We found our new baby!

Well we did it! We found our perfect little dog (well at 6 mo’s hes 40 pounds so might be the perfect little big dog in a few months LOL). I wrote a post the other day about finding a dog on Kijiji and warning the old owner that whoever said they gave the dog a home lied, and he is at the SPCA. I promised her I would check on him and I did and fell in love with him.

Its going to be a hard run… the SPCA said he was obviously badly abused and has every issue a dog can have. Separation anxiety, no confidence, fearful of everything, not housetrained, etc. BUT he loves cats LOL. So that’s a positive. I have visuals of me cuddling with all my boys together LOL so cute.

Anyway before I get into a novel about how much I already love this guy I wanted to ask what supplies I need before I get him (we get him on Friday!) It’s been a very long time since I have gotten a new dog and I am very nervous and want to make sure I am prepared.

Thanks so much guys! I will post pics soon… he is so cute!!! Below is a list I made but I am not sure if I missed anything.

Crate
Dog food
2 Bowls
Kong and one more other chewable toy
Some sort of dog bed
Collar
Training Collar
Leash
Baby gate
Treats
Dog Brush

Training collars are useless, don't waste your money.
Not to mention that those collars are used in outdated, negative re-enforcement training methods.
Since this dog has so many issues (as did my rescue) I recommend you clicker-train at home and get the puppy into obedience classes immediately.
Obedience training will go a long way towards solving fear and confidance issues.

Instead of training collars, I recommend a training harness (Like this one), and once he has learned to walk without pulling, graduate to a Gentle Leader head collar.

And bless you for adopting a problem child, can't wait to see pics.

See! Thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s why I post LOL. Ok, scratch the training collar thing (although he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t really pull on the walk to maybe I can just get the gentle leader). So I will add a clicker thingy and harness. I have so many plans for this little guy. I am calling all the training places to find a good one and he will be going immediately. As well as I am starting a doggy play date thing once a week (did this when I got my very first dog) where we go to the park, and socialize the dogs with the owners and animals.

Reading on socializing its telling me that I should do things like stand outside a grocery store or mall just to get him used to people. We also have a few off leash dog parks I can take him to and keep him on leash.

I am assuming most of his problems will be solved when he gets his confidence back. I am aware this can take months, even longer. So that is my first priority.

*updated list*
Crate
Dog food
2 Bowls
Kong and one more other chewable toy
Some sort of dog bed
Collar
Training harness or gentle leader
Leash
Baby gate
Treats
Dog Brush
Clicker thingy

Here's a good collection of clicker training resources to get you started.
Clicker training

Is the dog long or shorthaired?
My boy is a lab mix with a lab coat and he really loves his Zoom Groom and Furminator.
Not sure if you would still need to brush though if the dog is longhaired.

To Bear though, getting 'brushed' with those two items is like the ultimate treat time.
He gets the "Ooh that feels good" smirk and gets the happy wiggles afterward.

I think he is Short - Med haired. He is a Rottie/German Shepherd (So they say, growing up with Dobermans I feel I can identify them pretty well and I would say Doberman/Shepherd). I think he will be in-between the two hair types. LOL thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s so cute, happy wiggles! lol

I have a feeling he will be really easy to train, he is a very good boy. I think the main problems will be the normal puppy problems. Destruction of the house, urinating in house, oh, he also pee's when he is nervous... I guess I should add mop to my list LOL (we only have a swiffer).

I will be sure to check out those clicker guides when I have a moment (ya.. I am at work LOL).

Thanks so mcuh!

Get a really good pet enzyme cleaner for any potential accidents. I've used Natures Miracle with great success but I know they make others as well.

Originally Posted by Arlyn

Instead of training collars, I recommend a training harness (Like this one), and once he has learned to walk without pulling, graduate to a Gentle Leader head collar.

Click to expand...

So the gentle leader head collar is less intense than the harness? I never thought that. I was trying to help my mom with her Great Dane and his extreme pulling problem and I told her to get the head collar. It works great!

