Good morning all

As some of you may know we're organising ourselves way in advance for the arrival of our GSD pup - (3-4 months time). Being first time owners we are taking advice from as many people in the know as possible, and thank you to those of you who have tolerated our many questions.

Our 6 foot fence and gate went in yesterday to make it secure as Fort Knox - with a neighbour having 5 young kids and a rabbit it has to be strong. We've settled on a breeder - many thanks Enfielrotts for confirming our thoughts on this choice!

Now we are compiling a shopping list to ensure our pup has everything it needs to be happy and healthy mentally and physically and we would love your advice on this.

What toys, bedding, food, books, snacks, transportation equipment, training clubs etc that your puppy/dog just couldn't live without, and what you as a owner/trainer definitely consider as a must, would you mind letting us know what these are?

Thanks so much for your help.

Toys for a puppy that I would have on my listare: a ragger (knotted rope-type chew/tugger); a cardboard box; an empty 2-litre plastic pop bottle (top removed); a coconut (fun to rip off the hair!); and a hard rubber bone.
:)

Thanks Jean - what a brilliant idea to use a coconut :)

Gwen Bailey's books - The Perfect Puppy - and her new one (the name of which escapes me :) )

Margot

Thanks Margot, I will definitely investigate.

Our Bichon is 14 months old but I can still remember the excitment of waiting for him to arrive. If possible take a blanket to your pups mum and bring him home in that. Also use a DAP spray on his bed or blanket, available from vets or good pet shop, this will make the stressful time of a new home a bit better. Nylabone for pups, tennis balls and kong. Try and decide your ground rules before he comes home eg toilet training on newspaper or not, is he allowed on furniture ( ours is a toy dog so he jumps on lap) even words or handsignals for training. Helps the time pass whilst waiting :-)

Maybe get a nylabone I have found that our puppies love to play with the chocolate one. We have also had to buy one for the eight year our wheaten who is going through her second child hood :D

Sarah xxxx

How great to have an 8 year old that is so young at heart!!! :)

Thank you - the blanket idea is a great thought and I have a perfect blanket in mind - hope the breeder likes the idea too.

We got our first puppy (a FCR) a couple of weeks ago, and have noticed that at the moment he seems to prefer soft, plush toys, as he can really get his teeth into them. A piece of equiptment whith which we could no longer be with out is his play pen. its so much easier to know that he's safe and is not going to chew anything dangerous, or valuble when were out, or even when your alone in the house with him and have to leave him downstairs when you need a shower or something. He gets fed in it too, so he doesent feel like hes being punished when we send him in there. good luck!
Jess

Thanks Jess, I've just found out what a crate is...yes I know ignorance isn't so bliss!!

And I think crate training appears to be fantastic so that has solved our basket problems - a crate is just the ticket.

Thanks Red Deb, we've sorted some basic ground rules but my other half and I can't seem to agree on where he should sleep!!

My husband wants him to sleep under the staircase (which isn't anything like a Harry Potter setting!!) our house is open plan so he would be in effect sleeping in the middle of the house on our ground floor (note that the floors are wooden and it is colder than upstairs). But I'm keen for him to sleep upstairs next to our bedroom in our office as it is quite cosy and warm but my husband is worried that the staircase may damage his hips.

It's a tough one to answer for us at least!

If you do decide on the ground floor, perhaps a covered crate would make your pup feel more secure? Even if you don't use it for toilet training, you can have the door open but he will fell secure in his 'den' :)

I will see what we can find to make a den!

Just another question - as we don't drive, when we pick the puppy up we'll go there by train but what is recommended on taking puppy home - should we get a cab or go back by train and what should we carry puppy in as we don't want to frighten it.

Thanks

You said how good to have an eight year old who is so young at heart. Well that is a wheaten for you!!!!! :D daft as a brush and act like puppies till the end!!!! :D Always ready to show you just how daft they can really be!!! :) If it is just throwing themselves onto their back an waving their legs in the air or doing three laps of the garden at 100mph and then a crash landing onto the settee!!! :D

Sarah xxxx

Sarah, I've just had a look at a photo of a wheaten and they are truly handsome dogs - and read about their crazy antics! I'm sure your 8 year old must give you loads of pleasure and laughs! :)

Would you not be able to get a friend or relative to drive you there and back? We found the best way to bring pups home os to get a highsided box on the backseat whith soemtone else there to watch the pup while the other drives.

Just an idea :)

I would advise against upstairs, for a GSD - you don't really want him rushing up and down stairs too early (and just try and STOP a puppy from rushing down stairs - last one down is a cissy :D )
as it's not to be recommended, for his hips - and he will soon be too heavy for you to carry up and down!

Margot

We still carry  Idõ  up and down stairs and he's five months!! Mind I don't think he's that big and I'm quite strong but my mam really struggles so she sends me down to get him :D And he doesn't have a clue how to walk down them, not that I'd let him so he's still being carried down too! He just stands at the top looking confused, probably wondering why I've shrunk :D

Thanks Margot, and since learning about crate training it now makes downstairs the best place for pup to feel secure, and going on yours and my husbands advice downstairs will be his home. Thanks.

