The Wide World of Puppy Products

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Much like babies, puppies need special care.

Their teeth are developing, their coat is developing and their stomach is developing. They need special care to nourish growth into strong and healthy adult dogs.

Puppy Foods

Puppies need smaller kibble pieces to help with chewing since their teeth are much smaller than adult dogs.

Halo offers specific food meant for puppies with smaller kibble pieces and higher protein. Their Spot’s Stew comes in multiple flavors and offers real meat, whole eggs and vegetables.

Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals has special food for puppies for a balance of proteins and other ingredients.

“We have a fresh chicken formula with brown rice and oats and beet pulp,” said Barry Berman, founder of Grandma Mae’s Country Naturals and NexPet Co-op. “The beet pulp helps firm stools in puppies. It’s a good ingredient because it helps with the absorption of nutrients.”

According to Berman, the brown rice and oats are good ingredients for preventing upset stomach.

“These are gentle ingredients that a puppy can eat and not throw up. Babies throw up; this helps with that.”

Nutro offers three different types of food specifically designed for puppies. The Wholesome Essentials Puppy food contains chicken with amino acids for building muscles for puppies.

Nutro also offers Limited Ingredient Diet Puppy Food with Australian and New Zealand lamb. It helps puppies get the optimal nutrition they need without added ingredients that could cause digestive problems.

Nutro goes further into specifics with Small Breed Puppy Food, a formula that caters to small breeds with a higher metabolism. Small breed puppies have higher requirements for energy than puppies of larger breeds.

Precise Pet also offers breed specific puppy food. The Small and Medium Breed Puppy food is designed for puppies that will weigh less than 50 pounds as adults. The Large and Giant Puppy food is meant for dogs that will reach over 50 pounds when they reach adulthood. The food builds good solid muscle and offers fewer calories than the smaller breed puppy food.

When eating their food, puppies can make quite a mess.

Loving Pets can prepare pet owners for the inevitable floor food pile with Bella Spill-Proof mat. It prevents splashes and retains spills with raised edges and anti-skid feet. The mat comes in both tan and black and features a stylish bone shape.

Puppies tend to burn more calories and are therefore very excited to eat, so Loving Pets offers a line of silent feeders. The Silent Diner Elevated Double Diners stop rattling and sliding stands. Dog owners can enjoy silence as their dog eats. They are dishwasher safe and available in three different colors.

Training Puppies

Training is very important for puppy care. When bringing a new puppy home, accidents are bound to happen until puppies can build up a routine.

Nature’s Miracle offers training pads to help combat problems. The Flowering Meadow Scent Release Dog and Puppy Training Pads are disposable pads that feature a scented attractant to let puppies know they have found the right place to relieve themselves. Moisture-activated fragrance can also help keep a new puppy home smelling fresh. The pads also come in Tropical scent as well.

As far as other puppy training, PetSafe offers a wide variety of training devices to be used after the puppy is six months old.

The Collarless Ultrasonic Remote Trainer takes advantage of a puppy’s sensitive hearing and produces a sound that is beyond the range of human hearing. The puppy will stop what he is doing. The system also has a positive tone to reward good behavior.

PetSafe has a Train n’ Praise Treat Dispenser that remotely dispenses treats with a handheld remote so owners can reward good puppy behavior.

PetSafe also has a number of clickers that can be used for training.

“It’s reward based training by using the clicker and the tone is the reward,” said Jason Hart, director of marketing at PetSafe. “The puppies start to associate that noise with a positive reward, like a treat.”

According to Hart, puppies shouldn’t get treats each time they hear the noise.

“You don’t want the dog doing it only for the treat,” he said.

Toys, Chews and Treats

Chew toys are important for all stages of a dog’s life. A puppy has brand new teeth that require softer material to help aid in the development of strong and healthy teeth.

Bionic Pet Products had recently launched a new toy line for small chewers. Baby Bionic toys feature soft, durable material in colors for young and developing eyes.

“We’re excited to introduce this new line and provide owners and puppies with fun and functional toys specifically designed just for them,” said Steve Luhrs, founder of Bionic. “The soft material is excellent for new teeth and we carefully researched and selected colors for puppies’ sensitive and developing eyes.”

The Baby Bionic line includes the Baby Ball, Baby Bone and Baby Toss N Tug.

