STYLETHREAD -- LET'S TALK SHOP!

Hermes

puppy shopping

Kelly · Hermes

aw, that sweet dog on the puff ball looks soooooo comfy!

Boots · Gucci

Looks like you're getting prepared!

When my brother went to MI to pick up his puppy, my mom sent a stuffed rabbit with them. Kona slept with the stuffed animal all the way back and it still sleeps with him (he's almost 6 months.) I think it helped comfort him at first being around strangers and a new home.

Hermes

Kelly - the reviewers just raved about the puff bed -- said their dogs looked like they were floating on a cloud :)

Boots - that's a great idea. I'll have to put a stuffed toy in each of their carriers when I pick them up.

clothes_horse · Dooney & Bourke

aww! you're gonna be such a good mommy! love that puffy bed!

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

For what it's worth, I would reconsider the stuffed animal thing (despite that picture being the cutest thing!). It can train them to think they can play with any 'stuffed' things. Any stuffed animal (or mink teddy bear made from your deceased grandmother's coat, just sayin', not that it happened to ME ;)) or stuffed like item (slippers, uggs) can become a play/chew thing.

I did hop over to overstock to check out the bed. I didn't see it, but my dog LOVES sherling/sherpa type stuff. I'll have to keep an eye out for it for her.

Hermes

greendiamond wrote:

For what it's worth, I would reconsider the stuffed animal thing (despite that picture being the cutest thing!). It can train them to think they can play with any 'stuffed' things. Any stuffed animal (or mink teddy bear made from your deceased grandmother's coat, just sayin', not that it happened to ME ;)) or stuffed like item (slippers, uggs) can become a play/chew thing.

I did hop over to overstock to check out the bed. I didn't see it, but my dog LOVES sherling/sherpa type stuff. I'll have to keep an eye out for it for her.

yeah, that's a good point. I will have toys, rawhide and blankets for them when I pick them up, so hopefully that will suffice. I do have some old beanie babies I was going to give them, but there might be a choke factor with the eyes.

I saw they took those pet beds down. Usually there's at least a link for them reading "out of stock." I got them for just under $30 each for the 26" version.

I did find them on Kohl's - I bet if you looked around you might be able to find a better price and possibly a coupon code... http://www.kohls.com/upgrade/webstore/product_page_multiple.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524892620689&pfx=pfx_shopcompare&cid=shopping3&mr:trackingCode=8C2719EB-F022-DF11-9B13-0019B9C043EB&mr:referralID=NA

Miss Mabel · Kenneth Cole

I just want to say I'm so glad you're getting the pups! aww

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

WOOT WOOT! great selections! Not sure if you got any of these but I find that I get the most use out of my Kong toy (to put treats in for separation anxiety) and tennis balls.

That sherpa ball looks great! I hope the pups are not chewers, my dog eats every bed, cushion, blanket and stuffed animal he can find. I ended up "giving" him my sheepskin rug for him to snuggle in:

Hermes

I was just thinking I needed some fetching balls. Do the tennis balls get slobbery-gross?

I actually did pick up some Kongs! I got some smaller round ones. What do you put in yours?

I'll have to keep the sheepskin rug in mind -- I see them at Costco on occasion. My godmother's pekingese used to have a little rabbit pelt he loved. Perhaps they don't chew them up because of the animal scent?

Boots · Gucci

My brother puts peanut butter or liver sausage (but that one smells, let me tell you) in his Kongs. He says it keeps his puppy occupied longer than a treat.

He also recommended that if your puppies are teething at all, you save the more expensive beds until they are a little older. He's on his second bed already because Kona chewed through his first one. The second one isn't looking all that great right now either.

Keep in mind that Kona is a German Shepard and your little guy/girl may be better behaved than our's. Plus, they are at work all day. My brother comes back at lunch to let the dog out and feed him, but that's still a long time for a puppy to be on his own. You'll be around more to watch them.

Kona left for "overnight camp" today (read dog training) for the next 3 weeks. Hopefully when he comes back, the chewing factor will be gone.

Hermes

Boots wrote:

My brother puts peanut butter or liver sausage (but that one smells, let me tell you) in his Kongs. He says it keeps his puppy occupied longer than a treat.

He also recommended that if your puppies are teething at all, you save the more expensive beds until they are a little older. He's on his second bed already because Kona chewed through his first one. The second one isn't looking all that great right now either.

Keep in mind that Kona is a German Shepard and your little guy/girl may be better behaved than our's. Plus, they are at work all day. My brother comes back at lunch to let the dog out and feed him, but that's still a long time for a puppy to be on his own. You'll be around more to watch them.

