recommendations?

[capnsweets]

Ray and I already have the brand of food we are going with chosen(we are going to find out what they are feeding any puppy we choose and switch gradually), but what about treats and toys and stuff?

What about leashes? Any kind of preference? Is a retractable for when they are more trained or should we have one off the bat? We do plan on getting a Kong thing for in the crate....what else? What about those gross looking pigs ears and stuff? Do you use those? Is there a dog shampoo you'd recommend? Do you clip your dogs nails or take them to be done?

[Chinchilla_Girl]

A lot of that depends on what breed you are looking at getting. I probably missed it somewhere, but what are you getting?

[Denise]

Nicole, I didn't know you were getting a dog! How exciting!

As far as treats go, get all natural treats. Forget the Iams, Science Diet, Milk Bones, etc. They are full of junk! I give the dogs Solid Gold "tiny tots" (they are perfect for training), Buddy Biscuits, Old Mother Hubbard's, Merrick soft chews, Solid Gold lamb jerky, and a few others I can't remember offhand.

I don't know what kind of dog you are getting but if it is a large breed, I would stay away from the retractable leashes. I feel they are an accident waiting to happen. I prefer to have a leash where I have control over how far the dog walks.

Stay away from pig ears. I haven't given my dogs any but heard they cause gas and loose stools. Also stay away from cow hooves. They are extremely sharp and have been known to cause impactions in the stomach. Raw bones are the best and bully sticks are great too.

I use a couple different shampoos. Therapet shampoos are all natural. I got the value pack at www.dog.com BTW, they have awesome products at amazing prices. I also use Dr. Bronner's liquid castile peppermint soap. I follow with Buddy Wash lavender and mint conditioner.

Dave clips the dog's nails. It is much cheaper and easier to do it in your own house. As long as you play with your pup's paws from the very start, you shouldn't have a problem with the pup allowing you to touch his paws.

[Chrisanne]

Like Denise said, i'd stay away from the retractable leash. However, I would stay away from them regardless of breed.

I clip my dogs nails myself. Just force of habit for me.

I give my dogs pig ears with no problems. No extra gas, and no soft stool fortunately. Now Maverick does have gas, but he has it anyway. LOL!! However, I give them the pig ears while supervised only. I prefer natural treats.

[Scarlette]

Mirra and Sydnee are never allowed off of the leash, therefore I do use the 20 ft. retractable leashes so they can run around and explore more area while we're walking on the beach and back roads. I got into using the retractable leashes when I had Riley for the same reason (never being allowed outside without a leash on).

With that being said......I have no idea if it's the leashes or just the Bull Terrier breed in general, but all three of the Bullies I've had have been terrible pullers on the leash. As an example, just last week the 2 girls yanked Jeff right off of his feet and he weighs over 200 pounds and is a strong guy. We've been using the harness type deals that are designed stop such strong pulling. When they're on a regular type of leash and given the "heel" command they're somewhat better behaved but they're little monsters when the retractables are on!

Kongs are an absolute must have! My dogs love them, especially when filled with peanut butter.

I do give my dogs rawhides and pig ears but only when I can closely supervise them. I would never give cow hooves because I had a close call with one of the dogs almost choking to death on it.

If you get a puppy, don't go crazy spending money on expensive collars. Puppies grow out of them FAST!

I use baby shampoo or tearless puppy shampoo to bath my dogs and have never had a problem with dry skin.

Learn how to clip your dog's nails yourself. You will save time and money. Sometimes I clip my dog's nails twice a week, other times they can go 2 weeks without a trim. It depends on the dog and the activity level, what type of surface they're walked on, ect.

[jmb9101]

Everyone has given great advice!

(Just thought it was easier to do it this way than to keep looking back )
what about treats and toys and stuff? I do give the dogs natural treats, sometimes I make them treats (I have the recipie around here somewhere if you want it too...) and I am guilty of buying milkbones occasionally too.

