or miss! We started with small puppy bowls, which have now transitioned into doggy ice cream dishes. Then onto plastic puzzle bowls.
For Loki we found the concept of a puzzle bowl was outrightly rejected with both fingers up (well if he could).
After a few experiments of different bowls he settled for a the bowl pictured above although he would prefer (Like all Spaniels) a Gold plated dish and a personal feeder called Nigel, who would sleep in the attic!
For Cappy, we started with a standard plastic bowl, a typical Lab who loves food and doesn’t bother chewing if he can just put his mouth over it and suck! So, we tried a plastic puzzle bowl and it helped, We have moved on to a lovely blue ceramic puzzle which he seems to like. Well its food… with Cappy I’m not sure it matters what he is eating out of. However it does slow him down which I’m happier for.
To Crate train or not to crate train.
Loki was never going to be crate trained but Cappy, I attempted. He had a huge crate that took up most of my room but within 1 minute of being put inside he was doing running head-butts whilst screaming at the top of his lungs. He also worked out how to undo the zip from the inside so it never worked. So he now sleeps on my bed, usually, some times his! To be honest I prefer it this way but for some people Crates work.
Dog Beds and Blankets*
Dogs grow fast! Too fast to keep up with. We bought a cute little round fluffy pillow when they were puppies but they grew out of them so quickly like within 2 months.
So we upgraded to larger beds, but again they grew out of them within a couple more months.
So another two were bought, but Loki chewed through his within a day, Cappy however grew out of his within another 2 months.
So, I’ve upgraded my bed own to accommodate and got him an XXXL bed large enough to fill what little room I had left in my room.
Advice – Check how big your dog could get and just get a big one first, rather than buy 5 in increasing sizes as they grow out of each one!
We also bought a warm blanket that is waterproof – more for us than them but still it keeps your furniture/bed dry when your dogs have been out in the rain.
When it comes to Summer (or that one week it gets warm) dogs will probably suffer so it’s good to have a cooling mat – try and go for anything that is safe for dogs because they may very well puncture the casing – well certainly Loki did. Both of them seemingly love laying on it, whilst eating ice and watermelon anything to cool down. We also bought them a paddling pool but that’s because they are spoilt!
Raincoats, Jumpers and Jackets
You may think this is overkill, your pup has a thick coat ideal for shedding off the rain, but sit on a train with your dog shivering inside your coat making you both wet and cold will make you want to buy them a waterproof.
The same can be said for jumpers and jackets. If you own a Whippet or a Greyhound, they get cold really easily and you’ll need jumpers and jackets for all seasons. Some dogs do only need a rain coat and some (Solo) will work out how to get out of any jumper and run around in the rain and then freeze later. But even she has her Snuggy that she truly loves to have on in the winter. They like us get cold and just want a warm cozy jumper on a cold evening. Just remember to take it off them before bed time!
Then there is a coat for when they get home, a drying coat. We found the best ones to be from Ruff and Tumble. They keep your pup’s warm whilst they dry off and come in a variety of colors and sizes.
Dog Toys
Numerous – People buy your puppies toys and they never grow out of playing with tug toys, teddies and squeaky toys and they will play with anything.
In Loki’s case it is a matter of destroying everything within minutes, whether you’d consider it a toy or your favourite pair of shoes! But you will be forever buying new toys, if you want your dog to be stimulated and amused.
Some toys are better than others and many claim to be indestructible and really aren’t. Solo was a nightmare as a puppy, she would shred Impossible to rip toys in seconds, dismantle others by the stitching and work out puzzles in a few seconds, then deconstruct them.
Cappy seems happy to cuddle, tug and play fetch but so far has not destroyed anything thankfully!
So, buy them whenever and where-ever you see them, just don’t buy expensive, hand made ones, the dog’s won’t care they will just want to rip it up. Supermarkets and Pets at Homes are the best places to find bargains.
Don’t go for rope toys as they can be shredded and can cause a dog to need to go to the vets. Same with harder toys can shatter a dogs tooth same with sticks in the park so try and avoid.
That said some companies really do try to make indestructible toys and will challenge your dog, if they rip through it, they will replace it (once, maybe twice!).
Leads and Collars
Depending on who you ask, leads and collars are a challenging problem to get right, some people are adamant you need a real leather lead and a collar with spikes sticking out of it and nothing else will do. Some say a chest harness, others say Chest harnesses make dogs walk odd and you need a Halti muzzle, there are extendable leads, training leads and some people swear by a bit of string.
We’ve explored a variety of options, all in the hopes of helping our dogs walk comfortably without pulling, yanking, or choking themselves.
For Cappy I found the Front Range Harness great from Ruffwear but a warning it is expensive! That being said he has finally stopped pulling!!! It has been a complete turn around! and a Red Dingo Collar and Lead because lets face it Aussie companies are the best!
Extendable leads work for some but not for others. Its great to allow them some freedom but they can catch, lock and not give any signals to your dog. The flat tape ones are better for the humans rather than dogs.
Halti Muzzles – Solo had one of these, it kinda worked for a while but then she realized she could strangle herself rather than walk but supposedly it works who knows?
ID Tags – These are required by law at least in the UK along with a Collar or Harness. Do Not Put the Dog’s name on it though, just a family name and phone number and Microchipped. Anything else is aiding people to steal the dog away.
