Here are some products I recommend for making life better with your dog!
Note that many of these are affiliate links, which means that I get a small credit for each purchase – but there’s no additional cost to you. Updated November 21, 2024.
Training Clickers
If you’re my client, I’ll gladly give you one of my custom-imprinted clickers! Here are some other options
- Assorted colorful raised-button clickers with wrist strap
- Finger-strap Clik-R – conveniently mount this on your finger or thumb
- Brass and steel “military” clicker
- Cute dog-shaped clicker
- Karen Pryor clicker with target stick
Treat Bags
- DogGoneGood treat bag – this is the one I use
- Karen Pryor treat bag with optional waist strap
- Silicon K9 Snack Sack – easy to clean and non-plastic
- Silicon bag – you can keep treats in this and transfer them easily from treat bag to fridge or freezer. Make sure it fits in your treat bag, and that your hand can easily fit inside of it!
- Silicon squeeze travel tubes – fill with soft, squeezable treats like peanut butter, canned dog food, puréed meats, or baby food
Treats
Generally I recommend soft, small, smelly treats; avoid hard crunchy treats that are less attractive or take more time for the dog to chew up. The exception to that rule is small freeze-dried animal products!
- Bil-Jac Little Jacs– even if you have a big dog, these small treats will probably be fine for that small “hit” of reward in a training session with a high rate of reinforcement!
- Zukes
- Tricky Trainers
- Freeze-dried liver cubes – you can use as is, break into smaller pieces, or even crush to form a flavor-enhancing powder for other treats
- Freeze-dried salmon
- Freeze-dried minnows
Harnesses – the dog end of the leash
I wish I could just recommend one brand, but there are too many variables between dog body-shapes, fur, and dog’s and human’s general preferences – it would be like definitively recommending a specific brand and style of shoes, assuming that they would work well for every person’s feet!
- Balance –This is considered to be the most ergonomic yet effective “no-pull” harness, not restricting the dog’s movements
- Freedom – The Freedom harness is considered slightly less ergonomic than the Balance, but almost as effective for “no-pull”
- Front Range – another recommended “no-pull” harness
- Sleepypod Clickit – car harness that has been crash-tested successfully
Quiet tags
Your dog should always have some form of ID, with a current phone number. But jingly tags might be annoying to your dog, and can easily trigger barking from other dogs you pass (especially those watching through windows or fences). Here are a few ways to keep that ID quiet
- Tag silencer pouch – holds ID tags, county or city licenses, and any other tags in a little pouch that keeps it all quiet but accessible.
- Tag Silencer and AirTag Holder – this holds metal ID tags and/or an AppleTag or similar tracker on the collar
- Silicon tag – a quiet, durable and cute tag
- Slide-on ID – instead of a tag that hangs from the collar, this one slides onto the collar so that the collar is essentially “engraved”
- Rubber disk – goes between metal tags to muffle the jingle
Leash holders – the human end of the leash
Wristband hands-free leash holder – This device could be a good solution for people who need a secure grip but might have issues with their hands (arthritis, shaking, etc.)
Canicross waist leash – super ergonomic solution to walk or run with your dog attached to your waist, developed for cross country running with dogs
Dog Toys
Chew toys
Food-stuffed chews
- Kongs -the classic toy you can stuff with food, use for fetch, or just let dogs chew on them. Use the black “extreme” Kongs for stronger dogs
- Squirrel Dude
- Toppl
- Thundertoy
- Hol-ee Roller
- Qwizl
Don’t forget to get a toy-cleaning brush to scrub inside of Kongs and similar toys!
Sticky Bone or Groov – can be smeared with peanut butter or canned dog food and attached to the back or floor of a hard-sided crate to help keep the dog occupied
ChewStix, Dogwood, Gorilla Chew and Mumbies– good for dogs who are compelled to chew on wood (furniture, baseboards, sticks, tanbark)
Animal part chew projects:
Bully Sticks, with Bully Buddy holder, Bully Grip, Qwizl, or Chewise Bully Holder to prevent your pup from swallowing the last few inches of a bully stick- Smoked bones
- Collagen chews
- Himalayan chews
- Antlers
- Hooves, filled hooves (one of Fletcher’s favorites!)
Safe tug and chase toys
Braided fleece – this long toy puts distance between human skin and canine teeth for safer tug-of-war games
Dog-safe rope – another good tug-of-war toy, which dogs can also chew on safely if they are attracted to rope, carpet fringe, etc.
Flirt pole – Ultimate in safe-for-humans tug toy and chase-it toy; I love letting little kids play tug by “fishing” from the back of a couch to play with a mouthy puppy!