Kona left for "overnight camp" today (read dog training) for the next 3 weeks. Hopefully when he comes back, the chewing factor will be gone.

btw - that is just the sweetest picture of your brother's puppy.

I was thinking peanut butter too - but then how do you clean the ball?

I hope they're not big chewers. I should stock up on some rawhide to keep their desire to chew controlled...

greendiamond · Marc Jacobs

We mostly put milkbones in there. Be advised, Mattie got wise and would throw it around the room and wait for pieces to bounce out. We had several close calls with the breakables (those things can bounce remarkably well on hardwoods).

The tennis balls can get icky, but you'll get use to it.

Also, a squeaky ball is always a favorite, and since they are plastic/rubber like they don't get as nasty or smelly. Mattie will chase one ALL day (got one from PetSmart that has a little shearling on it, and squeaks when it's being squeezed as well as when the air is coming out. She loves it best)

Kelly · Hermes

You might want to just buy 1 or 2 of each kind of toy (ball, chewy, stuffed) until you know what they like. My dog could not be less interested in things that squeak or things she's just supposed to chew on (unless they are actually edible). Instead, all she really wants is a few plushy things around the house. I've given or thrown away everything else because she didn't care about them.

Suasoria · Chanel

XtinaStyles wrote:

AWWWWW

Boots · Gucci

I clean the Kong I keep at my place for the puppy (man, am I whipped or what???) with dish soap and a wash cloth. I'll let it soak a bit then poke my finer in to get the inside clean. It takes a little elbow grease, but at least I don't have to worry about cleaning up crumbs from milkbones all over the house.

Be careful with the raw hide. We gave Kona one in August when he was 3 months and it gave him the runs. Turns out he was too young to digest it properly. Check with your vet to see if Charlie & Flora can handle it.

I keep a squeak monkey that I got from PetCo at my place too as a toy. Watching Kona carry the monkey around in his mouth, squeaking it all over the house is just hilarious. I have no idea what we did as a family to amuse ourselves before this (not so little now) guy showed up.

Hermes

thanks for the tip on the rawhide - I had no idea. thanks for the kong cleaning tips too.

all of the dogs I've ever had loved squeaky toys. I do have a small assortment of toys, and I do plan to see what they gravitate to so I'll know better what to buy. I'm looking forward to playing with the puppies! dogs really are so much fun - I'm so excited!

Elle · Hermes

Fun! My pup nearly chewed us out of house and home when she was a pup - I spent about $50 every month on toys that were supposed to be 'indestructible' for her first year or so. It passes once they get through all the teething and such! We were never able to use tennis balls much - ours didn't get to slobbery, she learned to peel them so we had neon fuzz everywhere ...

Woven rope toys are a good alterntive to rawhides - and if you find they're able to destroy a toy faster than you'd like try sizing up the toy (most come in different sizes for different breeds). The bigger the toy, the harder it is for them to get a good mouth-grip on it and the longer it takes for them to chew it up!

ETA: If bed-shredding is a concern (it was for us) you can try fleece blankets instead, until they're out of the chewing stage at least. You can find them cheap at lots of places or go get 2 yards of a fleece print you like from a fabric store. The edges don't fray, you can machine wash/bleach them if they get peed on, and they can chew on those suckers all they want and only make tiny holes! My dog still carries her blankie everywhere, and she's nearly 4 ...

-- Edited by Elle on Thursday 2nd of December 2010 01:16:32 PM

Hermes

Thanks for the tips, Elle! I totally planned on getting some polar fleece to make blankets out of. I picked out some argyle the last time I was there. I was thinking of just getting a yard and cutting it in half to make two blankets (since they're small dogs...)

XtinaStyles · Marc Jacobs

D wrote:
I was just thinking I needed some fetching balls. Do the tennis balls get slobbery-gross?

I actually did pick up some Kongs! I got some smaller round ones. What do you put in yours?

I'll have to keep the sheepskin rug in mind -- I see them at Costco on occasion. My godmother's pekingese used to have a little rabbit pelt he loved. Perhaps they don't chew them up because of the animal scent?

The tennis balls dont get gross bc they're too big for him to carry/slobber on. He usually just plays fetch but can't really keep them in his lil jaw for too long.

I use peanut butter in my kong. I try to get natural/unsweetened and use very little otherwise he gains weight! They are easy to clean, simpy soak in a cup in the sink then a lil sudsy water takes care of it. In the summer, I freeze the kong so it is nice n cold and takes him longer to consume.