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What Kind of Dog Accessories Do I Need for My Dog?
Dog ownership carries with it the burden of a number of other purchases. In order to properly care for a dog and to comply with certain local laws, the owner must have a number of dog accessories in his or her arsenal. While some of these items are necessary, others are merely conveniences. It is important to know exactly what you'll need to properly care for your dog.
The Essential Dog Accessories
Most of the truly necessary items for dog care are fairly obvious. If you've got a dog you'll need bowls for the dog's food and water.
Mid size to large dogs have a habit of moving their food bowls around the room as they eat. This can make a lot of noise and have the frustrating result of requiring the owner to hunt around for the bowl at feeding time. The problem can be solved by using a heavy ceramic bowl that is difficult for the dog to move around. A sturdy plastic bowl with a rubber lining on the bottom can be useful as well. The rubber on the bottom prevents the bowl from sliding around as Rover enjoys his meal.
If your dog eats too fast, you might consider a slow feeder food bowl, which is designed to make it impossible for your dog to wolf down his meal in a few seconds flat.
For taking the dog on walks, you'll need a leash and a collar. These can be as simple or as elaborate as you'd like, but of course take the size and strength of your dog into account when selecting them. The collar should be adorned with a license tag or at least an ID tag that provides your name and contact information in case your dog is lost.
If you live in a big city like New York (Manhattan), Chicago or other urban area, you will need a pooper scooper or poop bags to carry around with you. Most cities have laws against owners simply allowing their dogs to foul the footpash or leave little Poodle Bombs all over the city park. In some cities there is a hefty fine for such crappy behavior.
Optional Accessories
There are literally thousands of optional items available for people to purchase for use with their dogs. Some of these items, like the gravity refillable water dishes and food bowls, serve a very useful purpose. Others, like the dog bandana serve no real purpose and are merely decorative or just plain silly and fun.
One item that some owners do find very useful, especially those that live in a hot climate, are dog booties. While they may seem like a simply precocious and relatively useless item, they do a good job of protecting the sensitive pads of a dog's feet from rough terrain, rocky areas and hot pavement. Those in cooler climates may not understand, but in some places, particularly the desert environments of cities like Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Albuquerque, the summer pavement can literally become hot enough to fry an egg. You wouldn't walk barefoot on such a surface and neither should your dog.
As you can see, there are some items your dog will need…but you can keep things pretty simple. Start with the basics of bowls, leash, collar and dog tag or license…then move on from there.