Hollee Roller – indoor fetch toy that is soft and relatively safe on your decor
Other enrichment toys
Food-dispensing toys – your dog has to interact with these toys to release small amounts of food at a time. Look for toys that have adjustable difficulty levels, and are easy to clean out!
Kong Wobbler – easy to fill, easy to clean. Adjust difficulty by adding obstacles inside- Kibble Nibble
- Atomic Treat Ball
- Tug-A-Jug
- Paw5 Rock N Bowl
- Snuffle mat
- Lickimat – original “Buddy”, tuff, and wobble
- Green slow-feeder (dry or wet)
- Nina Ottosson puzzles: Dog Smart, Casino, Tornado, Hide N’ Slide, Maze, or Twister (dry or small amounts of wet)
Snufflemats come in so many options now!
Classic minimalist version – this one comes with suction cups to keep it in place on your floor (so that dogs like my Fletcher won’t just pick up the whole thing and shake it!)- One of many fun colorful versions
- Silicon version
- Totark snufflemat – simulates digging
iDig – toy that simulates digging for dogs
Health supplements
Probiotics for anxiety issues and general health (for more information see FearFreePets)
Purina Calming Care (what I’m currently giving my dog Fletcher)- NWC Natural Total Biotics
- NaturVet Digestive Enzymes:
- Purina Forti-Flora
Fish oil supplements
Grooming
Eye stain care – Angel Eyes, Eye Envy
Mat cutter – actually a letter opener, but can be used to safely cut through mats under ears and other sensitive areas
Car items
Seat cover/extender – I recommend getting a lighter color cover as it seems to be easier for dogs to see their way in.
Car barrier (baby gate for your back seat!)
No-spill bowl – can be put in a crate or car
Sleepypod Clickit – car harness that has been crash-tested successfully
Seatbelt tether – this kind clicks into the child-seat LATCH system; others click into a regular seatbelt receptacle
Confinement options
Crates
- Wire crate with door options and divider – good for large-breed puppies that start small and get big!
- Crate with divider, tray, and wheels – multipurpose portable crate, for growing pups, pairs, and more
- Crate with divider – that also acts as side table
- Foldable, top-opening crate – that also acts as side table
- Fancy, handsome crates that act as furniture: End Table with Storage Drawers crate, Wood and metal medium-sized dog crate, Crate for two dogs with table top and storage drawers, Wood and metal crate with storage for large dogs, Crate for two dogs that doubles as a TV cabinet!
Baby gates/pet gates and other solutions to keep dogs in large-confinement areas
- Retractable gates/baby gates with no bottom bar to trip over: Bow Wow Barrier or Heelalbaby Extra-Wide or Bone-Style (these are also great for attaching to a door for an instant barrier)
- Extra-tall gate (61″)
- Classic “exercise” or ex-pen barrier/play pen
- Designer gates: PalmSprings geometric, Etna branching leaves, Etna “avant garde”
- Door latch – allows cats through a door (to reach a litter box or escape unwanted attention) but keeps all but the smallest dogs out (can possibly use this finger guard, too)
Miscellaneous Hacks
Biothane longline – for sniffaris and hikes where your dog can’t be off-leash.
Pulley Carabiner for round-rope longline management (see Grisha Stewart’s “Leash belay” system)
“Smart” doorbells for dogs to ask to be let out: Pebble Smart Doggie Doorbell or Mighty Paw Bell
Nature’s Miracle – classic enzymatic cleaner solution for pee, poop and vomit accidents (also good for spilled wine and other organic messes)
Urine Off – another enzymatic cleaning solution, often used in kennels
My Pet Peed – yet another recommended cleaning solution
On-the-Go Waste Bag Attachment – put the knot of a filled poopy bag through the slits for hands-free carrying
Bitter Apple and Yuck chew deterrents
Adaptil Pheromone Diffuser, Starter Kit
Through A Dog’s Ear/iCalm Pet music speaker
No-spill bowl – can be put in a crate or car
Lixit bottle – can be put in a crate or hung from an ex-pen
Bring water with you:
Bottle with attached bowl – make sure the bowl part is big enough for your dog’s snout- Bottle with foldover silicon bowl
- Bottle with foldover plastic bowl
- Squeeze bottle with self-filling and draining bowl
- Stainless steel insulated bottle with bowl
- Carry strap for some of those other bottles
- Silicon bowl – use with any water source
Counter net – keeps dogs from successfully “counter-surfing” (stealing items off of counters)
Woodrow Wear dog socks – prevent dogs from slipping on floors, protect paws from hot pavements, etc. From a local, San Jose company! 
Tag silencer – holds tags in a little neoprene bag to keep them from jangling, which might annoy you and alert other dogs on a walk
P-Scoop Dog Urine Collector – when you need to get a pee sample