In the past years, we’ve shopped mostly on Amazon.com and Chewy.com. We order kibble from Chewy.com because they have very competitive prices. Other online stores for good dog supplies are Petedge.com, Carealotpets.com, Petco.com, and Petsmart.com. For great information, Revivalanimal.com has a wonderful learning center with a ton of articles (click in the upper right of the page, on the graduation cap icon).
Ex-pens! We love our ex-pens as you can use them anywhere, inside the house to contain your puppy when you cannot keep an eye on them, in your own yard, when you visit (to help with location for pottying), or if you go camping. I typically purchase two for raising a puppy. You can find them on Amazon and while Midwest is my favorite, even the Amazon brand is a decent ex-pen.
Training books - We recommend The Puppy Primer and The Other End of the Leash, both by Patricia McConnell. They are easy reads and very applicable to Shilohs.
Collars and harnesses - Your puppy when it comes to you will likely need a 9” - 12” collar. For a harness, one that fits up to 30 lbs should also work for a little while (they grow fast). Like everything else, Amazon has an excellent selection of collars and harnesses. The EzyDog Neo Wide Collars are nice because they are adjustable, wide and made of neoprene so that they are gentle on the dog’s trachea. EzyDog also makes a nice harness, which has excellent reviews, but we’ve not ever used it, so we don’t have an opinion on it. We’ve used the Barkbay No Pull Dog Harness Front Clip Heavy Duty Reflective, although there are many other brands which look and act very similar, many of which can be found on Amazon. If you have more than one dog living in your home, be aware that a jaw can get caught under the collar or harness of their playmate and cause choking. So, keep an eye on them during play or anytime they are out and about in a harness.
Leashes - Our preference is for leather leashes, because they are easier to hang on to and they get more supple as they age. Six feet is good for walking and for when your Shiloh wants to relieve themselves. Retractable leads are good when you want to take your puppy to green space for relieving himself, but not good for teaching to walk on a loose lead.
Suitcase metal crates - The MidWest Ultima Pro Double Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate - 48Lx30Wx35”H is a quality crate and the 35” height will accommodate your Shiloh as an adult. The MidWest LifeStages Double Door Collapsible Wire Dog Crate is lighter and thinner wire, with a looser grid than the Ultima Pro, but only goes up to 33” tall.
Dog beds - Tough Chew Dog bed. And K9 Ballistics dog beds have good reviews on Amazon. You may also like the waterproof covers from Dogbed4less on Amazon and a twin sized - 4 inch memory foam topper, which you can cut to size, so our dogs, especially the older ones, have a great deal of comfort. This company also sells their Dogbed4less Premium Memory Foam Dog Bed on Amazon.com Be aware though a young Shiloh who likes to chew may destroy the dog memory foam bed, or any bed for that matter if they put in the effort!
Buddy Bowls spill proof water bowls are great for traveling. They are nice because you can fill it with water, freeze it and it will stay cool and fresh during hot days when you are traveling. Plus, they don’t spill. Peggy11 deep, stainless steel, anti- slip dog bowls are excellent for not moving all over the place, when your Shiloh eats. You can find these on Amazon as well.
Clipping Nails - While the pups are small (till about 4 months) we use cat claw clippers. It is a very good idea to routinely clip your Shiloh’s nails and if you are not comfortable doing this, many Vet clinics do it as do grooming shops. Always keep your Shiloh’s nails trimmed, otherwise their toes will splay. Do not allow groomers to routinely express your Shiloh’s anal glands as many groomers add this as a service.
Trimming hair mats or hair between the pads Hair grows between the pads in adult plush coated Shilohs), use trimmers (shavers), not scissors to avoid cutting your puppy or adult.
Vittle Vaults are great storage containers that are airtight and easy to use. You can get them at Petco and at some other online stores. Never dump the kibble directly into the Vittle Vault as over time the oil from the kibble will coat the inside of the container and become rancid. Always put the bag into the Vittle Vault and scoop from inside the bag, inside the Vittle Vault.
A double pinned rake, slicker brush, and Furminator are always good tools to have, especially for the plush coated Shilohs. A double rake brush (meaning two rows of the tins) works great too for quickly removing the undercoat. A double rake is the tool we use most often. A slicker brush is most useful for smooth coated, as is the Furminator. The Furminator is useful but can break the guard hairs on plush coated Shilohs. With any tool you use, be aware that you can bruise the bones and harm the skin if done too aggressively.
We keep disposable gloves around (non-sterile) to clean up after the pups and a ton of wet wipes and disinfectant wipes too. You may not need the gloves as often as a breeder, but they are handy if you have a wet or muddy mess somewhere and don’t want to get your hands gunky.
Toys -
Starmark makes fabulous, virtually indestructible chew toys that you can put treats or their kibble in! Starmark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball Tough Dog Toy and Starmark Treat Dispensing Pickle Pocket - Do not ever buy the hard, starch chews as they break off in chunks and cause obstruction or choking.
Kongs are most durable for chewing toys and for placing treats in to keep them busy. For Kong toys - our favorites are: Kong Jumbler Ball Dog Toy and the Kong Jumbler Football Dog Toy. We like the Kong Classic as you can put peanut butter in it and it takes a long time for the dog to get the peanut butter out and you can freeze it too, to make it soothe the pup’s teeth. And, if you have an adult who is an aggressive chewer, they make a super durable one in black. Make sure you clean out the interior of any treat toys you use to keep bacterial loads down.
NO to Tennis balls as they are not good because a dog can swallow them. We actually got a call from a client whose Shiloh swallowed a tennis ball on New Year’s Eve and had to be taken to emergency to remove it. That dog lived. Recently, another dog died within minutes, because he swallowed a tennis ball and it obstructed his airway. Get balls a size larger than a tennis ball if you want to have them retrieve it. We like the Planet Orbee-Tuff Woof Ball Dog Toy and the Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff Diamond Plate Ball Dog Toy. For teenagers or adult Shilohs, make sure you get the 3.5 inch (large) ball so swallowing is not an issue.
Teaser Balls by Jolly Balls (the company started with Jolly Balls for horses) are great fun for them to play with because these balls have a ball within a ball and have holes in it where the dogs can pick it up with their mouths, they love to toss it around and bat it around with their paws. We keep about several of them on hand. You throw the ball and the dogs love chasing after it and bringing it back. Make sure you get the proper size for your puppy as we’ve seen pups get their heads stuck in the hole.
Hol-ee Roller by JW Pet are great fun for pups or adult Shilohs who are not aggressive chewers.
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