Pitter Patter of puppy feet....

Liz Dixon our wonderful ad sales lady is getting a puppy! Consequently every day on Think Tank we're looking at another burning issue. Please do pitch in and give her and others some good advice, we'll be printing the best comments in the July issue. Here's the first three questions - please go to Think Tank and leave your comments there - you need to click on the underlined words at the end of each question which say "3 comments" or "0 comments" etc to get access the comments box - it often foxes people. In case of difficulty posting, do email me your comments beverley@dogstodaymagazine.co.uk

Day 1:
The Dogs Today offices are shortly to hear the pitter patter of little paws! Liz Dixon, our wonderful ad sales person, is about to get a gorgeous German Shepherd Dog puppy.
Now we've all been bending her ear with our advice, but as anyone about to get a pup knows, the choosing all the goodies to buy before you get the dog is often just so thrilling you've got an endless appetite for browsing!
So the first topic we're looking for your input on is...


Safety – enclosing your garden, building a secure run, containing your dog in the house.


Have you found any brilliant national companies that can make your garden dog-proof? Or any DIY solutions for filling in gaps? We've got a pond and twice Oscar fell in as a pup, so sometimes it isn't just your boundaries you need to examine. If you've got too many hazards what will it cost to erect a secure run so your dog can be off lead at home without constant supervision? Or how about an outdoor puppy play pen or temporary fencing? Where do you get yours from? And stair gates? What's the best for little pups so they can't squeeze through.
Also, a little tiny pup can sometimes wriggle under gates. Any temporary devices to get you over the really tiny phase safely?
Any other safety tips generally? How did you puppy-proof your house?
Beverley Cuddy, Editor


Day 2
Further to yesterday's first puppy blog, let's jump into the lion's den!
What's the best puppy food for a German Shepherd Puppy - a fast-growing medium sized dog. And what if the breeder feeds brand X and you want to feed brand Y how do you transfer the pup over?
And what if you want to feed raw and the breeder doesn't and vice versa!
Come on - tell us what you would do if it was you that was about to get an adorable bundle of GSD!
Beverley Cuddy, Editor


Day 3
In the third of our daily series on all you need to do BEFORE you get your pup, we're looking at pet insurance. Which policy should you go for?
Liz will be getting a GSD puppy in a few weeks time.
As with some other insurance policies some will calculate on postcode so for those in expensive counties like Surrey it might be better to pick an insurer that doesn't consider address in their quote. Plus some breeds are cheaper to insure than others - is there a GSD friendly policy?
And do you get what you pay for? If it's too much cheaper than another brand is there a catch? And do price comparison sites really work for pet insurance? After all it's not like car insurance - there are many types of pet insurance and some the most limited are really worse than useless.
Where to start? Anyone done this recently? Which policy did you plump for?
And is there a case for just saving a little each month if you can't afford the premiums for the top of the range cover?
What's the difference between a policy giving 12 months of cover for a condition and one giving a limited spend per condition? Which is better? Why?
And is the six weeks free KC insurance given at the time a sale worth having - or are you better starting full insurance ASAP? Is it still the case that the free cover doesn't cover you for death by illness?
Beverley Cuddy, Editor

Remember - please post your replies on the Think Tank blog, thank you!