New..hi..a little advice please..

Hi
I am becoming a mommy (getting a Staffy) on friday. she is a rescue who is about a year old. the family is sooo excited.. she will be named River after River Song from Dr who (my DS idea!) obvioulsy i have to go buy loads of stuff for her which i cant wait, she needs lots of love and firm hand after her start in life! do any of you have any advice on what i should buy for her from food, to toys, to leads, collar and bedding etc. obvioulsy i know what she needs but would be really good to gets people ideas who have these wonderful dogs. i am wondering if i shoudl get one of those things that go in the mircowave and warm them up and also pop to the butchers see if they have ay raw bones. she is on dry food.. which one should i get. oh so much to think about like preparing for a baby lol. except you get longer with a baby. also should i spoil her a bit first or be firm right from the start. any advice would be great thank you..sorry for the essay im just to excited

Flame

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Welcome! I would personally spoil and be firm on the household rules. You really only need a few things to start as you will want to get her sizes and find out what she likes. I would get an adjustable collar that goes up to at least 18 inches (sorry - US person here), lead, water and food bowl, lots of toys like ropes, durrable balls and some cheap but expendable stuffed toys (they last about 30 seconds). I also would get some treats and whatever food they have been feeding but check out the food link at the top of the homepage and decide how you are going to feed your doggie baby. If you get a raw bone, remember to give it to her raw. Don't cook it or boil it first. Remember, that it will be stressful for River (great name) at first so they will need some time to adjust to adjust and so will she. She may lose hair and have the runs for a few days from stress so don't be alarmed at first. Offer her food when she comes home as well. Congrats! My family wouldn't be complete without our dog!

Hi and welcome from Rocky and me. We rescued Rocky about this time last year. We found that a Kong is great for feeding dried food with, see link
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Extreme-Kong-Black-Large-12cm/dp/B0002AR0II/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323805634&sr=8-1
You may want to find out what food she is already eating and stay with that for a while. If you do decide to change please do this gradually.

If you are going to be using a crate see the link for some on offer,
http://www.petplanet.co.uk/category.asp?dept_id=773

As for heat packs see link for lavender scented microwavable one. This would have a calming effect on her. Maybe a good idea to wrap it in a small blanket though to avoid any spillages.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Herbal-Heat-Pack-Lavender-Wheat/dp/B0039K38O8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1323805882&sr=8-4

Good luck have fun.

Hi and welcome to the forum, well done on rescuing a staffie. They are a great breed to have and we certainly need more people like you researching before getting one.

I would add the possibility of a crate for her. It would be somewhere for her to sleep at night and to go and hide in during the day if she gets overwhelmed. It will be like her own safe haven, and is handy if you want to shut her in when you are away from the home for any period. You can pick them up cheaply enough from ebay, or maybe a site like freecycle might have some or adtrader etc.

We got our dog this August and intialy we bought her a crate, bowls, food, a new collar, lead and gave her an old sheet to add to her crate. We also bought treats to train her and a knotted rope toy which she loves.

I would suggest not spoiling her too much in the beginning. Start as you mean to go on, or it will get confusing for River (I too love the name). Try and give her space when she initialy comes to you, don't crowd her and make too much of a fuss over her or she will find it too much. Let her settle and come to you when she is ready for fussing etc. But we made the mistake of spoiling in the first couple of weeks, e.g. giving scraps etc and it was hard to break that cycle. If you discuss the houserules you want to live by, then stick by them it will be much easier. Unless you want her jumping on you don't allow it to begin with, just basic stuff really but everyone in the household needs to know the same rules and carry them through with her and you will have a well adjusted, happy dog.

But most importantly, have fun and enjoy getting to know her. Oh and don't forget to post some piccies when you settle her in! Good luck!

Thank you all for your advise..it greatly appreciated. i am going to get a create i have thought about this alot, but i thought it give her her own space which she will want lots of in the beginning, myself and son are going shopping for River tomorrow. thank you again. i will be posting pics, she is absolutely gorgeous i cant wait to show her off.

I would avoid spoiling her at first as well. She will take awhile to settle in. Let her get used to her new surroundings and come to you for fussing on her own time. She will most likely be a bit nervous and if you spoil her she will always expect to be treated that way.

Other than a collar or harness which I prefer I would recommend ropes and a Kong for her to chew.

Discuss with everyone in the house what the rules are going to be and enforce them on day one.

I would keep her on the food she is currently on. Read through the food link on the top of the forum for food suggestions but make sure you do the food change gradually or it will upset her stomach.

If you are going to use a crate don't force her inside and close the door it will make her uncomfortable which the opposite effect the crate is supposed to have.

i was just going to put a flece blanket in the create and some toys and leave the door open and let her 'find' it on her own, last thing i want to do is make her feel uncomfortable in her new home. and the idea of me getting the create was that it her space for when she wants some River time. i want her to feel loved and secure not more abused. i have already spoken to the kids about rules.. ie not on sofa, beds, not feeding her there food etc. and i have told them to let her come to them rather then making a big fuss of her at first.. i asked them how they would feel in a new home and what they would want, and that worked. i am going to ask what food she is on and keep her to that for a while as it what she is used to and i would like to keep at least that normal for her. apparently she is a bit smelly so she will need a bath i am thinking i should wait a while before i bath her cos as i have said i dont want to upset her further and remembering from dogs growing up they aint great at bath times anyway without being in a new home then whacked in the bath straight away. again i cant thank you enough for all your advise.

Hi & welcome to the forum. What an exciting time, it's always nice to bring a new dog into the house.

flame wrote:i was just going to put a flece blanket in the create and some toys and leave the door open.

apparently she is a bit smelly so she will need a bath i am thinking i should wait a while before i bath her cos as i have said i dont want to upset her further and remembering from dogs growing up they aint great at bath times anyway without being in a new home then whacked in the bath straight away. again i cant thank you enough for all your advise.

I'd put some tasty treats in the crate as well, and make sure that whenever she goes in there, she's left alone. That way she knows it's her private space & she can relax in there. I've draped an old curtain over the top & 3 sides of Dempsey's crate so that it'd cozy & private for him - his own little den.

Yes, I'd leave the bath for a week or so. Dogs coming from kennels are often a bit pongy, but she'll be a bit stressed for a few days, so a bath is probably not a good idea straight away!

for bedding we got the plastic beds and a cheap single size quilt which was £5 and folded it up for the padding in the bed this is then covered with a fleecy blanket and they have a pillow in their bed too. easy washed comfy warm and cheap cos we have 2 of them

Hi there and Welcome from Me and RoXy

Hello so excited for you

hello and welcome bet you cant wait till friday, dont forget to post some pics

Hiya and welcome to the forum Exciting times bet you can't wait

welcome from me and my girls Kita & Izzy

Hi & welcome to the forum

welcome and a big pat on the back for getting a rescue dog...

Hello welcome from Zac and me