Q&A: What to buy for a new dog?

Except for the collar, I think you should buy all the stuff BEFORE bringing your new puppy home.

I’d get him a big doggy bed too. .

It sounds like you have everything covered. As far as a good toy for dogs who like to chew things up – they have those semi-solid rubber toys that are great for dogs who “destroy” stuffed toys because they last awhile. (And the dog enjoys the toy too!) I think it’s great that you’re getting a shelter dog instead of a pure bred – I commend you for that! There are so many unfortunate animals in shelters just waiting to be adopted, and by the sounds of it this guy is going to a very good home. Hope this helps a little. Good luck to you and your new dog!

Thank you for adopting! If you bring your adoption paperwork in to Petco, they will give you a coupon book. The coupons are usually for 50% off dog food (selected brands), 10% off most other supplies, 15% off a full grooming or bath, $ 20 off obedience classes, and coupons for pet insurance and a pet portrait. It looks like you have all the basics covered. Someone mentioned nail clippers which is great if you are planning to do them at home, but you can also bring him into your Petco’s grooming salon they will usually do it for about $ 10 (if you tell the groomer he is adopted they may do the first clipping free, just depends on your store) Here’s some advice on the dog food and toys as well:

Do NOT use brands that you can find in a grocery store, dollar store, or places like Target or Walmart such as Pedigree, Iams, Ol’Roy, Cesars, Purina (which includes ONE, Pro Plan, Beneful, Dog Chow or Puppy Chow, Alpo, Mighty dog, Chef Michaels etc.) or any other brand you can find there. Bil Jac, Nature’s Recipe, Rachel Ray’s brand Nutrish, Eukanuba, Science Diet, and Royal Canin are not good brands either. I know Petco sells most of these brands too, but do not buy them. All of these foods are made of ingredients like meat/poultry/fish by-products, corn, animal digest, soy, and artificial colors, artificial flavors. and artificial preservatives. It is hard for a dog to digest these ingredients and they get very little, if any, nutrition from them. They are common causes of food allergies in dogs and the artificial ingredients, such as the preservatives BHA, ethoxyquin, and BHT, can cause other diseases or illnesses. These three are banned from human food in most countries because they have been shown to cause cancer among other things.

Choose a food that has a specifically identified meat/poultry/fish source as at least one, but preferably two, of the first three ingredients. This would be something like “chicken” or “lamb meal” (meal is a good thing, so don’t confuse it with a by-product which is not good). Avoid the ingredients I listed in the above paragraph as much as possible. I personally prefer to feed my dog foods that are natural and holistic with human grade ingredients. When feeding a high quality food, the initial cost of the bag will be more expensive, but your dog will eat less of these than the low quality foods and is able to absorb the nutrients easier. For example, my 12 lb dog eats 2/3 cup of Wellness Super5Mix Small Breed, whereas with Beneful he would eat 1&1/4 cup or with Pedigree Small Breed 1&3/4 cups. This equals less waste for you to clean up which is another plus.

Here are some high quality foods Petco sells (and some are part of the coupon offer I mentioned, just can’t remember which ones off the top of my head):

Wellness (what I use)
Blue Buffalo (or Blue)
Solid Gold
Natural Balance
Natural UltraMix
Dogswell
Organix
Avoderm
All of these brands also make treats as well. Some other excellent treats are Old Mother Hubbard brand and Healthy Selects (Petco’s exclusive brand). All of the things that shouldn’t be in your dog’s food shouldn’t be in his treats either.

For toys, I recommend the Kong toys (especially the rubber ones you can put treats in) http://www.petco.com/Shop/ProductList.aspx?PC=productlist&Nav=1&N=13396+30&CoreSearch=kong
and Tire Biters (most Petco’s sell these but not on their website) http://www.mammothpet.com/tirebiter.asp
http://www.mammothpet.com/tirebiter.asp
Most dogs also enjoy natural bones, such as hambones, knuckle bones, and bully sticks which can all be found at Petco as well http://www.petco.com/petco_Page_PC_productlist_Nav_611_N_22+5013+30+5065.aspx They are all natural so they do not have the health risks that rawhides have, but only give him these if someone is supervising him just to be safe.

i think you should get your dog a rubber toy because it will last long and is not stuffed. and also some good treats for your new puppy would be milkbones. they are somewhat healthy and can freshen your dogs breath.