Training
Pee Pads.
When you first being them home they will pee everywhere, you have to train them to first pee inside, on a Pee Pad and keep moving them closer and closer to the outside, so as to teach them that the garden is where to relieve themselves as fast as possible, rather than in your shoes!
Treats. These are helpful for training and rewards for good behaviour, there are tons of varieties, it’s just a case of working out what they prefer. Sometimes you buy bags and bags of treats and they just don’t like them. Other times you simply realise that they would much prefer a Digestive Biscuit over any Dog Treat! Or you can make your own? Its relatively easy and they seem to like it!
Clickers and Whistles – For training purposes and for recall in particular, these devices are used. Clickers are simply that a handheld plastic tool, that pops and makes a clicking sound, you can still get old metal ones, but plastic are cheaper*.
Dog Whistles have been around forever and we all know of them, you can hear the piecing sound (unlike the mis-information banded about of them being beyond Human hearing). These can work really well for Recall – Just do yourself a favour and don’t train your puppy to respond to 4 short pips because every dog in the park is trained to that same sound and you’ll just have a pack of excited mutts charging at you the moment you blast the shrill sound across the field!
Books and training material – There are of course 1,000’s of books on dogs out there, we can only recommend the ones we have tried and liked. For Reference purposes, the The Dorling Kindersley (DK) dog books, particularly The Complete Dog Breed Book* and The Dog Encyclopedia* (by Dr. Bruce Fogle or David Taylor) are great.
Total Recall (byPippa Mattinson) trained Solo and we would recommend it over any other!
Additional things that really help
Kong Toys and Yak Treats* – Great way to slow fast eaters. Basically stuff some dog food in these, stick them in the freezer for an hour and then take it out drop it on the floor and watch your dog become incredibly frustrated and fixated on getting the food out – sometimes for hours!
Puzzles for treats for smart pooches that need stimulation. These can be anything from bits of cloth with your scent on them, which they need to find and retrieve, to sliding puzzle boxes that can confuse many humans. They tend to have a grading system and you will find the level of your dog’s intelligence or you can simply put treats in a Toilet Roll inner and fold over the ends! Anything to get them thinking!
Tennis balls and throw sticks. Some dogs get obsessed with balls (Solo) and some balls are better than others.
The orange and Blue Chuck-it Balls* are best, but are more expensive, so best not loose them. The Glow in the Dark Chuck-It’s* are great in the winter, just press a torch against the rubber for a minute and the ball glows neon green.
The Kong Dual Textured Balls* are Cappy’s favourite, because they are larger and super bouncy!
Hunting Dummies*
Most dogs won’t go hunting (like most owners won’t), but training the dog to sit and wait, then fetch a 2 lbs weighted toy will help train them to be calmer and well behaved on walks – of course you need to keep reminding the dog of these training behaviours over the years or they forget and become chaotic pests on walks, much like Solo! But get her to sit and fetch and you see the excitement and happiness in being able to have a job – plus it wears her out more than a 2 hour walk!
For You!
It’s not just the dogs that need stuff, you will need to be knitted out too.
A good pair of walking shoes and a winter coat, that will both be continuously covered in mud and paw prints, a hat, a water-proof coat for lighter weather are needed, you will be walking in the rain more than you ever have in your life.
Just a note, if you own a Spaniel, don’t wear your Barbour coat and Wellies, you aren’t a Farmer and even if you are, you don’t need to look like a pratt that you are! (This from a Spaniel owner!)
A strong beam Torch* – especially if you have a ball chasing dog, because on a winter night you will be marching search patterns back and forth across the park searching for a manky old tennis ball, that the dog lost but will not leave!
Dog Towels and Cleansing.
These will be older towels that have gone a funny colour or started to fade, you’ll need them for cleaning paws and drying the ball of mud you brought home from the forest.
Toothpaste and Brushes to clean the Canine’s Canines, there are various types and it just depends how good they are at having a brush shoved in their mouths. Some pastes are odd flavours, we have found Petsol* works well and they actually like the taste.
Also dog nail trimmers – if you have a larger breed then you need a heavier/bigger duty one.
Vacuums/Hoovers and Carpet scrapers.
For hair removal. You could do yourself a massive favour (and your wallet too) by laying down wood, or linoleum floors before, trust us, it’s a lot easier to sweep up a mass of shed hair from these surfaces than to vacuum.
But if you don’t do this, you will need some form of carpet scraper that raises the fur off surfaces and into balls. These really help alleviate the smell too. The metal Bar ‘Double Carpet Scraper’* is simple but effective and come recommended from us, the gloves and clothes aren’t as easy to use.
There are Vacuum Cleaners that claim to be ideal for Pet Hair removal but for the most part these are ineffectual you just need a standard Vacuum with a with a small pointy nozzle.
Dog Stain and Odour Remover – This is a necessity because there will always be accidents, especially in the first year, some disinfectants are better than others, some stink! Simple Solution Extreme Dog Stain Remover* is the best we have used and keep a bottle handy, just in case!
Well that’s enough to buy before and after you get your new best friend. – Still want a Dog?! – Of Course you do! you just need a ton of stuff to get! We hope this helps and if we have forgotten anything leave a comment and tell us (helpful tips!)
*Bought on Amazon.
Climbing Moss 