Olsen 

 

Things you need to have on hand before you pick your puppy up:

1) A crate. Some people buy small crates and size up as the puppy grows. Some go ahead and buy a 42 inch crate and just use it the dog’s entire life. Either way is fine, just make sure if it’s a larger crate that it comes with a divider so you can change the space for the puppy to a smaller size. They do NOT need much room. They need to be able to lie down flat, to stand up straight, and turn around. The more room they have, the more space they have to potty and the longer your work with potty training will be. We’ll get into crate training in the very first video once the puppies come home - but crating your puppy is critical. Anytime you’re not DIRECTLY working with the dog or playing with it, it needs to be crated. Quality time is more valuable than quantity. Puppies with freedom are puppies that make messes, get stepped on, get lost, chew through lamp cords and so on. Eyes off pup, put pup up.

 

2) A soft blanket or crate mat that you can fold for padding. You do not need a full on dog bed yet. Your puppy won’t have as many accidents in the crate if you size it appropriately, however they will still happen. A blanket or mat is far easier to clean than a bed, doesn’t come apart as easily as a bed if it’s washed too often and is much cheaper. And it’s more than soft enough for the puppy.

 

3)Newspaper, a piece of sod or some very cheap dollar tree towels. We’ll get into why pee pads are a MAJOR no-no in the “don’t need” section. But they will set you back and are the source of a lot of problems. Pee pads account for a huge amount of untrained puppies and dogs we get from people that have had them for almost a year and are still suffering from accidents. Done right, potty training takes 2-3 weeks TOPS, forever. Your puppy should NOT have any accidents beyond the second or 3rd week home.

 

4) A very light leash and collar. You can even get by with just a slip leash until they’re around 10-11 weeks old. When your puppy is NOT in the crate, it needs to be dragging a leash at all times. This will help down the road to prevent leash pulling and reactivity. A leash is a strange sensation for some dogs. They don’t always take to it easily. This age they are like a sponge and will let you do pretty much anything. Get a very light nylon leash, or a light soy leash. Something with very little weight. No longer than 4-6 feet. This will also be used to keep the puppy contained. A puppy should never be free roaming the house. It needs to be in the room with someone at all times. Again, this is for the sake of fast potty training as well as safety of the puppy.

 

5) One of each of these types of toys - A durable chew toy, a ball or squeaky toy, and a plush cuddly toy. A huge mistake many people make is they just get a basket full of toys and leave them where the puppy can access them at any time. Down the road, this can cause issues. You need to be the source of all toys and play. The puppy should never initiate the play. The only toy it needs constant access to at first is the plush, to help it get over not having it’s littermates to snuggle. When it begins teething, it needs access to a good chew. Balls or squeakers should never be left with the puppy. They come out when you choose to play with the puppy, and should be put up when you’re done. You’ll thank yourself for this later, trust me. These are high drive dogs and if they control playtime, you’ll never have peace.

 

6) Food. You need a good quality large breed dog food. That doesn’t mean you need to spend $100 per bag on some fancy brand, but you need to make sure the food is formulated for large breed dogs. This is not a breed that can get by on Puppy Chow, ‘Ol Roy or Gravy Train as a puppy. German Shepherds have plenty of issues with bones, joints and hips later in life by virtue of the nature of the breed. Having the correct formulation of food will help with development and growth and lower their risk of debilitating joint issues later in life. When they hit a year old or so, you can be more flexible. But as a puppy, quality and formula really does matter, particularly with the calcium and phosphorous levels.

 

7) Grooming tools. While you don’t necessarily need to groom them while they’re this young, getting them used to these items will help a LOT when they are older. Go ahead and get a good brush and an undercoat rake. Get some nail clippers or a dremel style nail tool. Keep these items nearby while you play with and feed your puppy. This will build a positive association so that later when you try to groom, the puppy isn’t looking at an alien object and nervous. I’ll go over counter conditioning and how to begin grooming in a video in the second or third week they’re home as well, as it becomes something you’ll need to start doing. Also, make it a habit to brush your puppy either nightly before bed or early in the morning. They won’t need it yet, but if you build the routine now they’ll love it later and you’ll have far less shedding going on. They are known as “German Shedders’ after all, if you don’t do this, be ready for hair everywhere.