Unfortunately neither my husband and I have english drivers licences, and our families don't live on this side of the world either, and we aren't too keen to impose on our friends as we live so far out of London!

So I think you might have answered our question -  a large cab it is then.

I think it would be the best idea, fine to introduce him to trains later but its scary leaving the breeders house and all thats familiar to the puppy and trains can be very noisy. The chances are that he/she has been in a car before so that will not be so scary ;)

Just get hold of a cardboard box with highish sides, line it with newpaper, a sheet of plastic and fleece and puppy should travel really well in it - just remeber to take a few towels, a roll of kitchen towel and some baby wipes just in case of accidents :D

Good luck with your little one, its a very exciting time :)

Emily

Thanks Emily, we're so looking forward to having him in our wee family!

i remember bringing leo home (well it was only last year lol) we had phoned a breeder who said they had no pups available but to call back in 4 weeks incase one of the prospective owners cancelled - then about a week later we got a call from a breeder who was her friend who had one sable and white boy left and said we could go see him and take him if we liked that weekend .... i was SOOO stressed and excited as we werent sure if we were going to get him. so what udo you buy? we brought him back in the car in a dog basket lined with paper and blanket although after about 15 mins he crawled out and onto my lap - I'll never forget the confused / scared look on his face when lorries passed the car etc - we got him from the countryside and brought him back on the motorway

Everything is so daunting, whether it be owner or pup!:)

QUOTE Sarah, I've just had a look at a photo of a wheaten and they are truly handsome dogs - and read about their crazy antics! I'm sure your 8 year old must give you loads of pleasure and laughs! END QUOTE (sorry cant do the faded letters!)

You she certainly does! :) But even more so are our two 9 month old puppies! :D They are complete nutters!!!

Best of luck with the puppy! :D What breed is it and what are you gonna call him/her?

Sarah xxxx

Hi Sarah, we're choosing a GSD puppy, a boy, and we will call him Fern (the name Fern was selected to represent my country's national plant being a silver fern, NZ being my country). My husband gets to choose the next name when we get another dog at some stage so that will be something Danish - much more difficult to pronounce!

We are really enjoying the process and are grateful for CD as it has provided invaluable information to someone like myself who knows very little but wants to know so much more!

:)

I would also recommend buying a clicker, and a clicker training book if you're not sure how to use it.

I've been amazed at how quickly my dogs have learnt using a clicker, and how much enthusiasm they have when I'm training with it.

And as your pup is a GSD and a very intelligent breed, he will need a lot of mental stimulation... tricks are great for that, and a clicker is great for training them! :)

Thanks Ana - another point of discussion between my husband and I - I suggested a clicker and he suggested a whistle....which is great if you can whistle but quite frankly I have a pathetic whistle, and my dog will most likely roll over to one side and fall asleep at my attempts ....

So any information to support or flatten one's argument on good training methods would be great. We've already had someone confirm one of our discussions on where Fern will sleep - my husband won that discussion!

:)

Could anyone advice on the correct size crate for a GSD puppy? I read on the internet that you shouldn't buy a crate which is too large or the puppy will not feel secure - does this mean that I should buy a smaller crate for his early months or do people actually buy the large 48' crates to cater for them as they grow up?

Thanks
Ingrid

Hey there. I am so chuffed to see you on here with your shopping list! You are doing the exact same thing as me - I have written a massive list of 'kit' needed for when we get out German Shepherd puppy in August. I am going to be using my mother-in-law's crate which was used for her GSD years ago. It is not a full sized crate (the dog couldn't get in it now) because she was told one too large wouldn't be appropriate for the GS as a puppy, but it is big enough for a pup to have space to sleep and room to move about easily. If you like I can measure it when I go and collect it from her in the middle of June, but you might need to know before then.
Good luck with it, and I am sure you are as excited as I am!

NannyOgg - how exciting!!! Did you choose a girl or a boy? And have you chosen a name? Thank you for offering to measure the crate but please don't worry about going to all that effort - I have just sent an email to the breeder to get her opinion. Our home is open planned so we need to ensure pup is safe and secure in our house. We aren't any where near your stage of the process - our breeder hasn't mated her bitch yet. But we are going out to meet the bitch this Saturday - we've had good recommendations on this breeder so we're quite excited!

Please let me know how you get on in June. Congratulations!!!

You can buy cages that have dividers so that you can adjust as required.  Most of the big companies will advise you on the correct size.

You can use a clicker AND a whistle, they are not mutually exclusive.

If you are interested in clicker training I would suggest finding a local class that you can attend as an observer so that you can get to understand the system before you get your puppy.  The concept of clicker training is simple, the delivery somewhat less so.

A whistle just replaces your voice when you need a command to carry further.

Eventually you should be able to get your dog to recall/stop to whistle, voice and/or hand signal, the choice depends on the context.

Use a gundog or shepherds whistle, however the former is much easier to use than the latter.

A lead from www.pet-needs.co.uk is a must for me - long soft leather leads at affordable prices and great for training, I get the one coded E74 :)

Again you are welcome for the help - I have also sent you an email of other bits I would get, your choice remember though ;)

Thanks Kelly, I'll touch base with you on the email :)