SWEETDREAM CAVALIERS PUPPY SHOPPING LIST

 1) Buy the book:

How to Housebreak Your Dog in 7 Days.

Barnes & Noble & others have this fast read soft covered book ? it will make potty training very easy!! I HIGHLY Recommend this for a 9 week old puppy and up.  THIS BOOK WILL HELP YOU IN SETTING UP YOUR HOUSE FOR THE PUPPY AND HELP YOU DECIDE WHAT TYPE OF POTTY TRAINING YOU WANT TO DO!  A MUST READ.  **One thing the book says that you should ignore - it says you cannot potty train until 16 weeks of age - NOT TRUE FOR CAVALIERS!!!  Begin Potty Train them the DAY you bring your puppy home - they are very smart & are pleasers!

2) You will be getting from us Fantastic literature on how to care for and train your puppy.

3) TWO SMALL "NON-TIP" Stainless Steel bowls, for food and fresh water daily. (Puppy size, Two, 8 oz. bowls, larger when your pup gets larger.

4-A)   CRATE:  You must have a small plastic crate and a small mat, blanket or towels to fit the crate when you pick up your new puppy.  This is strictly for the safety of your puppy.  It is required before any puppy can go to a new home.  Consider this as important as having a car seat for a newborn baby.  You can purchase a PLASTIC airline-style flight kennel, the dimensions are around: 18" x 24" x 19-20" for night-time sleeping,, traveling in the car, and crate training.  They are light weight, easy to clean and have a handle for easy carrying.  I like the Chewy.com Plastic crate that has a TOP and Front Opening, get the BIGGER of the 2 sizes available, they run very small.  It comes in Light Blue and Pink.  This is great for traveling, & sleeping!!

Remember, dogs are den animals and like a snug dark place to sleep. A small crate will help with potty training.

4-B)  You can also use a metal wire crate for every day home use.  Size for an adult Cavalier in a metal crate is approx:  30" x 19" x 21", we buy ours from Chewy.com (free shipping).   In the Metal crate, some come with a divider and will make the crate half size for the baby puppy.  If you get a metal crate, place a towel over it at nap time and bed time.  It is hard to find the right crate size, because each company makes their crate different sizes!  

5) Start with clean old towels for the bottom of the crate, you can throw them in the washer if the pup has an accident in the beginning.  Later you can buy nice fluffy inserts to fit in.

6) A small THIN (3/8") Adjustable collar (10"-14") and the next size up collar too.  I get mine from Petedge.com or Chewy.com   Get a collar that closes with the Plastic (or metal) CLIP only.   Collars for "Mini" Dog Breeds or a Cat collar can work, they are both thin.

6A) We also suggest getting either a "Walk-In" or "Step-In" Harness Size SMALL.  The company we love the best is LupinePet.com  Their collars, harnesses and leashes are very sturdy, Very well sewn, have a life time  guarantee!  They all come in the most Beautiful colors & Patterns you have ever seen and have the same patterns for collars, leashes & harness.  They also have a video and charts to help you Size the collar or Harness properly.  It's a great company - you will love the quality and appearance!    

Do NOT get the harnesses you see with MESH on the chest - they are Not good - they pull on the dog in the wrong spots of the body.

**Remember, always take off the collar or harness when puppy or dog is in a crate, for safety** 

7) A "THIN" (less than 1 inch wide) Leash,  4 foot AND 6 foot in length (4 foot for TRAINING & for kids). 

8-A)  We use "Fromm CLASSIC Puppy Dry Food" in a Bright Pink Bag and when they hit 6 months of age, you can stick with Fromm and get the ADULT  FOOD in the PINK Bag, or purchase another High Quality Dry food.  Do NOT get any product containing Pea Protein or ANY LEGUMES which are being studied to have a link with DCM (Dialated Cardiomyopathy) which is a poorly contracting heart muscle in dogs.  Not ALL dogs will be effected by PEA Protein/LEGUMES (Grain Free Dog Foods), but we are not taking any chances so we are staying away from those products that do contain them.  Read the ingredients on the dog food you are interested in, if it doesn't have chicken or beef as the first ingredient, don't get it.   Don't buy super cheap dog food loaded with corn, or other fillers - it does not provide nutrition just unwanted weight on your dog. 

