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Puppy Checklist
Below is a checklist that we put together with items we consider essential for you to consider/purchase for your golden retriever puppy before he/she gets to your home! We recommend to start looking at these items early and make a plan to get them ordered so they arrive before your puppy does.
1. Quality dog food
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Your puppy will be started on Inukshuk Professional 26/16. We have chosen this food due to the high quality ingredients that will promote a healthy immune system and support your puppy's growing joints. We also like it due to its affordability compared to other brands of similar quality and its accessibility. This food is an All Life Stages Food, so it can be continued safely throughout your puppy's entire life. This is what most of our adult dogs currently eat and what our own puppies are all raised on. You can add treats and toppers to mix it up if you feel that is necessary. They do have other varieties also if your dog has other nutritional needs
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You can order this food online from CHEWY or find a local distributer. You can also buy your first bag(s) from us for $60 when you pick your puppy up or if you live close enough, we don't mind if you want to buy future bags as well.
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*Even if you intend to feed your puppy something else, we do recommend you keep your puppy on the Inukshuk Professional 26/16 for at least the first 4-6 weeks to keep things fairly normalized and then take 2-4 weeks to have a good long transition period to the new food to avoid upset tummy (food transitions, especially if done to fast, will almost always create an upset tummy).
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Click HERE to be taken to our Nutrition page to learn more about what we use and recommend
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​2. Daily Supplements
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Your puppy will be started on NuVet Wellness Supplements as soon as they begin to eat mush. We use the powder form to sprinkle on their food and then switch to the wafer around 8 weeks of age. All of our adult dogs also get NuVet supplements daily. Adding in a daily supplement will support your puppies immune system and help to fill any nutritional gaps that they may have.
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I recommend a wellness/immune supplement continuing when you bring your puppy home to help build the immune system and then start an agility supplement (glucosamine) around 6 months of age. This can also be given earlier if the puppy has growing pains or is growing quickly. ​
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3. Treats for training and chewing
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We use and recommend Life's Abundance treats that are soft and perfect size for training (lots of varieties but our favorites are the Nutritional Rewards and Berry Treats )
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Great options for chew items are Antler Chews, Yak Chews, Dehydrated Cow and Pig Ears, and Bully Sticks.​
4. Crate
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We highly recommend crate training. For most pet owners, it is the most cost efficient to buy a large wire crate with a divider you can move as your puppy grows. The divider will allow you to alter the size as the puppy grows and save you from having to buy different size crates! Always take your puppy's collar off when going into a crate so it does not get caught up.
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For riding in any vehicle, we recommend going with a crate such as the Ruffland & Gunner kennels, as they are a lot more durable and will keep your pet safer in the event of an accident.
5. Hygiene Items- Shampoo/ear cleaner/bath mist
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NuVet & Lifes Abundance both have nice quality shampoo, ear cleaner, bath mist, etc. with safe and natural ingredients.
6. Beds
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Our very favorite beds to use are the Kuranda raised beds due to being comfortable, space saving, and most importantly, easy to clean. They can be a bit more expensive but they are worth it. Kuranda are chew and dig proof, making them longer lasting! To save money I would skip buying small beds and just go straight to buying large beds.
7. Collar/leash
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Your puppy will go home with a medium biothane puppy collar and leash.
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​We make home made biothane collars and hand-stamped tags ourselves, so if you would like either of those in the future, reach out to us!
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8. Toys
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Your puppy will go home with some common toys we personally use. Great options are rubber balls, chew resistant stuffed toys, fleece ropes, West Paw Toys, Kong, etc.
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We are able to buy "Snuggle Puppies" at a discounted price by the box and offer them to you for $25 (Normal cost $33). This is a toy that has a heartbeat and heat pack that helps puppies adjust from being separated from their siblings. I use these myself every time I am crate training puppies and highly recommend them. Let me know if you would like to buy one and you can pick it up when you pick up your puppy.
