What you need for your new retriever puppy!

Sunday September 04, 2011 09:19pm

Lately, I have had lots of puppies around...Rosie's litter just went home, I have Hemi puppies on the way, and I am getting a golden retriever from a friend's kennel, SkyRiver Golden Retrievers soon.  So, with all these puppies around and puppy questions being asked of me it makes me think about what I like to have on hand when I bring home a retriever puppy.  I guess you might call it "Puppy Equipment".  Besides having the basics, a leash and collar, I like to have the following "equipment" on hand when I bring home my new puppy.

Puppy Bumpers - Sometimes I make bumpers or use dog toys in similar shapes like a bumper and wrap them in white first aid tape. My favorite puppy bumpers to buy are white foam bumpers.  They are not cheap, but you only need a few. Plus, these are so easy for your puppy to hold and very similar to regular bumpers that your dog will use in training later in their life.  Whether you buy or make your bumpers, make sure they are white so your puppy can be successful when marking and make sure you a have 3-6, so you can throw marks for your puppy.

Crate - I recommend having two crates.  One small puppy crate for the puppy to sleep in and one big crate that the puppy can stay in when needed.  I keep the small crate in my bedroom for the puppies bedtime.  I have the bigger crate for the puppy to play and eat in when I cannot watch them and also for them when they are older.  Crates can be expensive and sometimes only needed for the puppy stage, so I recommend possibly borrowing one from a friend or checking www.craigslist.org for them.  If you have to buy a new crate often www.dog.com and/or www.petedge.com have good deals.

Food - I am not going to recommend a dog food because there are so many good ones out there but I am going to say do not go cheap.  Buy a high quality food made for your large breed retriever puppy.  Quality food is very important for your puppies overall health from their teeth to their growth plates.

Toys - Now that I have discussed most of the things that you need for your puppy lets talk about the fun stuff.  I would recommend having some soft stuffed toys for your puppy as well as toys for chewing.  You can find stuffed toys pretty much anywhere.  For the other toys I like nylabones.  Nylabones will give your puppy something to chew on besides you and will also encourage chewing that will later help to keep their teeth clean.  I also like  toys that keep your puppy busy such as Busy Buddy toys.

Books - I would also recomend two books.  I will admit that I have not read these books at least not entirely but I have heard good things about them.  The two books are "The 10  Minute Retriever" and Tri Tronic Retriever Training.

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