I figured I would put a little post together about some of the things we think are useful and some things we can not live without. Feel free to check them out and shop around!
Food:
We feed all of our dogs Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice. We don't feed the puppy formula, we feed the all life stages formula.
It's a 5-star rated food on Dog Food Advisor.
The reasoning behind that is simple; you don't want your puppy to grow too quickly! With larger breed dogs, it's important to keep joints as healthy as possible. If your puppy grows too quickly, they can sometimes get Panosteitis (aka growing pains) often just refereed to as Pano. If you're interested in learning more about Pano, just google it and a wealth of information will pop up.
Toys:
We have a ton of toys around our house. I'm sure your house will soon look like ours! Some of our favorite toys are the ones that are easy to clean. Some of the dog's favorite toys are the ones that are easy to destroy! We have recently found a brand that offers a lifetime replacement on their toys. They are rubber toys so they are gentle on their teeth but still strong enough to withstand the gnawing of a determined puppy.
They have a couple different versions but all are fun for our dogs. The larger ball linked below is the only ball we trust to leave in their kennels when we aren't supervising.
The dogs also LOVE their Jolly Ball. We go through these a few times a year but they hold up so well! It's the only toy that we can keep outside that isn't destroyed within a few minutes. Even with some of our most aggressive chewers, the Jolly Ball holds up for months on end.
Grooming:
Some of the first questions we get asked when puppies go to their new home is about brushing. Get used to that, it's now your life living with a "German Shedder."
We use pretty simple tools. There isn't a huge need to spend close to $100 on a dog brush when one purchased on Amazon for about 10 bucks does just as great!
The one listed above is the specific one we use but any 'undercoat rake' will do the job!
My main thing to add to grooming is do NOT use a Furminator brush. The classic Furminator brushes can ruin a coat and they actually cut the coat when they are used.
Random:
Other fun stuff to think about are just fun things to buy but they aren't really necessary.
Lupine collars are AMAZING. If you aren't familiar with Lupine, they offer a lifetime replacement guarantee for their collars, EVEN IF CHEWED. Let's face it, your collar is probably going to get chewed at some point in it's lifetime.
Red Dingo dog tags are another must have in my opinion! They are very sturdy dog tags that also have a lifetime guarantee. What's better than that?!
I'm sure there are a million other things I could recommend but for now, these are some great starters! These will help you get ready for your new puppy and hopefully make shopping a little easier. As always, if you have any questions, reach out to us and we'll be more than happy to help!
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