Essential Gear for Big Dogs

When we decided that our next dog would be a large breed, and by large I mean a 125-pound Bernese mountain dog, we weren’t exactly prepared for the reality that all of our “small dog” gear for our Boston terrier just wasn’t going to work for our new giant dog. We managed well for the first few months that Lincoln, our new Berner puppy, was in the house and weighed under 40 pounds, but once he started growing exponentially, we had to go back to square one at the pet store to hunt down some gear for big dogs.

If you’re bringing home a large breed dog for the first time, here's a collection of some of the items that we’ve come to recognize as essentials in our household in the past year!

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Essential Gear for Big Dogs

Furminator

BUY NOW: Furminator (for Short- and Long-Hair Dogs)

Most dog breeds shed. Most large breeds shed A LOT! This ingenious product helps collect the undercoat of your dog, and keep one step ahead of the massive job that your vaccum will need to perform in the coming days. Use it two to three times a week during shedding season (outside if you can!), and your clothes and carpet will be very happy.
Extreme KONG - King Size

BUY NOW: Extreme KONG - King Size

Your large dog wants to play just like any other dog, but unfortunately most toys last less than 10 minutes in the jaws of a large breed dog. Heck, I think Lincoln broke the stitches on the latest fabric squeaker toy we brought home in less than 60 seconds! So make sure you've got at least one indestructible rubber toy in the house, like this giant KONG toy, to keep the puppy inside entertained. We rarely even stick treats in it, and he's happy to bounce it around the house for fun!
X-Large or "Ginormus" Double Door Dog Crate

BUY NOW: X-Large or "Ginormus" Double Door Dog Crate

Big dogs need big places to sleep and to stay out of trouble. While you may not think that crate training is an option for larger breeds, as long as you get an "X-large" or "ginormus" size crate, the whole world of training options is open to you! I can't imagine what might have happened to our house if we had let our big puppy Lincoln loose during the work day!
Dura Pet Stainless Steel Bowls

BUY NOW: Dura Pet Stainless Steel Bowls

Our Boston terrier is a pretty neat and easy eater. Our Bernese mountain dog has jowels and eats and drink enourmous quanities of food and makes a crazy mess while doing it! These bowls have a rubber grip that helps keep them in place on the floor so he can't shove them around the room as he eats, and they hold the perfect quanity for his twice-a-day meals.
Trifexis

BUY NOW: Trifexis

You don't want any dog of any size to get fleas or ticks, but big dogs are especially prone to them! And with all that surface area, it's not an easy task to find the problem after each walk. Trifexis is a once-a-month pill that takes away the need for icky topical medicine, and they make giant doses big enough for giant dogs as well!
Mr. Herzher's Smart Ramp

BUY NOW: Mr. Herzher's Smart Ramp

Before we got Lincoln the Bernese mountain dog, we upsized our car to an SUV. But even though we have a big car, that doesn't make it any "easier" to bring along a big dog everywhere we go. Once he jumped over 80 pounds, there was no way I could lift him in and out of the high trunk gate. This ramp alleviates all those issues, as it stores easily in the back with him, and then gives him an easy transition to get both in and out of the car. It's great to know that it's just as useful for him as a puppy as it will be when he gets to be an older dog!
Durable "Training Quality" Leather Leash

BUY NOW: Durable "Training Quality" Leather Leash

Do not even think about getting one of those pretty nylon leashes at the pet store for your big dog, no matter what college mascot or chevron pattern might be on it! Instead, opt for what all the trainers use and get a leather leash. With all the weight that a large dog carries, you don't want to be carried off your feet or suffer from rope burn when the other leashes fly out of your hands. With the leather leash, I can easily handle all 125 pounds of Lincoln and have control of him no matter what crosses our path!
Large Pooper Scooper & 6-Gallon Trash Can

BUY NOW: Large Pooper Scooper & 6-Gallon Trash Can

And finally...a big dog means that you'll have big piles of waste to clean up if you have your own yard. We were fine using doggie bags in the backyard with our small Boston terrier, but Lincoln the Bernese mountain dog requires a much larger system to control the waste in our yard. We invested in a quality steel scooper that's easy to wash, as well as a lockable steel wastebin to hold all of the collections (with a plastic garbage bag inside, of course!). It makes daily maintenance much easier, and is very much a hands-free system for those of us who don't really enjoy that warm squishy feeling on a daily basis.