Puppy In Your Home:
We have started with your shopping lists:
Shopping List ~
Doggie bed(s)
Exercise pen (30-36" tall) or baby gate(s) *most of our Jack Russells do not need anything higher. Get 36" if you just want to be more cautious.
Stainless steel or ceramic bowls. No plastic.
Puppy shampoo: “Buddy Wash” is best
Nail clippers
Sweater (for colder regions)
House training pads
Any recommended puppy or (all life stages) kibble listed on our diet page *We currently feed all puppies ORIJEN Puppy, grain free 80/20 mix. It can be ordered here: PETFLOW
Toys: Kongs, balls, squeakies, stuffed toys, tugs, canvas toys
Teething chews; NYLABONES and cow hooves as some examples. *PLEASE, NO RAWHIDE after adult teeth come in.
Harness or collar (a cat break-away collar fits pup nicely until 10-12 weeks of age)
Thin, nylon lead 6-8' long
Thin, long training lead: 15' - 20'
Canned food not listing "by-products"
PUPPY GOLD until 4-6 months of age. Can be found at; www.an-nat.com
Crate (metal or plastic is fine)
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MORE ABOUT CRATES - Crate train your pup. The puppies will be familiar with a crate when they leave our home. Your pup will enjoy his own space and will come to use his little den, long after he is house trained and grown. Later you can remove the door if you wish and allow pup freedom to come and go. Any local pet supply will carry a wide selection of crates. Stay away from soft sided collapsible ones... it will not stand up to a puppy when adult teeth come in. Plastic or metal is fine. The footprint of your crate should be at least a 16" x 21" or as big as a 20" x 30". These are rough estimates - crate can be 1-2" smaller than these dimensions.
For a puppy, you will probably need to put a shoe box or some type of divider in the crate at first. The idea is to give puppy enough room to sleep and stand comfortably, but not so much room that he/she can set aside an area to soil.

If you spend an extra $30, you can have a puppy training crate (small, plastic cat size; 12" x 19") to use the first 4-6 weeks to get your puppies potty habits under control. Then move pup up to the smaller size mentioned above, if he/she will only be spending a few hours in it at a time. If they may spend a little more time in a crate, you will want to go up to the bigger size. *If we are shipping puppy to you, this crate will come with puppy.

METAL or PLASTIC: I am asked this a lot. It will depend upon your climate, where the crate will placed and personal preference. In my experience, a plastic crate makes much more sense if you are training a puppy as it is much easier to spray out and disinfect. For adults, I would not use the metal frame/wire one unless you can afford to get a decent one. The cheap, poorly made ones are dangerous. If cost is a concern, go with plastic. If looks and ventilation are more important, go with metal wire - but spend the money on a good one!
There is a new metal/plastic combo crate out now - expensive but nice and much easier on your floors and walls. dog.com carries them. This other site will take you to wide variety of dog crates available on the market. www.bestdogcrate.com
Grocery Store Shopping List ~Low Sodium chicken or beef broth (use this to make puppy ice-cubes to help sooth sore gums due to teething)
Frozen vegetables; green beans, carrots, squash, peas, etc.
Frozen or fresh chicken necks, thighs or wings (ground is fine too)
Plain, whole yogurt
Cottage cheese (whole, not non-fat)
Ground beef
Oatmeal
Peanut butter (helpful when introducing puppy to Kongs)
Gatorade or Pedialyte - unflavored if possible (found in baby section)
*Gatorade or Pedialyte can be used with a puppy that is feeling under the weather, not eating while readjusting or in place of water on unusually hot days.
Hot Dogs *I keep several packages of hotdogs in my freezer. If you suspect your pup is not well for any reason, try to feed them a hot dog. A pup that shows no interest is probably a very sick puppy. They are also GREAT training tools for the finicky eater.
The rest of the pages in this section will be of great help to you when your puppy first comes home. Read and re-read this section until pup is 12-16 weeks of age.
The rest of the pages in this section will be of great help to you when your puppy first comes home. Read and re-read this section until pup is 12-16 weeks of age.
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