What about leashes? Any kind of preference? Is a retractable for when they are more trained or should we have one off the bat?
We have always just used the regular canvas type leashes. Sometimes I find cute ones at Old Navy though! Harlies is navy with white stars (from around the 4th of July sales..haha...) and Graces is pink with rainbows (some summer sale thing...lol) Max's is just a plain black one. They work though! We do have a Halti though, its like a harness type collar that can hook on to their regular collar to help train them...like not to pull and not to lunge at people/other dogs... Works great!

We do plan on getting a Kong thing for in the crate....what else? Our dogs love the Kong, but only if its stuffed. If it doesnt have something in it, they have no intrest in it. Max LOVES balls that squeak, Harlie loves anything she can chew, and Grace prefers bones...so it all really depends on the pooch on what kinds of toys he or she will like. (And really, they do tend to ruin toys, so we always buy them a few each time we go to Walmart, they have the 88 cent toys there. With as many that get chewed up or torn apart its perfect to get them there!)

What about those gross looking pigs ears and stuff? We do use pig ears and rawhides occasionally...but, like everyone else said, we keep a close eye on them when they eat them.

Is there a dog shampoo you'd recommend? I have always washed all of my dogs with Johnsons and Johnsons baby shampoo. Works like a charm and smells good...plus we always have it around the house (now especially...lol) And Im sure you do too!

Do you clip your dogs nails or take them to be done? I clip all three dogs nails. As long as you do it from the day they come home and keep doing it regularly, it shouldnt be a problem. I started with Grace when she came home too..and look how old she is...and she lets me clip hers too now. But I also know people who have really high strung dogs that cant stand it, so they take them to the vet...which I think its only like 7 bucks or something like that here.

Good luck puppy hunting!

[Denise]

Quote: Originally Posted by Scarlette With that being said......I have no idea if it's the leashes or just the Bull Terrier breed in general, but all three of the Bullies I've had have been terrible pullers on the leash.

Rhonda, Bully breeds have a tendency to pull in general. Logan and Molly both have prong collars. They never pull when they have them on and I rarely have to correct them. I tried using a harness for Logan but everytime he sees someone he gets super excited and pulls.

[Denise]

I used to use the lavender and chammomile shampoo from J&J but I was disappointed when the shampoo claimed to be "natural" only to look up the ingredients and find ingredients that I wouldn't use on a baby:

Water, PEG-80 Sorbitan Laurate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Glycerin, Disodium Lauroamphodiacetate, PEG-150 Distearate, Sodium Laureth-13 Carboxylate, Fragrance (Lavender & Chamomile), Polyquaternium-10, Tetrasodium EDTA, Quaternium-15, Ext D&C Violet 2

[capnsweets]

Thanks guys for all the advice! Ray and I are going shopping Saturday, I think we are going to at least get a Kong, and maybe those

Quote: Solid Gold "tiny tots" (they are perfect for training),

because if they are perfect for training, or since I have like 1 and 1/2 months I might pick up trianining your puppy for dummies I saw at wal;mart for like $13, you know me, I always have to read 10 million things before I make a decision.

Oh and Chjinchilla Girl (I want to call you mandi but I am only 85% sure that is your name for some reason today) we are looking at local shelters for a family friendly mixed breed. Something labrador or collie. I seen a couple of labradoodles in west virgina and a few collies, but we are waiting and plan on getting the puppy after we take a minivacation in June. However, if I found something I absolutely LOVED now, we might be getting a puppy early. Right now we are just trying to get the essentials!

[kfielder]

On leashes, if it's a strong dog, I like the kind with a second handle about halfway down. You can pull them in close if there are cars or other dogs around and have a lot more control. (My trainer told me never to use retractable leashes because it teaches the dogs they don't have to pay attention to you when they're on leash.)

On the Kongs, stuff them with peanut butter when the dog is hyper and it will calm him down. Peanut butter has tryptophan (just like turkey), so it makes them sleepy.

[capnsweets]

Thank you for the advice!

[zana]

There is lots of advise to choose from. But thought I would throw in one more piece. There are some great treat and chewy choices on http://www.goodhealthypet.com. Stick with porkhide, instead of rawhide and greenies. Porkhide is completely digestable.

Good luck you have a lot to take in.