The better we feed our dogs, the longer they will live.    

8-B)  We ADD to the FROMM Dry food a few (1-3) CRUSHED UP Nuggets of the "STELLA & CHEWY Freeze Dried Food Topper in CHICKEN flavor", to Each of the 3 Puppy's meals per day.  Remember, Your puppy will be excited & will want to explore & play and may be distracted at meal time.  Put your puppy in its CRATE with its food bowl inside, for a few days, so it gets used to focusing on eating in a new environment!  Then open the crate door, keep the food bowl in the crate for a few days, then transition to the food bowl being outside of the crate.  Keep water bowl outside of crate!  The cheapest & fastest place we found to purchase this is Chewy.com  BUY A BAG BEFORE PUPPY COMES HOME.

9-A)  SUPPLEMENTS to Purchase

Visit the website: Revivalanimal.com.  or Call them at 1 - 800 - 786 - 4751  If you Call your order in, please give them our Customer #  275281   We do A lot of business with them, and my dogs only get their vitamins & supplements from this company.  Over the years we have tried a lot of  vitamins - but this company has the best and the dog like the taste too!!  So please Purchase the "Doc Roy's Brand of Daily Care Extra Canine Vitamins" they are round vitamin Tabs that can be easily broken in half for a puppy - they Love the taste and can be used as a treat!

9-B)  This is a MUST Have "DOG PROBIOTIC PLUS"  from www.PawPalSupplies.com, this is what we use for our Pups and our Dogs as well, for the LIFE of the dog.  It is 3 products blended into 1 easy to use powder that you sprinkle over your dogs food daily.  It has loads of Natural Digestive Enzyme in it that Pulls all the nutrition out of the dry dog food and keeps it IN the pup.  It also has Pre & Probiotic POWDER formulas in it, containing BgMOS®, a unique ingredient to support the growth of good bacteria and help remove bad bacteria from the GI tract.  Recommended to minimize the potential for diarrhea and strengthen the dog's immune system.  It also contains high quality Pumpkin Powder that is considered a superfood  and excellent for digestion & overall health.  Please purchase this great product and others listed below from www.PawPalSupplies.com  On that website, go to the "STORE BUTTON" and click on it, it is on the 2nd or 3rd page in the Store.  They sell small pet products that we love! 

9-C)   These products are Dog Safe and are amazing as Super Health Dog Treats, also from www.PawPalSupplies.com all the products are Dehydrated or Freeze Dried and have a shelf life of a year. They are packed in beautiful, resealable Pouches for easy use. These treats contain no sugar, fillers, chemicals, etc., so they are a MUCH better option than most dog treats you can buy in the store!

They are: Perfect Pumpkin Pieces, Green Beans, Crazy Carrot Crunch, Freezed Dried Blueberries, Dehydrated Blueberries (soft), No Sugar Banana Slices, Fuji Apple Dices, Freeze Dried Cranberries, Papaya Chunks.  They ship all over the place!

10)  A doggie tooth brush (a small one) or finger cot tooth brush, and doggie ENZYME tooth paste (beef or chicken flavor). He won't know what is, but use it on him so he gets used to it . Dental health equals cardiac health. Brush dogs teeth Daily.  It just takes a minute.

11) An Assortment of  VERY SMALL NYLON Nylabones and other HARD rubber toys and balls for the pup to teeth on: Balls, nubby surface, DO NOT BUY - Ropes or anything Rubber or Plastic toy you can bend or squeeze with your hand . - soft rubber/plastic toys, the pup will bit off a piece and choke on it.  Hard rubber is great - please supervise puppy when he/she is playing with the toys to insure pieces do not get ripped off & swallowed.  Buy the "small size" in the toys!  Cavaliers have small mouths. If your pup is not interested in a toy, put a drop of human peanut butter on it and mush it around. The dog will love this! Only do this is NO ONE is allergic to peanuts in your house or visiting your house.  

