Crates

  They can be metal or plastic depending on your preference.  We use, and like, both for different reasons.  The plastic ones are stackable for our Puppy House, and the wire ones are more décor friendly for inside the house.  Your little one will likely mature between 30 and 40 pounds so research the dimension specifications when choosing one for your baby.  Go ahead and purchase the size that suits them as a grown dog. While they are little the extra room inside will come in handy.  

Crates  are great tools for training and provide your little one a "safe" spot to retreat to.  Ours often choose their crates for naps or as a place of comfort during inclement weather.  We teach them to enjoy this spot by keeping toys/ treats inside, and using them as the spot they are fed their meals.  Sometimes, when we know the house is going to be full or our company gets a little loud, we will put them in their crates for their sake and for ours!  We also utilize crates for puppies and our young dogs if we have to run errands.

TIP:   Keep a stash of old towels and a stack of newspapers on hand.  Young puppies have accidents and this is an easy way to clean up and reset the crate.  Towel in the back, and crate bottom lined with newspaper.  Throw soiled towels in the wash, and paper in the trash and done! (Puppy pads can be expensive, and seem to end up as shredded messes, save this $$$ and spend it elsewhere!) 

Containment 

Baby gates and exercise fencing help keep your little one in a given spot. We use these all the time for training and separating puppies. Baby gates install easily in doorways to prevent access or escape.  They are also useful at stairwells.  The exercise pens are stand alone and can be placed wherever it's convenient; they also fold for storing and can connect easily together to create larger pens when needed. Though they could easily jump over, or knock them down, our adult dogs respect these boundaries because they were trained with them as puppies. 

Food

  We feed Purina One products to our adult dogs and Purina Puppy Chow to our babies.  In the past, we have used other products like Beneful and Pedigree as well.  We send our babies home with a sample bag so that you can transition your baby to the brand of your choice. 

Treats

  We usually steer clear of the boxed "fun" looking treats as they can sometimes cause diarrhea due to ingredients used to preserve or the food coloring additives.  We do give Milkbones and the dogs do well those. In addition, we like to use string cheese, peas, carrots, apples, watermelon, and other natural products that they benefit from nutritionally.  These are readily accepted by puppies when they are given at a young age.  If your baby should not take to them, try some fun recipes for treats made at home that can be found on Pinterest.  We also use a product called Biljack that can be found in stores that carry dog products requiring refrigeration (they are found in the dog food aisle).  Biljack is great for training because they can't eat too much, and because it presses together in your hand with no mess allowing you to pinch off training size pieces. 

TIP: After purchasing, we separate into serving sizes and freeze in individual bags so that we can take them out as we need them.  

Collars and Leashes

   Puppies grow so much during the first months that we typically use small, adjustable collars in the beginning.  Function over fashion is our advice as they outgrow them quickly. We recommend you purchase those really cute, fun collars with matching leashes after about four months.  And, again, adjustable - just in case.  What your puppy weighs in at around 6 months will be relatively close to their size as an adult, give or take. 

Toys

There are so many to choose from and your baby will love  playtime with an assortment.  Aussies are highly intellectual and truly benefit from different sources of stimulus to challenge their bright minds. We recommend introducing frisbees and tennis balls early on as well.

TIP:  Find a cute basket or container in which to store them so you don’t have toys strewn all over your house or yard. An oversized stuffed animal also makes a great snuggle buddy during crate time (just be sure to remove any buttons or things that might be chewed off and swallowed beforehand).

Teethers

  Antlers and calf hooves are great for chewing and last a long time!  We highly recommend that you grab some of these, or something similar, to help during teething. This will also assist in keeping permanent teeth clean.  Rawhides and Nyla bones can also work well. Just choose your rawhides carefully as some dogs can have difficulty digesting certain varieties.  Speaking from experience, things an adventurous pup finds in the yard seem to be popular at our house so don't be surprised when “Fluffy” shreds a stick from the yard or gnaws on a rock - it happens here all the time!

Other Items

Puppy shampoo, Grooming Brush, fun bandana's, and - once little accidents are a thing of the past - a special blanket and/or pet bed.  We find that when our babies are young, they are prone to potty and / or chew on these items. Also consider a sound machine as the puppies are hearing the sound of our air conditioning unit in the Puppy House. Due to this fact, we have found that they enjoy some "white noise" while napping in their crates... It's not a necessity, just a thought. A box fan might work well, also.