Adding a puppy to your family can be an exciting time! It may also be overwhelming and stressful. Many compare bringing a puppy home to bringing home a baby! This checklist will have many of the items that you will need when bringing home a new furry family member.
Let's just start off saying that puppies are huge commitments! They are going to have accidents, need to be watched and let out quite frequently, wine and bark, nip and bite, etc. On the other hand, there is nothing cuter than a little puppy! It can be an incredibly fun and exciting time for you and your family! Hopefully, this article will prepare you for your pup!
When you bring your new puppy home, the last thing you are going to want to do is run out to the store to purchase their stuff. Try to be as prepared as possible ahead of time so you can spend those first days bonding and spending as much time together as possible. Start initiating a routine that is simple and effective.
New Puppy Essentials:
- Comfy Bed
Starting off with a comfy bed, your puppy will need a comfy place to sleep because they will sleep a lot! It works to keep nice bed in your living room while using a soft pad, blankets, or towels in your pup's crate for easy cleanup!
- Bowls: Water & Food
Next on the list, bowls. Make sure you get your pet a bowl for water and a bowl for their food. With puppies, I start with a small bowl for each and as they grow, upgrade their bowls from there. I have purchased a small puppy one that clips to the inside of their crate so I can feed them inside and they will feel comfortable.
- Dog Crate
You will need a crate for them as a safe place for them to be when you are gone, sleeping, travelling, or need a break. We have bought our puppies large sized crates (knowing they will one day grow to their larger size) and blocked it off to make it smaller when they are a puppy.
- Collar
You will need a collar for identification and going on walks! If you don't have a fenced in backyard or live in an apartment, a collar will be beneficial when taking your pup out to the bathroom!
- Identity Tag
Next, you will need an identity tag with your contact information on it. When they are a puppy, you may also need proof of vaccination and whatnot, most can be displayed on their identity tag!
- Food
You will also need their food! Most puppy food comes in very little nuggets if you go with kibble. For our puppies, we add water or stock to their dry kibble so they can digest it easier! Also, we ask their previous owner what food they were eating so we can slowly transition them to their new kind and avoid stomach aches.
- Training Treats
Next, you will need training treats to help with potty training and learning commands. It is important that they are training treats because most of those are lower in calorie and smaller in size. Your puppy can have more of those than they can have other treats without overdoing their calorie intake.
- Snuggle Toy
It would be beneficial to purchase your pet a snuggle toy so that they don't feel as lonely without you. Many times, they come from their family where they have lots of brothers and sisters to cuddle with. It can be a culture shock to not have anyone to snuggle with. There are stuffed animals that mimic a puppy's mom that you can purchase for added comfort.
- Leash
Your will also need a leash for walking, training, dog parks, vet appointments, and more!
- Chewing Toys
It is extremely important to purchase your puppy chewing toys. That way, you can deter them chewing on your personal items as much as possible. Anytime our puppies would try to bite us, shoes, the furniture, you name it, we would shove a chew toy towards them to get them to chew on something else.
- Pet Cleaner
You may want to purchase pet cleaner if you have lots of carpet in your home. Your puppy will have accidents and it is better to be prepared for those than niave thinking they won't happen. It is important to use pet cleaner on your hardwood floors as well because their urine can be absorbed by the wood, leaving smelly and damaged wood in its place.
- Nail Clippers
Purchasing a nail clippers is a great idea if your pet does not have to be professionally groomed. That way, you can do it yourself at home. I would reccomend reading or watching a few videos on the correct ways to trim their nails becuase it is much different than our nails.
- Shampoo
Purchasing shampoo before getting your puppy is a great idea so you can clean them up whenever they get muddy or stinky. They are going to have accidents, maybe want to roll around in some mud, and they may even venture too close to a skunk. Having shampoo on hand for when these things occur will make these situations much easier to handle!
- Pooper Scooper
One last item to purchase would be a pooper scooper. When we got our first puppy, we used a large metal shovel for a period of time. Once we purchased a plastic pooper scooper our job got 10x easier. Most come with a rake of some sort as well as a bucket (like a broom and dustpan). These make it easiest to pick up lots of poop in a short period of time!
Having a puppy can be so fun and it typically flies by! They grow so quickly and before you know it, your pet will be full grown and napping through most of their days! Hopefully this list got your mind turning and will put you in the right direction when preparing for your new puppy!