After adopting our dog from the local humane shelter recently, we are happy to finally share her name with you!! We had a lot to prepare for after arriving home, but were excited to get all the things in order. We all love her! She had her first dog obedience class last week and we all look forward to learning a lot together in the coming weeks!
Got any dog advice? Drop it all in the comments below!
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Don’t feed from the table. Our doggy is tubby. Lol
Congratulations on the new puppy! We use dog harnesses for our dogs. It easier on the dog and the owner as far as control goes when walking them..
Feed good quality food, give lots of love, attention, and exercise.
Rawhide bones are horrible for her. So many better alternatives available!
This whole podcast has made me smile. Congratulations
Awww, she is adorable and the kiddos are so happy. Fenna is a very cute name. I laughed when you mentioned the name Waffles because thats what we’re naming our next pup. Lol
so in addition to training the dog, I’d also “train” your kids on appropriate & safe interactions with her. I say this because where she is a shelter dog you don’t know her history. I would strongly advise against having the kids approach her from behind. One thing we had to teach our nephews with our dog was to “freeze like a statue” and say “down Tessie” instead of squealing and running from her because she interpreted it as play. I’d read up on how to avoid leash aggression (we’re still working through it) and food guarding (we never had that problem luckily) and GET A CRATE! it’s vital to a dog feeling safe and secure
oh and socialize socialize socialize! dog parks, doggie daycare, group training, even some some big box pet stores offer puppy play groups,
Kong toys are an excellent choice for a larger breed. They are almost indestructible.
Tractor supply carries a 4Health brand dog food that is great with lots of options for breed specific.
I second the Kong balls!! I used to have one for my terrier and pit bull and it took a while for them to tear them apart. For dog enrichment toys at my local shelter (where I volunteer), we put peanut butter inside them. Here are some good links:
https://www.chewy.com/b/crates-pens-gates-364?nav-submit-button=&ref=searchRedirect&ref-query=dog%20crates,%20pens%20&%20gates
https://www.amazon.com/Bistro-Company-Budder-Natural-Healthy/dp/B07V4WSPBG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bark+butter+dogs&qid=1614978029&sr=8-1 This is peanut butter that is safe for dogs.
I second the Kong balls. They are indestructible. I volunteer at my local county shelter and we stuff them with PB and dog food to help with enrichment,
This is a butter that is safe for them to have.
https://www.amazon.com/Bistro-Company-Budder-Natural-Healthy/dp/B07V4WSPBG/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Bark+butter+dogs&qid=1614978029&sr=8-1
Fenn’s is a sweetie! She already loves you. My only suggestions are to get her microchipped (if they didn’t do that at the shelter) AND get a harness that goes over her head and around her chest that you can attach the leash to when you walk her. She is very likely to pull right out of her collar while you’re walking, and you definitely don’t want that! Congrats!
A tired dog is a good dog 🙂
Her being a larger breed dog, she will need a large breed food…..be careful what she gets ahold of, no grapes, raisins, avocado, chocolate all are toxic, and can eventually kill the dog. Of course you can google all of that. If not house trained, don’t do puppy pads, go straight for outside! Wish you all the best!
Purina Pro plan focus se sit I’ve skin and tummy is the best and it’s affordable. Get your food auto shipped from Chewy.com. It is cheaper and you won’t forget to restock because it’s delivered monthly. Keep your dog food in an airtight storage container (Amazon) and it lasts longer and keeps the dog out of it. DO NOT use a retractable leash, they ar e terrible and a quick way to fall. A prong collar helps with pulling and never walk on a harness especially with a shepherd dog.
One piece of advice I can give is down means to lay down. If she jumps up, say off instead of down
When it comes to dog food I would recommend looking at dogfoodadvisor.com and choose one with a 4 or 5 star rating
Our black lab is 12 and we’ve used Pure Balance dry food from Walmart for the last 4 or 5 years. When he was a puppy we used expensive brands like Science Diet and Blue Buffalo, but then we had kids and couldn’t afford kids and expensive dog food. 🙂 (We’re Dave Ramsey people, too!) I know cheap food can be questionable, but our vet has never said anything negative about Pure Balance. Just wanted to share in case that’s helpful!
Check out dogfoodadvisor.com to see ratings on dog foods. I unknowingly was feeding my dogs a poor quality food. Now I use Costco’s Kirkland brand. It has good rating and is reasonable on price