 

8) Shampoo and conditioner. While your puppy doesn’t need bathed often in reality, I recommend bathing them weekly for the first month or two of their life. Trust me, you want to get them relaxed and easy to handle in the tub now, not wait until they’re 100 pounds. You start now, they’ll be easy as pie once they start getting 20-30 pounds and over. Even if you plan to have them groomed, your groomer will thank you. Trust me.

 

Things you may have seen, but in reality, don’t need. (And why):

1) Pee pads. These things are the bane of dog trainer’s existence and account for a HUGE number of potty training issues. I guarantee you, it’s one constant. For every puppy we get that isn’t potty trained within the first month, it’s because they used pee pads in the crate or in the house. EVERY time. They are scented with enzymes and pheromones that literally make them smell (to the dog) like pee and poo. This is because like kitty litter, it’s not natural. They have to be guided to go there. The smell attracts them and tells them this is a place they can go. Similar to how if your pup ever has an accident, you’ll notice they will always go back to that spot to do it again. Once the smell is there, you need to use a cleaner such as a 50/50 solution of vinegar and water, or some rubbing alcohol to get it out. Nature’s miracle also works, but it’s pricey and is mostly just alcohol. Perfumes and carpet cleaners don’t work. You won’t smell it, but the dog still can.

That’s also why you don’t use pee pads. You’re literally teaching the puppy that it’s ok to go in the house. This is a can of worms you really don’t want to open. Don’t even have them in the house. Remember, a dog’s strongest sense is its sense of smell. You can have them in a Ziploc put away in a closet and they’ll still smell it, still think it’s ok to go inside. Trust me, use the newspaper or dollar tree towels. They’re cheaper, they absorb more than the pads do anyway and they don’t cause the same issue if properly washed (or disposed of in the case of newspaper). Personally, I use sod, as it gets the puppy used to pottying on grass anyway and it’s even cleaner still than the other items I mentioned. But not everyone lives near a sod farm! You do need something in the crate, but not pee pads.

 

2) Retractable leashes and harnesses. Another huge problem we see. People bring their dogs in ALL the time for issues with pulling, bad leash manners, jumping, reactivity and so on. Just like pee pads cause every potty issue, harnesses and retractable leashes cause every walking issue that isn't a result of people not starting the pup dragging a leash early on. Without fail. Harnesses are designed for sled dogs and horses to comfortably pull heavy loads. They encourage pulling. They go along the strongest part of a dogs body and give it leverage. You will never need these items. Even if your dog will be a service dog, it will wear a vest, not a harness. It will still be walked with a collar. Retractable leashes, self-explanatory. All you’ll need is a good collar and leash. Your puppy will be walking in a perfect heel by its the second month with you and can easily be off leash trained in the future.

 

3) Leather collar and leash. You WILL need this as your puppy grows. But these items can be pricey and you don’t need them yet. For the first month or two, a light nylon leash and collar or slip lead will do just fine. A leather leash is too heavy for them to drag right now, and a good leather collar will be useless soon as these babies will grow very fast. So you need these things *leather is MUCH easier on their coat and skin than nylon!* but you don’t for a good month or two yet. The leash you can save, but the collar will just be money burned.

4) Treats. This isn’t really a problem, but it’s not really necessary. When we have people come to training classes we generally recommend just using the dog’s kibble. When we train, we just use kibble. If you never start a dog on treats, you won’t have to wean them later. Treats make them fat, they have no real nutritional value (unless you spend big money) treats cost a lot more than kibble and a dog will work just as well for kibble. Think of it like candy and soda. If you never start your kid on it, it’s not a battle later.

 

5) Rawhide or “big box store” chews. These things are not easily digestible, not healthy and can actually cause blockages as some dogs don’t chew them as well as others. If you want to get a chew, get a good bully stick (bull penis), a deer or elk antler, a cow’s hoof, chicken feet, etc. These items all have nutritional value to your puppy for one, and are easily digestible for them. They don’t cost much more, and in the case of hooves and chicken’s feet cost less than rawhide.