<p>Our friends are getting a new puppy after the deaths of their two Huskies recently. They are childless so this puppy, a pure bred Newfoundland, will be the apple of their eyes.</p>
<p>Since I haven’t owned a pet in years, I’d like some gift suggestions for the new puppy (12 weeks) which is 30 lbs already.</p>
<p>Sooo jealous, love puppies :). Puppies love to chew things, and big dogs chew big things. I would suggest some kind of really sturdy chew toy. If you ask at the pet store (Pet Supplies or the like) they will probably recommend something. Not sure if Newfoundlands are retrievers, but our golden retriever also loves his balls and frisbees.</p>
<p>Nylabones are excellent (not sure if that spelling is right) for dogs that like to chew. They don’t resemble any rugs/furniture/etc. so the dog doesn’t get any ideas. And they last FOREVER. We had a lab who could destroy any toy in minutes, and his first Nylabone lasted months. You can buy them at any pet shop :)</p>
<p>Nylabones are great. My dog also really likes the hollow bones from the pet store. They come already filled and when your dog has emptied it, you can fill it with things like peanut butter or cheese whiz and freeze it.
Kongs and rope toys are great too. My dog also has a ball you put treats or dog food in and he has to roll it around so it will come out. </p>
<p>Sent from my ADR6400L using CC</p>
<p>A furminator- it is a great brush. It takes gobs of hair off and they will need that with a newfie.</p>
<p>Poop bags. :)</p>
<p>^^ And GIANT ones !! 
My friends’s house sits on several acres, no poop bags needed.</p>
<p>A steel box to lockup shoes…puppies eat shoes</p>
<p>Seriously, for a puppy, I would get them a gift card to a local small pet supply store</p>
<p>Another vote for kongs! Newfies love to swim so maybe some kind of water toy.</p>
<p>Your local independent pet store will have lots of ideas … from treats and chews to toys and … well just everything a new puppy will need!</p>
<p>My personal favorite at the moment is Nylabone’s flexible puppy keys – just like the keys your child had and relatively durable. I’d put it with a nice quality plush toy – the Simply Fido brand has some cute things that look like baby toys and wrap it all up with a bow and a bakery dog biscuit.</p>
<p>A bib! Newfies are profuse droolers and a few cute towels would be useful! I would caution on the nylabones - when we had a golden, he literally ate them in one seating and since they are basically plastic, it was nervewracking. There are tennis balls in various sizes with squeakers inside - I think they are by the Kong people, could be wrong, you can find them at Target. My current (albeit small) dogs are crazy about those and won’t bother with the non-squeak variety. Also on bones, best thing we had with the golden was hollow (marrow out) bones about 6" long that we could fill over and over with peanut butter, freeze and dog would happily lounge with that all day.</p>
<p>I haven’t done my research yet in terms of brand, but we are planning on looking into something like this when we get our dogs:</p>
<p>[Amazon.com:</a> Harness Dog Car Safety Seat Belt system Sm/Med 12-28: Pet Supplies](<a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Harness-Safety-Seat-system-12-28/dp/B000XKSUD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340292165&sr=8-1&keywords=seatbelt+harness+for+dogs]Amazon.com:”>http://www.amazon.com/Harness-Safety-Seat-system-12-28/dp/B000XKSUD6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1340292165&sr=8-1&keywords=seatbelt+harness+for+dogs)</p>
<p>not only helps protect puppy, but helps prevent puppy from becoming a lethal projectile in the event of an accident.</p>
<p>How to Raise a Puppy You Can Live With, by Rutherford and Neil</p>
<pre><code> Refresher course for them. And a Kong.
</code></pre>
<p>Chew chew chew, our puppy was nothing but teeth, he still has a couple of daily must chew sessions. Costco has great pork hide twists, rawhide chews, pig ears, etc. for great prices. (Sorry local pet store, but their pricing is incredible)</p>
<p>They also have some great tug toys, stuffed animal built around a tug rope with a squeaker.</p>
<p>I would hold off on buying anything with a squeaker until you know if the puppy likes to destroy toys or just play with them. Squeakers can easily be swallowed and be a choking hazard.</p>
<p>We got our dog a chew toy called a ‘Bottle Buddy.’ It is a slipcover to put a water bottle in without noise of the chewing. Our dog loves to chew up water bottles and this helps make the sound disappear. He loves it so much.</p>
<p>We got ours at a local Publix for less than $5 so I am sure you can find one at a pet supply store or a grocery store. </p>
<p>[Kyjen</a> Plush Puppies Water Bottle Buddies Cow Toy](<a href=“http://www.entirelypets.com/bottlebudcow.html?mr:trackingCode=CEB23966-9C63-DF11-9DA0-002219319097&mr:referralID=NA&origin=pla&mr:adType=pla&gclid=CK7XyPaF4LACFUyb7Qod-BZr2A]Kyjen”>http://www.entirelypets.com/bottlebudcow.html?mr:trackingCode=CEB23966-9C63-DF11-9DA0-002219319097&mr:referralID=NA&origin=pla&mr:adType=pla&gclid=CK7XyPaF4LACFUyb7Qod-BZr2A)</p>
<p>My dog loves to chew on elk antlers. They dissolve with his saliva and leave no mess. Elk shed their antlers yearly so there is a good supply of them. If you can’t find them locally, I have bought them off of ebay.</p>
<p>I’d let the owners decide what they want their puppy to chew on and I wouldn’t want to feel responsible if the puppy choked on or got sick from something I provided. I’d just throw out treats, rawhide, pigs ears, etc. if someone bought those for my dog. Even Nylabones can be dangerous. If I definitely wanted to buy a toy, I’d go with a larger Kong, but I’d probably go with a gift card.</p>
<p>I always give an adjustable collar with the person’s cell phone number embroidered on it. I buy it here: [url=<a href=“http://www.gotags.com/dogcollars.php]Dog”>http://www.gotags.com/dogcollars.php]Dog</a> Collars - Personalized Reflective and Embroidered Collars, Dog Collars in Hunter Orange.<a href=“I%20get%20adjustable%20so%20that%20the%20puppy%20can%20wear%20it%20until%20he’s%20grown%20up”>/url</a>.</p>