12) NO "GREENIES", NO "BODA Bones", nothing that dissolves as they chew on it!  This is a choking hazard.

13) ONE BIG - 10-12", Doggie SAFE stuffed animal to sleep with to mimic sleeping with his siblings.

14) At least 2 small stuffed toy to be the pups little friend to carry around the house with him.  The puppies love the "unstuffed" furry animals from jeffers.com, petedge.com, chewy.com or from any pet store.

15-A)  A SOFT CAT or HUMAN brush for daily brushing.  Pups don't need to be brushed a lot, BUT he/she should get used to the feel of the brush and continued being touched all over: tail, paws, ears, tummy, mouth, so he doesn't develop any sensitive areas. 

 15-B)  When your pup gets it's longer full coat in, get a "Shedding Comb" (I found it better than a pin brush) to manage the areas under the armpits, on the backside, and the ears, to make sure no knots develop.

16)  A Puppy Corral called an X-Pen (Exercise Pen).  This will provide instant safety for your pup IN your home, and a place to stay on the occasion you are out of the house for more than 2 hours at a time.  Chewy.com have the best prices - get the 1 that is 4 feet tall and has THE FULL SIZED ENTRY DOOR so YOU can get in & out easily.  NOT the one with the SMALL doggy door entrance or NO door.   Within the X-Pen you can place toys, blanket, food & water bowls in it, and if you want, the pup's OPENED door crate, on a tile floor when you are busy.  If you go out for more than 2 hours, add food & water bowls & newspapers on the tile floor.  (NEVER use wee-wee pads.  Pups & dogs love to "play" with anything that's around and the wee-wee pads are like diapers and if swallowed by a dog, will expand in the throat/stomach/intestine and can Choke the dog to death, or impact the intestines). 

16-B)  You can purchase a Second X-Pen to use as a Safe, Easy Clean-Up POTTY AREA  OUTSIDE your back door!  It makes Potty Training a Breeze!!  A dog can take its time to run around in it, to stimulate their intestines to move, sniff around for the perfect spot (lol)  & then go potty.  Make sure you instantly reward them with praise after they go potty. 

17) Frontline Plus for SMALL dogs, and a Heartworm medication. These can be purchased in vet offices, chain stores and online.  Search for the best pricing!  Also get a "pet urine odor remover spray" for those accidents in the beginning (like Nature's Miracle).  Sold at all pet stores, Walmart & on line.

18) If you want to protect your carpets from potential "accidents", you can buy a king-sized waterproof mattress pad.  I use this with the pups when they are very young in my living room over the carpet.  I bought it at Target or Walmart.  It is washable too.

19) Doggie or baby No-Tear shampoo and conditioner .  Only bath the dog when he smells like a dog or if it gets dirty.  Usually not more than once per month. If a pup gets the paws dirty, just use some soap and wash and rinse in the sink (spot cleaning ).  

20) AFTER the pup is potty trained, you can buy the pup a nice cushy bed. If you get the bed BEFORE the pup is trained, there is a good chance he will urinate in the bed.  

21) You may want to wipe your pups paws after going outside you can use "Sensitive Skin Baby Wipes".  Let's keep the germs, etc. outside not bring them inside your home.   It's like taking your shoes off when you enter your home.  The "Baby wipes are a lot cheaper and pretty much the same as "Puppy Wipes".

22) We suggest you consider purchasing Pet Insurance.  There are a few companies that people have told me about and they are happy with their plans: I was recently told about HEALTHYPAWS.COM, they supposidly have terrific rates.  Check them all out to see what suits you: PetPlan, Truepanion, AKC Pet Insurance, Chewy.com Pet Insurance (through Trupanion).  You vet may suggest a pet insurance plan as well.  Each company has a few plans, read the fine print as to what is really covered.  

I think these are all the basics.  If you have any questions, please email me.

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