Petstages has an innovative toy called the DOGWOOD stick that combines real wood with synthetic material.
“It creates a safe stick alternative,” said Jennifer Crotty, director of marketing at Petstages. “It is perfect for teething puppies that often turn to chair legs and other furniture to satisfy their chewing needs.”

That isn’t all. Petstages also has chewable bones that can be given to puppies.

“Our latest innovation, Beyond Bone, is a synthetic chew that contains natural bone meal,” said Crotty. “It has the natural bone scent that dogs love, yet won’t split and splinter like natural bone. Like the DOGWOOD stick, it is a safe chew alternative to what they can find in nature and is available in a range of four sizes, so is appropriately sized for any puppy.”

Chews can also serve as treats, which is the case for Chasing Our Tails’ Tater Hides that not only offer chewing but are also completely digestible.
“Tater Hides are chewy, almost leathery,” said Steve Trachenberg, COO of Chasing Oour Tail. “It’s only ingredient is sweet potato. It was achieved through culinary technique.

According to Trachenberg, it’s also hypoallergenic.

“It’s basically like a puppy pacifier,” he said.

Chasing Our Tails’ Wicked Twisted Cod Skins also work well for puppies.

“They are a great training treat,” said Trachenberg. “Dogs usually eat their food so fast. They react more to smells. The smell is so strong with these and puppies react positively to it.”

The Wicked Twisted Skins also come in salmon and smoked salmon.

Skin and Coat Care

Puppies have developing coats. Therefore, their skin can be a little sensitive so it is best to use milder shampoos for baths.

Earthbath Puppy Shampoo is naturally tearless and pH-balanced for puppies’ sensitive skin. Its ingredients include natural cleansers, aloe vera and a dash of cherry essence.

Nature’s Miracle also offers a shampoo meant specifically for puppies. The Natural Puppy Shampoo and Conditioner contain no dyes or parabens and is gentle and tearless for sensitive puppy skin and eyes. It works to neutralize a wide variety of odors as well as cleans the coat and skin. It also can reduce static electricity.

KENIC also has a specialty shampoo. Oh Baby Pet Shampoo will not strip natural oils from puppy coats.

KENIC has matching Oh Baby Pet Cologne as well to freshen up puppies between baths. It can be used as often as needed due to its all natural ingredients.

Best Shot Pet Products features a puppy shampoo in their Scentament Spa line. The Caressing Puppy Wash is featured in a variety of scents. It is tearless with calming aromatherapy and organic rose hips oil. There is also matching conditioner that helps rid static and detangle coats.

Collars, Leashes and Crates

When it comes to collars and leashes, training is a very important aspect for puppy products.

“Collars can be used on puppies to help train behaviors like not pulling on the leash,” said Hart.

PetSafe offers a line of Easy Walk harnesses.

“There’s a piece that goes over the nose of the dog and it buckles right behind the ear so it provides two places for control,” said Hart. “One is pressure up on the back of the head by the neck which is similar to what a mother dog would use so that puts pressure near the back. That way, the puppy won’t pull against it.”

“The nose loop is where you attach the leash which allows you to direct them where you want them to go. Where the nose goes, the body follows similar to a horse.”

For puppies, crates, pens and gates can be an important factor for customers in training and containment for their puppies.

Midwest Homes for Pets offers a wide variety of crates, gates and pens.

“All of which are sought-after products for new puppy owners,” said Tara Whitehead, marketing manager at Midwest Homes for Pets. “A wire crate is a staple product for a majority of dog owners, particularly new pet parents of a puppy, as it provides a safe environment, aids in puppy training and housebreaking, and provides safety for travel.”

According to Whitehead, a wire crate provides visibility and ventilation.

“The key is to purchase a crate that will accommodate a puppy when he is full grown and has reached his adult size,” she said. “A divider panel can then be used as the puppy grows to maintain the proper amount of living space within the crate. This aids in potty training and housebreaking.”

All Midwest Homes for Pets crates come with a divider panel and an instruction DVD and written information on effective housebreaking and training methods for customers.

Exercise is also a necessity for raising healthy puppies.

According to Whitehead, exercise pens offer a containment option that provides room to play. Midwest offers the Puppy Playpen.

“It provides puppies with a safe and adjustable space of their own and has top and side openings for convenient access,” she said.