I'm so glad you are taking in this dog and giving him a chance! Honestly I love those too breeds, rottie and shepard. They are get dogs and train easily! I've never met a rottie that wasn't a friendly family dog!

Good luck and I can't wait to see pictures!

Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

So the gentle leader head collar is less intense than the harness? I never thought that. I was trying to help my mom with her Great Dane and his extreme pulling problem and I told her to get the head collar. It works great!

Click to expand...

The head collar is more useful for a dog that already knows how to walk on a leash, but is still stubborn about pulling.

The no pull harnesses are better for dogs with no leash training or are resistant to leashes, or dogs with extreme pulling, lunging, and jumping issues.

I wouldn't do a head collar until he's used to you. Found out the hard way if you use it on a 'chicken dog' & they freak the dog out, you'll get bit.

Dog bed, if he's got seperate anxiety get a few....and cheap ones cuz he's gonna eat 'em. I put just cheap people blankets in my dog's crates, I just watch sales in stores & hit up garage sales.

Get a variety of toys, see what he likes at first. Some dogs don't understand how to work a kong, so a treatball might be a good alternative if he's one of those dogs.

Don't forget and ID tag and/or have him microchipped and have that ID number on a tag... I get my pet tags from laserdogtags.com and have been very satisfied with them

If he's not housebroken, you may want to add some peepee pads to your list too (I never actually had to housebreak my now 14 year old lab - she was a shelter pup but before being brought there was kept outside only and she went right to the door to go potty)

And I definitely agree with either a harness or gentle leader for walking, I absolutely despise leashing a dog on it's collar and watching it choke itself

If you have a yard and will let the dog out like during the day just to lay/enjoy the outside, a stainless steel water bowl/bucket is a good idea, especially since it's getting into summer now (my dog loves to be outside and often dunks her face in her outside water dish haha)

Kongs are great for when it's crate time - my cousin has a young shepard mix and she only gets her peanut butter filled kong when she goes in her crate - it's like a reward and it keeps her busy for awhile and distracted that she's home alone

Um I guess that's all I can think of lol

Thanks for all of the advice! And yes, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m guessing the enzyme cleaner will come in handy since he seems to have accidents if a fuzz ball flies too close to him… poor little fellow.

I spent some of my day researching training centers and apparently there is an amazing place just near my work. They also use the clicker-training thing as well as offer doggy daycare training. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m interested in that, while it will be more money then we thought wed spend it would be much easier on us and our new guy since they are all professionals. We are thinking about it. Maybe for a month or two for two days a week. Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s so precious I want it right the first time around.

I am sure I will have tons of pics of him soon! I am going today to spend time with him but I really donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t want SPCA pics. I want him in his new loving home.

Wow for some reason I thought I would need more items! Lol thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not too bad. Thanks all!

*updated list*
Crate
Dog food
2 Bowls
Kong and one more other chewable toy
Some sort of dog bed
Collar
Training harness or gentle leader
Leash
Baby gate
Treats
Dog Brush
Clicker thingy
enzyme cleaner

Opps didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t see Buzby and White Cats posts. He seemed alright yesterday on the leash and he was just wearing a cheap collar and leash. So we may not even need any special training harness. We will see if heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s still good tonight though.

Where we live you have to by an ID tag when you get the dog from the SPCA, if you donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t they will check up on you in a few months to make sure you got one. We will microchip him eventually but right now heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s already costing us too much! Now we also need to get his Bordetello and possibly Rabies (if he didnt get already).

I was thinking of just going to WalMart and getting a cheaper blanket, dog one are way too expensive to chance on a separation anxiety dog. Actually can a dog hurt himself if he has separation anxiety and you just leave him anyways in the crate?

Luckily since he seems a bit hyper we do have a large yard. We were thinking of getting a baby pool for him in summer too LOL my old dog used to love her baby pool. To save money for a bit I will probably just use his indoor water bowl when we put him outside. I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t expect to keep him outside for long periods of time unless I am home anyway.

I guess I will get two-three toys. We need to keep it simple. Thankfully our SPCA has a cheap dog store in it with Kongs not packaged but new. So they are cheaper!

Thanks all!