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We are a West Paw Partner and can offer you products at 15% off and free shipping (pick up when you pick up your puppy) if you make your order through us. You tell us what you would like and we will make the order and have them here for when you pick your puppy up. These are chew resistant tough toys that we highly recommend and use ourselves. I will make an order for each litter if I have individuals interested. Reach out to me if you are interested. Order will need to be placed by the time puppies are around 4 weeks of age. Products we use here regularly are Qwizl (bully stick and treat holder), Rumble (treat holder similar to Kong), Bumi, Skamp, Twig, Taylor, Darby, and the Jive.
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We make home made fleece rope toys, which are a safer alternative to regular rope toys. Your puppy will go home with the regular size but reach out to us if you would like any additional toys!
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​9. Brush/comb
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Our favorite tool to use when brushing our dogs is the de-shedding tool. It does the best job pulling out the loose undercoat while not damaging the top coat. Curry Combs are also a nice tool to use to get loose undercoat out. Both of these tools can be found on Amazon or Chewy by searching.​
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I do have the option to send my puppies home with a grooming kit that includes a small deshedding tool, brush, comb, nail clippers, etc. for no cost to you. Let me know if you would like one of these.
10. Nail clippers
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Make sure you are regularly trimming nails either yourself or taking them into your vet or groomer to be done! Before puppies go home, we trim toenails about every two weeks or sometimes once a week if they are growing quicker.
11. Veterinary care - Take a look at our page HERE for our Vaccination Protocol
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Make sure you do your research on veterinarians and find the best for your pet! Your puppy will have his/her first vaccines around 8 weeks before leaving our home but we recommend you get your puppy into your own vet within 72 hours of bringing them home for a wellness exam to get a second opinion and start building a relationship with your vet and chat about a vaccination schedule. Your puppy will need his/her next vaccines around 12 weeks and again at 16 weeks. Call your vet plenty early, many are booked out weeks in advance!
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12. Parasite control - Take a look at our page HERE for our Deworming Protocol
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Your puppy will leave with age appropriate preventative deworming. Set up a regular deworming schedule with your vet (we recommend your puppy continue to be dewormed at 10,12,16 weeks and then every 1-3 months after that depending on the deworming product). Make sure you get them on a heartworm, flea, tick, etc. treatment as well when it’s age appropriate if these are prevalent in your area.
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13. Puppy Training or Obedience classes
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We highly recommend obedience classes of some sort. A well behaved dog that has rules and boundaries is a happy dog and happy owner. ​​
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14. Microchip/GPS Collar
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Fi Microchip; All of our puppies leave our home with a microchip implanted, and we will register it with your information on the day of pickup (before leaving if leaving on transport), this is non negotiable. This is our way of identifying each of our puppies and doing our part as responsible breeders. The microchip DOES NOT offer any sort of tracking but has all of your contact information linked in the event that they are lost.
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Fi GPS Collar; We have partnered with Fi and are now able to offer all of our puppy parents GPS tracking collars. If you choose to, you can pick up a collar on the day of pickup (or have it sent with your puppy if doing transport). The only cost to you is an initial $20 activation fee. You will receive 6 months subscription free and then after that it is $12-$19/ month just depending on the option you choose for billing frequency. The battery life can last as long as 3 months (when connected to wifi). In my experience, when it is not hooked to wifi, it lasts more like 2-3 weeks before needing to recharge.
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The Fi GPS collar offers live tracking (pings off satellite, so tracks anywhere), tracks your dogs sleeping habits, tracks your dog's daily steps and ranks, and gives a timeline of their travel for the day. It will also send you a notification when they have left their "home", which is an area that you specify. ​
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We personally use the Fi GPS collar and love it. We do not have this collar on our dogs 24/7 but instead put it on when we travel, go hiking, hunting, horse back riding, and when I use transport. This way in the event that a misfortune happens, my dog's location will always be found as long as the collar is on.
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CLICK HERE FOR THE LINK TO LEARN MORE ABOU T THE FI GPS COLLAR
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