6. Bedding: Dog beds are just plain fun. Beds run the gamut from small and inexpensive to elegant high-end beds suitable for the most royal of dog breeds. But don't go crazy just yet. Better to save that fancy bed for when your Pembroke is older and less apt to shred it up or make a puddle on it. For puppy bedding, use a few large towels, a mat or a blanket that can be laundered easily and often.
7. Grooming tools: Pembrokes are rather easy-to-groom dogs, and you will need only minimal equipment. For the puppy, a fine-toothed comb and a soft-bristled brush will suffice to gently go over his coat. As he gets older, a bristle brush with stiffer bristles can be used. You will also need tooth-brushing products made for dogs, a canine nail clipper, cotton balls to clean the ears and around the eyes, a gentle shampoo formulated for dogs and absorbent towels. For an adult, you may opt to use a hair dryer made for dogs or your own on the lowest setting following his baths.
8. Toys: Puppies love all sorts of fuzzy toys that they can carry about. Many pups will snuggle with their woolly toys as they would with their littermates. Eventually, though, most puppies shred their fuzzy toys, which is your cue to remove them and no longer buy them.
Safe chew objects are a must if you hope to direct your Pembroke's chewing onto acceptable objects and away from your shoes and furniture. Sturdy nylon and rubber toys and hard sterilized bones are excellent chewcifiers and come in age-appropriate sizes. All dogs love rawhides, but they can be dangerous if pieces are swallowed and thus should be offered only under supervision. Empty gallon milk jugs and sturdy soft-drink bottles are all-time favorites and, best of all, they're free. However, they usually only last a few minutes before they are punctured by puppy teeth, so discard them as soon as they become damaged.
Next Step: Safety and Settling In
Reprinted from Breeder's Best: Pembroke Welsh Corgi © 2005 Permission granted by Kennel Club Books, an imprint of BowTie Press.
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