Hi. So it looks like I'm about to become a new pupsky owner. Looks like I'm picking up a 9 week old female this week. I wasn't planning on this until after the holidays so I'm caught a bit off guard but these things happen. So...

Planning to crate train, what is a good size for a puppy? I know ir can't be so big they have no problem pooping in it. She'd be in it as little as possible and not for punishment.

Food recommendations, I'm all about grain free but my breeder advises against and says this is actually hurting dogs. She recommends something with rice.

Toy recommendations? My Last husky was a big boy that just wanted to kill tennis balls.

Note: I've raised a few pups and several huskies to this point so, appreciate benefit of the doubt. TIA!

For a moderately price decent brand of dog food, I like Taste of the Wild or Victor. Both have puppy formulas which is what you would feed until a year old or so. Tractor Supply brand 4Health is also one people like. There are pricier brands out there, too, though I have no experience with them.

I would go with an adult size crate that comes with a divider that allows you to make the crate smaller and can grow with your pup.

As for toys, any thing with a squeeker. We have the "squawky chicken," a ladybug and a purple, pink spotted pig, though my guys are older now and prefer real bones or chasing a rabbit, bird or deer to toys. However, early on that squawky chicken was a favorite. Something to tug with (I cut up old sweat pants and tie in knots) I don't leave ANY toys in crate except raw bones, which I know from experience that my guys are ok with those. (We had a member here who's dog ate a rope toy and, even with surgery, died from it.) Tennis balls are also good but, again, I would not leave pup alone with one - dogs have been known to tear off the covering and swallow pieces.

Good luck with your new pup and...PICTURES

amymeme wrote:

For a moderately price decent brand of dog food, I like Taste of the Wild or Victor.  Both have puppy formulas which is what you would feed until a year old or so.  Tractor Supply brand 4Health is also one people like.  There are pricier brands out there, too, though I have no experience with them.

I would go with an adult size crate that comes with a divider that allows you to make the crate smaller and can grow with your pup.

As for toys, any thing with a squeeker. We have the "squawky chicken," a ladybug and a purple, pink spotted pig, though my guys are older now and prefer real bones or chasing a rabbit, bird or deer to toys.   However, early on that squawky chicken was a favorite.   Something to tug with (I cut up old sweat pants and tie in knots)  I don't leave ANY toys in crate except raw bones, which I know from experience that my guys are ok with those.  (We had a member here who's dog ate a rope toy and, even with surgery, died from it.)  Tennis balls are also good but, again, I would not leave pup alone with one - dogs have been known to tear off the covering and swallow pieces.

Good luck with your new pup and...PICTURES

Ah, the divider...I forgot about the divider. I think I have a M or an L AND an XL, I just don't know about the divider.

I'm all about the marrow bones! Pics to come.

Amy gave good advice, not much to add except to say congratulations!

Do you know what the breeder is feeding her now?

Artic_Wind wrote:

Amy gave good advice, not much to add except to say congratulations!

Do you know what the breeder is feeding her now?

I'll find out. I fed my last dog Taste of the Wild but a grain free version which the breeder says is harmful now. Not sure what everyone else's opinion is.

Ok, don’t quote me on this because I have just been skimming. But grain free, in some studies, has been associated with heart problems in some dogs...due to lack of taurine (?j, because typically the grains are replaced by legumes which inhibit taurine uptake.

Anyway I switched my guy from grain-free to a kibble which is lamb with brown rice and his poops actually improved ( sorry for TMI) and he seems to be feeling fine. ( feeding raw may be best, if you do it right, but that seems to be a big “If” since you have to be careful about sourcing your meat and giving the right proportions of the right things).

She says she's been feeding her Diamond Naturals Chicken and Rice along with raw beef, chicken and deer. Raw red meat I can see raw chicken sounds disgusting. Thoughts on the raw thing?

Also, good size for a collar?

Can't tell you on the collar size. As for the DCM and grain free...the jury is out on that one. The best guess at the moment involves taurine but it is not know whether it is absorbtion inhibited by the legumes/potatoes or whether the foods are just plain deficient. And whether their is something different in the genetic make-up of dogs who do poorly on the grain-free. TOTW, among others, adds taurine to their formulas.

As for raw. You are gonna have to be real careful with food handling. Less so for the dogs than humans. At the moment their is a salmonella problem with people and raw turkey products. Across brands, human food and dog food. Currently a few people died of infections associated with raw feeding turkey products to pets. In the past, other proteins have also been implicated. Best case scenario, gloves, separate prep areas and disinfection following prep. Big take away - avoid cross contamination in your kitchen.

I get a little nervous with the raw thing, not because I feed raw, I feed kibble. BUT, I buy raw, frozen beef bones bought from a local, Mennonite butcher. That had to stop selling their jerky/sausage sticks due to a listeria outbreak. My food scientist son says listeria is a very difficult organism to eradicate, it gets into all the nooks and crannies, hard to kill, and thrives at refrigerator temperatures. And it is ubiqutious in the environment. I still buy the bones there, I store them in the chest freezor where everything there is something that will be cooked. The bones don't come in the kitchen - out of the freezer and into the dogs mouth on their way outside with the bone. No kitchen utensils used - only a large flat head screwdriver and a mallet to separated them. I'm probably lax on hand washing after due to distractions on occasion but I try to remember to wash hands thoroughly after handling the bones.

OK. I just wanted to provide a quick update. I drove out on Wednesday and picked her up. To say that she is a gorgeous furball is an understatement. So far, I've got a crate with a divider up. She goes in it sometimes but, basically, doesn't like not being able to see me. I'm waiting until my older son comes home next Wednesday to work on names, though we have a few in mind.

I have crates for two of my three - and only one who uses hers - when I got the crates, I also got the pads to go in the bottom of them, Sky now has both pads in her crate and 'wrangles' them to suit her mood at the moment. If your little one stays dry overnight, then you might want to put a pad (or folded up blanket?) and see if she's more comfortable with that.

I actually cracked up with that second picture - for some reason, to me, she looks like an owl! It's going to be interesting to see how that mask developes ... two dark spots between her eyes ...????

aljones wrote:

I have crates for two of my three - and only one who uses hers - when I got the crates, I also got the pads to go in the bottom of them,  Sky now has both pads in her crate and 'wrangles' them to suit her mood at the moment.  If your little one stays dry overnight, then you might want to put a pad (or folded up blanket?) and see if she's more comfortable with that.

I actually cracked up with that second picture - for some reason, to me, she looks like an owl!  It's going to be interesting to see how that mask developes ... two dark spots between her eyes ...????

I bought a carrier for her to bring her home. I've been putting it next to my head, in bed. She goes in it, sleeps through the night, no complaints. I'm extremely happy.

Note: Her howl when she can't see me is heartbreaking. I don't think I've heard anything like it.

She is beautiful. Congratulations!

She is so pretty!

re collar sizing - I think rule of thumb is that you can get two fingers in between neck + collar...but not too loose, or she could back out of it.